Coming across unusual, briefly-in-season, quick-spoiling fruit at Monterey Market yet again inspires cold-infused shrubs to extend the experience. Fresh Makrut limes, unlike any other citrus in fragrance: Oleo saccharum yields the most intense flavors (shown here, Yuzu, an east asian citrus): It’s a pain to juice a yuzu: And a week later I strained and bottled them (I didn’t have time for real labels):
After last year’s enjoyable experience making shrubs (a shelf-stable way to preserve fruit with vinegar and sugar, for mixing into soda water, cocktails, salad dressings, and so on), I’ve spent a few more weekends trying new citrus, new vinegars, and different ratios, as well as using oleo saccharums (citrus oils extracted from the peel with sugar: I posted some photos of the process yesterday). Bergamot / Cider Vinegar Shrub ...
This is now my favorite way to extract intense citrus flavors, especially from fragrant citrus (bergamot, other sour oranges, Makrut limes, and so on). I’ve started using this in both shrubs and [citrus]cellos. Basically, you slice the peel off citrus, painstakingly scrape off any white pith so you have thin, translucent strips of peel, then pack them in sugar for about 10 hours, periodically kneading them as the oil diffuses out of the peel and liquefies the sugar. Bergamot through the afternoon, in photos: And knobby Makrut limes getting the same treatment (I spent more time after the first photo removing pith before packing in sugar): ...
A shrub (a.k.a. “drinking vinegar”) is a mixture of fruit, sugar and vinegar. It was popular in Colonial America as it was a way to easily preserve fruit pre-refrigeration, and has enjoyed a resurgence in the past few years as a non-alcoholic apertif or as an element in cocktails. I was first exposed to one a few years ago at the Whiskey Soda Lounge in Portland, OR, and loved the tart/acidic flavor, but didn’t realize it was part of a broader movement. Fast forward to this fall and I got a shrubs and cocktail syrups lesson from Kelly McVicker , at Workshop, and then over the holidays made two more batches. ...
The result of canning (with short breaks) from around 11am until after midnight: about 11 pints of peaches, 17 pints of white nectarines, and 15 pints of Juliet tomatoes (plum/grape hybrid, for sauce), all from carefully taste-tested ferry building farmer’s market produce: Whew, that was more work than I realized it would be (I haven’t canned anything except some pickles in, say, 15 years?). More photos and rudimentary recipe/process notes: ...