Plum Shrub (Drinking Vinegar)

Learn how to make a Plum Shrub, a tangy-sweet drinking vinegar made with fresh plums, sugar, and vinegar. Add it to sparkling water or cocktails for a refreshing drink!

When summer plums are at their juicy peak, making a Plum Shrub is one of my favorite ways to capture their flavor and enjoy it for weeks to come. Sweet, tart, and intensely fruity, this old-fashioned drinking vinegar is made with just three simple ingredients: fresh plums, sugar, and vinegar.

If you’ve never tried a shrub, you’re in for a treat! Fruit is macerated with sugar to draw out all those beautiful juices, then combined with vinegar to create a concentrated syrup that’s simultaneously sweet, tangy, and refreshing. Add a splash to sparkling water for an easy non-alcoholic drink, or use it to brighten up cocktails and spritzes.

I especially love infusing the plum vinegar with fresh shiso when I have it-the herbal, slightly spicy flavor pairs beautifully with ripe plums. Basil or mint are lovely too. Once you understand the basic method, you can use it with all sorts of seasonal fruit, making this a wonderful recipe to keep in your back pocket throughout summer.

But first, what is a shrub?

A shrub is a drinking vinegar made with fruit or berries, vinegar, and sugar. Shrubs can be added to cocktails or mocktails (with mineral water), or dressings and vinaigrettes. It’s a great way to preserve summer flavors all the way into winter.

Why You’ll Love This Plum Shrub

• Just three simple ingredients. Fresh fruit, sugar, and vinegar transform into something surprisingly complex and delicious.
• A beautiful way to preserve summer. When you have more ripe plums than you can eat, a shrub captures their juicy flavor so you can enjoy it long after the fruit is gone.
• Sweet, tart & refreshing. Vinegar gives the fruit syrup a bright, tangy edge that’s especially refreshing mixed with ice and sparkling water.
• Perfect for cocktails and mocktails. A little shrub adds fruit, acidity, and sweetness all at once, making it an easy building block for creative drinks.
• Endlessly adaptable. Once you know the basic technique, try it with berries, peaches, nectarines, cherries, or whatever fruit is abundant.

Plum shrub Ingredients

• Fresh plums - Use ripe, juicy plums for the best flavor and color. Other seasonal fruits or berries can also be used.
• Sugar - Cane sugar gives the shrub the clearest, brightest color and helps draw the juices from the plums. Coconut sugar, honey, or agave can also be used.
• Vinegar - Apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, white vinegar, or rice vinegar all work; each gives the finished shrub a slightly different character.
• Fresh herbs (optional) - Shiso is especially lovely with plums, but basil, mint, or other fresh herbs can be infused into the vinegar for another layer of flavor.

How to make a shrub (in a nutshell)

Making a shrub takes about 10 minutes of hands-on time and 24 hours of infusing time, and in the end, you’ll have a beautiful infused drinking vinegar that will keep for many months, bringing a little sunshine into the colder months!

1. Macerate fruit with sugar for 24 hours.
2. Strain and combine with vinegar. (Feel free to infuse vinegar with herbs for 24 hours beforehand for added flavor)
3. Place in a clear jar or bottle.
4. Shelf-stable for 3 months or 6 months refrigerated.

How to make a Plum Shrub

Today we are using juicy summer plums, but almost any fruit or berries will work! Even Rhubarb! You’ll need roughly 1-2 cups of juicy fruit.

Step one. Mash the whole plums, seeds and all, with the sugar in a jar, and leave to rest for 24 hours.

Step 2. If infusing the vinegar with herbs- combine the vinegar and the herbs in a separate jar- in this case, vinegar and shiso leaves.

Besides herbs, you can also add ginger, chilies, and whole spices like pink peppercorns, cardamom, star anise, etc. Play around with different kinds of vinegar as well.

Let the macerated fruit and infused vinegar sit on the counter for 24 hours.

Step three. Then simply strain and combine.

Mash the flavorful plum juices through the strainer. Look at this glorious color!!!

Step four. Place the strained shrub in a clean jar or bottle and store it in the fridge.

How to store a shrub

A shrub will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months or is shelf-stable at room temperature for up to 3 months.

Ways to use a Plum shrub

• Add to cocktails- like gin or vodka.
• Add to champagne for a delicious drink.
• Add to sparkling soda or mineral water.
• Add to Salad Dressings!

Give it a try and show us how you adapt this recipe!

It’s a good base recipe for your own creations.

And just imagine how thrilled you’ll be this winter when you pull this bottle of sunshine out!

You may also like:

• Rhubarb Shrub
• Elderberry Syrup
• More DIY Gift Ideas

Plum Shrub Recipe

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• Author: Feasting at Home | Tonia Schemmel
• Prep Time: 10
• Infusing time: 24 hours
• Total Time: 24 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 3 cups 1x
• Category: drink, preserved, preserving
• Method: preserving
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Learn how to make a Plum Shrub, a tangy-sweet drinking vinegar made with fresh plums, sugar, and vinegar. Add it to sparkling water or cocktails for a refreshing drink!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1/2x1x2x

• 1-2 cups fresh plums ( or substitute other juicy fruit or berries)
• 1 cup cane sugar (for the clearest color) or substitute coconut sugar, honey, or agave.
• 1 cup vinegar: apple cider, champagne, white vinegar, or rice vinegar
• 1-2 jars (or similar-sized vessels, or 2 bowls)
• Optional: herbs for infusing the vinegar (1 cup chopped shiso leaves, or sub basil, mint, etc.) see notes

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Instructions

1. Macerate the plums. Place whole plums and sugar in a jar and mash until juicy and mixed.  Put a lid on the jar and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.  
2. Infuse Vinegar (optional). If infusing the vinegar, roughly chop the shiso leaves (or herbs) and place in a jar along with the vinegar.  Put a lid on the jar and leave at room temperature for at least 24 hours.
3. Strain and Combine. After 24 hours, strain both into a bowl, combine them, and press the fruit to extract more juice; then discard the fruit and herbs.
4. Pour into a clean jar or bottle using a funnel.
5. Refrigerate for up to 6 months.

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Notes

Because of the vinegar’s preservation quality, this is shelf-stable for 3 months. 

FRUIT: Feel free to substitute other fruits or berries. Juicy fruits work best. Peaches, pineapple, strawberries, mango, passion fruit, nectarines, blackberries, etc.  Colorful fruits make the prettiest shrubs.

Herbs/Spices: Feel free to use any fresh herbs to infuse the vinegar, or try fresh ginger, ginger zest, or even whole spices! Play around.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 3 tablespoons
• Calories: 60
• Sugar: 14.6 g
• Sodium: 0.4 mg
• Fat: 0.1 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 15 g
• Fiber: 0.3 g
• Protein: 0.1 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg