{"id":29241,"date":"2022-05-11T15:16:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T22:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nourishedkitchen.com\/?p=29241"},"modified":"2022-05-11T18:08:43","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T01:08:43","slug":"rhubarb-shrub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nourishedkitchen.com\/rhubarb-shrub\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhubarb Shrub"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you have an abundance of rhubarb springing up from your garden, make this rhubarb shrub<\/strong>. This sweet-and-sour drink is easy to make, and perfect for springtime. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Rhubarb<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is a shrub?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A shrub is a sweet-and-sour drinking vinegar, similar to switchel<\/a> or haymaker's punch<\/a>. To make a shrub, you pour vinegar over fruit and let it stand for a few days. Then, you strain the fruit-infused vinegar and mix it with sugar or another sweetener. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to fruit and vinegar, many shrub makers also add herbs, spices, and, occasionally, vegetables. Sugar remains the sweetener of choice; however, you can sweeten shrubs using other natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, or molasses. This version of rhubarb shrub uses rhubarb, white wine vinegar, and sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What's the history?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sweetened vinegar-based drinks made with fruit, herbs, and spices have been prized for both their medicinal and culinary value since antiquity. Early Persian texts describe the benefits of sekanjabinat<\/em> which comes from the words serkeh<\/em> (vinegar) and anjabin<\/em> (honey) made using herbs, spices, and fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, these honey-sweetened vinegar drinks were adopted in Greece and spread throughout Europe where they were known as oxymels. Oxy<\/em> refers to vinegar and mel<\/em> to honey. Eventually, these medicinal cordials became what we know as shrubs today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shrubs and other drinking vinegars were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries before their popularity waned in the early 20th century with the advent of soda counters. Making shrubs offered an easy way to preserve summer fruit well into the cold winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, vinegar-based drinks were thought to convey medicinal benefits as well such as supporting digestion, easing stomach upset, or soothing the common cold, depending on which fruits and herbs you add to the mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What's in it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This rhubarb shrub is simple and easy to make. You'll need rhubarb, vinegar, and a sweetener. To this basic mix, you can also add fresh herbs such as mint or spices such as vanilla and cardamom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n