So its spring… and you’re stuck at home with a bunch of fresh berries in the fridge and all this time… why not make a homemade shrub? If you’ve never heard of a shrub, its a decades-old way of preserving fresh fruit by macerating it in sugar, then adding vinegar to extend the lifespan - the end result being a sweet, sour and fruity syrup. The cool part about it is it doesn’t have to contain alcohol and makes for an amazing mocktail for those of you who just want a refreshing beverage to drink at home during the day.
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We may have bought almost too many strawberries at @ambrosefamilyfarm the other week and had the idea to turn these vine-ripened strawberries into a black pepper/strawberry shrub for a balance of sweet, spicy, sour and fruity. Now the fun part is taking this syrup and creating a cocktail out of it. I used @hendricksgin because of the cucumber notes, then added our black pepper/strawberry shrub syrup, lime and mint to create a refreshing springtime drink you can make at home.