Fruit Shrubs (Drinking Vinegars)

Method

1. **Day 1**: Place the fruit in a jar or bowl. Add the sugar and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 24-48 hours, stirring once or twice. The sugar will draw out the fruit juices, creating a thick, colorful syrup.
2. **Day 2-3**: Strain the fruit syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the fruit to extract all the juice. Discard (or eat) the fruit pulp.
3. Add the apple cider vinegar to the fruit syrup. Stir well.
4. Pour into a clean glass bottle or jar. Seal and store in the fridge.
5. It's drinkable immediately, but the flavor mellows and improves over 1-2 weeks as the vinegar integrates.
6. *To serve:** Add 2-3 tablespoons of shrub concentrate to a glass of sparkling water. Add ice. Adjust to taste.
7. *Flavor combinations:**
8. **Strawberry-basil**: Strawberries + a few basil leaves in the maceration
9. **Blackberry-ginger**: Blackberries + 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
10. **Peach-vanilla**: Peaches + 1/2 vanilla bean, split
11. **Raspberry-rose**: Raspberries + 1 tablespoon dried culinary rose petals
12. **Apple-cinnamon**: Diced apples + 1 cinnamon stick
13. **Cranberry-orange**: Cranberries + zest of 1 orange