The Best Strawberry Shrub Recipe

A simple step-by-step guide to making the best strawberry shrub recipe at home. This simple strawberry shrub recipe can be added to sparkling water for a refreshing and gut healthy beverage or added to a summer cocktail or mocktail for a splash of flavor.

It’s strawberry season here in New England, which always marks the beginning of summer and is one of my favorite seasons for preserving all the fresh early flavors of summer for year-round use.

While there are so many ways to preserve seasonal produce, one of my favorite ways is by making a shrub, or drinking vinegar, to spruce up a simple glass of sparkling water, or to add depth and some gut-healthy probiotics to my favorite mocktail or cocktail.

What Is A Strawberry Shrub?

Shrubs are a type of non-alcoholic syrup that are made using a combination of fresh fruit, herbs, vinegar (ideally raw vinegar), and sugar. The end result is a sweet and tangy syrup that is perfect for capturing the essence of seasonal flavors and can add a healthy dose of probiotics to any drink you choose to add them to.

Today, shrubs are often referred to as drinking vinegars and can be commonly found being used as ingredients in cocktails for adding depth and unique flavors.

Health Benefits Of Strawberry Shrub

Shrub have been used for centuries for promoting healthy digestion thanks to their bitter flavors which help to promote an engaged and activated digestive system. Unfortunately today, most people do not get nearly enough bitter foods and herbs in their diet, and since bitter foods are such a key component of healthy digestion, this is one reason why adding traditional shrubs and other digestive bitters is so important!

When our taste buds first taste something bitter, a signal is sent to the digestive system which immediately stimulates the pancreas and stomach to secrete digestive juices that help prepare the body for incoming food. This natural process helps to decrease issues of bloating and indigestion by encouraging active digestion and reduces the time that food spends sitting in the stomach and small intestine.

For these reasons adding shrubs is a wonderful and traditional way to help support healthy digestion and energy, simply by working with our body’s natural digestive response. Because of the natural fermentation process and the use of raw vinegars like apple cider vinegar, shrubs also have the added benefit of containing a healthy dose of naturally occurring probiotics.*

How To Make This Strawberry Shrub Recipe

Step One:

Choose your herbs and fresh fruit of choice and make sure that your ingredients have been washed and dried well.

Step Two:

Next, in a medium size bowl combine equal parts fruit/herbs and sugar. Mix the fruit and sugar mixture well, gently crushing the fruit until a sugary liquid begins to be released from the fruit.

Step Three:

Cover the fruit/sugar bowl and place in the refrigerator for 1-3 days. 

Step Four:

Give the fruit mixture a good mash and then strain the liquid in the bowl into a clean glass container. 

Step Five:

At this point at equal parts apple cider vinegar to the fruit liquid. You now have a shrub! Cover and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Shrubs must be refrigerated for food safety and consumed within six months.

Ingredients You Will Need For This Strawberry Shrub Recipe

The best part about making this strawberry sheub recipe at home is that you really only need a few key ingredients and can make a shrub from just about any fresh fruit or herb.

• Fresh Fruit
• Aromatic Herbs
• Raw Vinegar (if you want the shrub to ferment and have beneficial probiotics)
• Sugar
• Glass storage jars or bottles

Tips For Making This Strawberry Shrub At Home

This strawberry shrub recipe is really simple to make, but there are a few things you will want to keep in mind if you want to make the best shrubs possible at home:

Use Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients:

The whole point of making shrubs in the first place is to preserve the flavors of the season for longer consumption. So if you plan to make shrubs at home I always recommend using seasonal ingredients only that will provide you with the best flavor and health benefits!

Invest In Airtight Containers:

I love using these swing top bottles for our shrubs that are easy to store in the refrigerator, look beautiful, and are air tight. The better the container, the longer your shrubs will last! So if you plan on making seasonal shrubs to keep for a few months or more, make sure you have really air tight containers to store them in.

Get Creative With Herbs:

While shrubs are more commonly known for their fruity flavors, you can make them with really any herbs as well, which can add a host of beneficial gut and health benefits, and is a fun way to preserve those fresh herbs from the garden! A few of my favorite herbs to use in shrubs are mint, lavender, rosemary, thyme, rose, and dandelion.*

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