Sparkling Fruit Shrub Lemonade

You guys. Where has the summer gone?! I cannot believe that it’s already the middle of August!

this Recipe

I’m always SO excited for summer at the beginning of the season, but by mid-August, once we’ve had a couple of consecutive weeks of crazy hot weather, I’m ready for fall’s cooler temperatures. Do you agree? Or do you kind of hate me for saying that? Either way, there’s definitely something special about the summer season that I wish I could bottle up and save for the cold and dreary days of winter.

Speaking of bottling up summer, let’s make some fruit shrub! In other words, let’s can (or would it be pickle?) our favorite summer fruits so that we can make delicious cocktails with them all year long! I love the sweetly tangy taste of this fruit-infused vinegar in cocktails, but I discovered that it’s also pretty epic when paired with fresh-squeezed lemonade.

So let’s spice up our lemonade with some homemade shrub!

Sparkling Fruit Shrub Lemonade

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• Author: Allison Ferraro
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

for the shrub:

• 1 ½ cups sliced fruit*
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup vinegar

for the lemonade:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• 12 lemons
• 4 cups sparkling water
• Ice

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Instructions

1. Make the shrub. Wash and slice your fruit. Place the sliced fruit in a bowl, pour in the sugar, and stir so that all the slices of fruit become coated with sugar. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for a few days.
2. After about two days, your sliced fruit should be swimming in its own juice. Strain out the fruit, leaving the juice in the bowl. Add the vinegar to the juice and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a clean jar and place in the fridge.
3. Let the jar sit in the fridge for a few days before using the shrub to give the flavors time to meld. The vinegar's acidic bite will be strongest when the shrub is fresh, and the flavors will continue to balance out over time. The vinegar will eventually dissolves any remaining sugar, but you can shake the jar in the meantime to mix in any settled sugar.
4. Make the lemonade. Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a medium saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Allow the mixture to cool.
5. Juice the lemons and pour the juice into a pitcher.
6. Add the simple syrup and sparkling water to the pitcher and gently stir until blended.
7. Serve the shrub lemonade. To serve, add ¼ cup shrub to a glass. Top off with lemonade and ice and enjoy!

Notes

*I made three shrubs using strawberries, peaches, and blackberries. Use whatever fruit you like!

• Category: Drinks

Keywords: shrub, lemonade