Rhubarb Shrub, a Drinking Vinegar {Recipe}

Shrubs, also called drinking vinegars, are the new 'thing' in the drink and DIY field. Shrubs are a way of preserving fruit by making them into a syrup with vinegar that was widely practiced by Colonial Americans. The LA Times wrote this week about using shrubs in cocktails. Studies show that raw vinegar may contribute to weight loss, lowered cholesterol and improved digestion. I discovered last year that apple cider vinegar is a cinch to make at home with a little loving neglect.

Where does this all lead? To my newest obsession: rhubarb shrub.

Before you say "I could never just drink vinegar!", as my sisters recently did,  hear me out. The flavor components of a shrub are acid from the vinegar, sweetness from sugar, and flavor from the fruit. What else relies on acid, sweetness, and fruit to quench thirst? Lemonade, the summer picnic staple. Commercial sodas are also sweet, acidic syrups diluted with fizzy water.

How To Make Shrubs At Home

Because I believe in preserving the potential benefits of the raw cider, I make shrub the 'cold' way. Most recipes call for a 1:1:1 ratio of fruit, sugar, and vinegar but I prefer less sugar. Since vinegar provides the preservative effect, there's no reason not to experiment with small batches and find your own perfect ratio.

My ideal rhubarb shrub is 1/2 cup chopped rhubarb with 1/3 cup white sugar soaked in 1/2 cup homemade apple cider vinegar. I leave it at room temperature for 2 days and then move it to the fridge. After the taste is full of rhubarb tartness in a few weeks, I strain out the fruit. Serious Eats outlines several other ways to make fruit shrub.

I drink my rhubarb shrub over ice with fizzy water from the Soda Stream. Surprisingly enough for a girl who likes to drink like myself, I have not delved into the world of mixing alcohol with shrubs but you know I will soon.

Are you a fan of drinking vinegars? Have you made a shrub? Tell all in the comments!

Rhubarb Shrub Time: 15 minutes active, 7-14 days aging Makes approximately 1 cup

1/2 cup fresh rhubarb, washed and chopped into one inch pieces 1/3 cup granulated white sugar 1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1. Mix all ingredients in a clean glass jar. 2. Allow to sit at room temperature for 2 days. 3. Move the the fridge and allow to age for an additional 7-14 days until the shrub achieves the taste you want. 4. Strain out and discard the fruit. Keep the shrub in the fridge and enjoy diluted with water, club soda, or in a mixed drink.

Rhubarb Infused Vodka

It's rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother's rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first "fruit" of spring is in a vodka infusion. You might think I'm a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires a lot of sugar or another strong flavor to temper the tart. Until I infused vodka with rhubarb, I had never truly appreciated the subtlty of the rhubarb flavor.

Making an infusion, with rhubarb or any other fruit, is dead simple. Chop or mascerate fruit in a clean glass container. Fill with vodka to cover all the fruit. Age in a dark place, tasting regularly, until the infusion matches your desired flavor. Strain out the fruit and enjoy the infusion as a mixer or on its own with fizzy water, a delightfully low-cal, high-zest drink.

In the case of rhubarb, I like to leave the infusion for up to two weeks. The clear vodka will turn a dusty red color and keep its piquancy for up to a year. The picture above shows the last of our 2011 rhubarb infusion, in one of my favorite jars made in Columbus Ohio, surrounded by the fresh rhubarb from the Greener Grocer that will make this year's batch.

I am reserving some rhubarb to make into a shrub, a sweetened vinegar infusion. I suspect that the shrub method will show off the many characteristics of rhubarb much like the vodka infusion I hold so dear.

Do you like rhubarb? How do you prepare it?

Canning Season 2010 Begins!

On Friday I made rhubarb jam. The day before, reporter John Ross raised an eyebrow when I told him I love canning. He's writing an Alive & Unedited piece about me that will be in the June 3 issue of Columbus Alive! It's true. It pleases my soul to take an in-season about-to-spoil fruit and transform it into something that will last years. I like the rhythm of my work when I am chopping, stirring, sterilizing, filling, and boiling. I love the 'pop' sound that tells me a jar is sealed.

And the rows of colorful preserves in clear glass jars as they cool overnight on the counter? Pure satisfaction, in my world.

If the thought of canning fills you with fear instead of affection, look forward to simple tips and recipes over the summer. You can also come to my Jam Party at Wild Goose Too Many Cooks on Sunday August 1. It's $10 for a hands on workshop from 7 - 9 pm and everyone will go home with a jar of jam!

Mother's Day Rhubarb Crisp

I went to the community market recently for local asparagus.  They had none, but the local rhubarb looked fantastic.  Such is the way of a locavore - go to the market searching for a vegetable side dish, come home with ingredients for dessert.

Some might say that rhubarb is a vegetable only a mother can love.  It requires care to grow and lots of sugar to balance the sour.  My own mother is well known for her fantastic strawberry rhubarb pie.

Having no strawberries, I remembered that my father's mother, Grandma Joyce, makes a rhubarb crisp.  I called her and she rattled off the recipe from memory:

Chop stalks of rhubarb into bite sized pieces.  Lil helped me with this.  We layered them in a quiche dish I inherited from Grandma's mother, Great Grandma Leona.

Top rhubarb with sugar.  Add as much as you think will balance the sour and then some.  I stirred in a tiny bit of vanilla too.

Cut 6 tablespoons butter into 1 cup flower and 1 cup sugar.  Grandma Joyce uses margarine but I only had butter on hand.

Stir one egg into the mix until it pulls together.  Drop the topping over the rhubarb.  Grandma says to dot the top with butter but I skipped this step.  Why, to keep it healthy??

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the rhubarb is bubbling through the center and the topping is browned.  Grandma says the crisp also bakes well at higher or lower temps if you have something in the oven; simply adjust the time down or up respectively.

I served this crisp on plates from my step Great Grandmother Guth.  Her first name was Rebekka and somehow she ended up with these dessert plates with the letter R on them.  I'm the only one with a 'R' name in the family so I inherited them.

I am lucky to know and have known so many food loving mothers.  Happy Mother's Day!

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Rhubarb Crisp Makes: 8 servings Time: 25 minutes preparation, 50 minutes baking

4 - 8  cups fresh rhubarb, chopped (quantity depends on your desired topping to fruit ratio)

1 cup sugar (adjust according to your taste)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1. Mix chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and vanilla in a pie plate, 8x8 pan, or quiche pan.

2. Cut butter into 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar.

3. Stir in egg until well mixed.

4. Drop topping onto sugared rhubarb.

5. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

[/print_this] Wow!  Two recipes in a week?  What is this, a food blog?!

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