This recipe first appeared in Family Eats, a blog written by my colleague Laura Everage. I met Laura 30 years ago when I was an executive in the Williams-Sonoma buying office and Laura was the editor of "Gourmet Retailer", the most significant trade magazine for our industry at the time.

About Shrubs (Drinking Vinegar)

A shrub is a vinegar-based syrup that is sweetened with fruit and sugar or honey. It is often used as a base for a cocktail, but is also delicious as a non-alcoholic drink, mixed with soda or carbonated water.

Also known as drinking vinegar, the shrub was popular during colonial times, as it was used as a means of preserving fruit long past its picking.

Tart and sweet at the same time, a shrub quenches thirst and is actually meant to stimulate the appetite. The acidity of the shrub makes it ideal as an aperitif, or even if you want to use it instead of bitters in your favorite cocktail. However you enjoy it, this versatile drink is easily made and can be enjoyed all year round.

You can blend using a fruity vinegar, such as apple cider or wine vinegar and then add some fresh herbs to complement the fruit. The flavor combinations are unending, just choose fruit that is at the peak of season.

A 1 quart round Cambro container shows about ⅓ full with syrupy macerated strawberry quarters.

Donald pours strawberry syrup from the Cambro through the stainless steel strainer.

A pint glass is filled with ice and a shrub/LaCroix mixture. There is a strawberry garnish and stainless steel straw. The glass is on a marble counter in a tile kitchen.

A pint glass with strawberry garnish and stainless steel straw has an altered appearance because the view can see that some of the shrub has been replaced in the glass with a greater volume of LaCroix. The glass is on a marble counter in a tile kitchen.

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