There comes a time in the life of every seasonal fruit, when having been consumed to excess and then lent to some other assortment of creative uses, finally what is left of the fruit must be preserved. In modern times we have some options here. We have freezers and dehydrators, in addition to those methods of antiquity; preserving with sugar or pickling.
Another preservation method from antiquity is currently having its day (again) and that is the shrub.
“Shrub” can refer to a vinegar-based syrup made with fruit or herbs, or it can refer to a drink made from this syrup. In this case it will be fruit, substituting wineberries and blackberries for raspberries in Maryland Raspberry Shrub.
Although shrubs have apparently been so-named since colonial times, similar recipes to this one appear as “Raspberry Vinegar” in Eat, Drink and Be Merry in Maryland as well as Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s book.
The EDBM recipe from Mrs. Robert Henry Goldsborough of Myrtle Grove in Talbot county suggests the addition of brandy.
The more temperate Lea simply notes that the sweetened raspberry vinegar is “quite good” as a beverage when diluted with water.
This recipe came to the Maryland’s Way cookbook via Miss Sarah Berry from a receipt of Mrs. Charles DePeyster Valk, who could have been either Elizabeth Jenkins who died in 1906, or his second wife Elizabeth Claude Handy (1877-1965).
Mr. DePeyster Valk (1854-1942) was a local miller in Baltimore. A strange announcement from a 1916 trade journal refers to him having a nervous breakdown and being “confined to his home.”
That home may have been the Cecil-Bond house, which he is listed as purchasing with “Elizabeth Cecil Hardy Valk” (typo?) in 1915, according to the Maryland Historical Trust.
Cecil-Bond House, Maryland Historical Trust
At any rate, shrubs are all the rage currently at a happening cocktail bar near you. There is even a book out about them. Author Michael Dietsch recently gave a talk at the Homewood Museum which I was sadly unable to attend.
I’m not a very big cocktail drinker myself but I do drink a lot of seltzer water. And so I followed the directions in the Maryland’s Way recipe, using a little less syrup than the recommended 50/50 ratio, which would be a bit extreme.
I surprised myself by falling in love with this sweet-tart drink. After I burn through all of my Wineberry Shrub I’ll probably be shrubbing any fruit I can get my hands on henceforth. Once in awhile it pays to follow the herd.
Recipe:
- 1 Pint vinegar
- 2 Quart wineberries, blackberries or strawberries
- 2.5 Lb sugar
Take 1 quart of vinegar and pour over 2 quarts of mashed berries. Let it stand for 24 hours, then strain and pour over 2 quarts more mashed berries. Strain after 24 more hours. Measure 1 pound of sugar to each pint of juice and boil 20 minutes, then bottle.To serve, fill tall glasses with crushed ice, pour in Shrub syrup to taste and soda water.
recipe adapted from “Maryland’s Way: The Hammond-Harwood House Cookbook”
