In case you haven’t met yet, let me introduce you to THE SHRUB—the kind you drink. This rhubarb shrub recipe is a bright, sweet-tart way to preserve the season and bring a little sparkle to everyday sipping.

Shrub What?

At its heart, a shrub is a sweetened fruit syrup mixed with vinegar to preserve summer flavors. In practice, shrubs are best sipped with friends who are as bubbly and sweet/tart as the flavors flowing from the glass.

The magic of any shrub is how it brings together the sweetness of the fruit with the acid of vinegar—creating a depth of flavor that lays down a perfect base to build on. But typical of true magic, there’s a third part: the health benefits of probiotics and enzymes from the apple cider vinegar complete the trinity.

When I first made shrubs, I cooked my rhubarb (and other fruits), then strained the juice and added vinegar. But there is a fresher flavor with fermenting. This may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. When you skip cooking the fruit, you retain some great high notes from the rhubarb. Similar to fresh strawberry jam versus cooked strawberry jam…

Stephanie Thurow, my friend and coauthor of Small-Scale Homesteading, is also a master food preserver at Minnesota from Scratch. She first opened my eyes to fermenting shrubs and I will never go back!

THE BOOK

Stephanie’s book, Weck Small Batch Preserving, is full of easy-to-follow recipes and features the Rhubarb Shrub Recipe below. It’s just one of 100 recipes that make the most of the local summer flavors. *This is a book for year round preserving and the perfect companion for the home gardener!*

Stephanie’s Rhubarb Shrub Recipe

This recipe was adapted from WECK Small-Batch Preserving with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc

1½ Cups chopped fruit

Herbs (optional)

1½ Cups Organic/Non-GMO granulated sugar or natural sweetener of choice

1 ½ Cups Apple Cider Vinegar or other vinegar of choice

Directions

Yield: 1 pint jar (2 cups)

Combine fruits, optional herbs, and sugar or other natural sweetener of choice and mix well.

Add mixture to glass canning jar and cover with a lid.

Leave the jar on the counter at room temperature for 3 to 4 days until the natural juices separate from the fruit and mix with the sugar to create a syrup.

Stir the fruit and sugar mixture several times a day, if able; this will help speed up the syrup making process.

If using solid fruits such as blueberries, use a clean spoon to break them down a bit so the natural juices are released and mixed with the sugar. Frozen fruits are great options too, since the juices are more readily available once thawed. 

Fermenting Process

After a few days, when the sugar and fruit have mixed together to create a syrup, use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the solids, reserving the fruit syrup in a clean jar.

Then, add vinegar of equal measurement to the amount of syrup made, and mix well.

I prefer to mix the fruit syrup with apple cider vinegar in my shrubs, not only because of the probiotic benefit, but because I consider it to have the best flavor. However, you can use wine vinegar, white distilled vinegar, or any other vinegar with at least 5% acidity in its place!

Store in an airtight container or jar and refrigerate.

Drink within a few months for best flavor.

To serve, I like to mix 2 oz. of completed shrub with 6 oz. of tap water and drink from a pretty glass filled with ice.

*Michelle is not a purist and prefers club soda or bubbly water, and a little gin mixed with her shrubs… vodka or a dry white wine.
**Save some of the fruit (before pushing through strainer) to garnish drinks!

Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing your recipe with us all!

Cheers!

Mix + Match

There are so many variations to a basic rhubarb shrub, some of my favorites are:

• Rhubarb + Blueberry (Blubarb)
• Rhubarb + Strawberry
• Rhubarb + Ginger
• Rhubarb + Mint

I also love how the shrubs can take the best of the flavors out of the older, larger stalks of rhubarb without having to deal with the woody texture. So you can save the ‘just right’ sized stalks for rhubarb crisp or jam and skip the stringy consistency but still use all your plant!

But as summer wears on, don’t let the changing seasons stop you from trying other flavor combinations. Blackberry, peach, plum, apricot, and cherry all make good shrubs too!

History of the Shrub

The American version of the shrub originated in 17th century England, where vinegar was used as an alternative to citrus juices in the preservation of berries and other fruits for the off-season. Fruit preserves made in this fashion were themselves known as shrubs and the practice carried over to colonial America. At that pre-refrigeration time, fruit was preserved in vinegar. Doctors used the syrup drained from it as medicine for everything from scurvy to heart issues.

Over the next centuries people starting mixing with other liquors and the Shrub’s popularity skyrocketed (hmm, wonder why?). Then once refrigeration became normal, shrubs were pretty much forgotten about … to be reinvigorated by trendy bartenders and Midwest Moms in the 2000s.

Mixology!

Once you have the bright and zingy shrub, your options for mixing are pretty much endless. But here’s a basic recipe to get you mixing.

• 1 oz. rhubarb shrub 
• 3 oz. something dry and bright, like gin, white wine,  sherry, or dry vermouth
• Add ice and top with a couple ounces of good-quality tonic, soda, or water

Let us know if you find a new favorite mixture!

– Michelle + Stephanie

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What Are Garlic Scapes?

I love a good two for one, and garlic delivers every time!

Garlic bulbs are used to flavor foods the world over, and one of the best kept secrets about garlic is the garlic scape! One of the joys of growing garlic scapes is that you get an early summer harvest before the bulbs are even ready to pull from the garden.

Because of the way hardneck garlic grows, there are two chances to harvest deliciousness. We all know about garlic cloves, technically the bulb, harvested in late summer. The beautiful single flower stalks that shoot up from the center around midsummer in my region are a delicacy known as the garlic scape.

The garlic scape is slightly milder and somehow ‘brighter’ than the underground cloves. They can be eaten raw or cooked with the flavor changing drastically after heating. I enjoy eating them in a few different ways.

• A garlic scape pesto – recipe below.
• Grilling them with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice – when they magically taste like asparagus.
• Fermenting for a spicy mid-winter snack – I use the basic 1 tbsp kosher salt in 2 cups water ratios.

They show up around midsummer in farmers markets, but the surest way to gather garlic scapes is to grow your own!

For ALL the details on planting garlic, read my Growing Great Garlic post.

Harvesting Garlic Scapes

Watch your garlic closely for timing your harvest. They shoot up from the top of the plants in June and start straight, then curl around themselves. Once the garlic scapes have curled around and you can see where a flower would eventually emerge from, it’s time to get snipping- or pulling. I snipped the scapes right where they come out of the stalk for years, but found that by SLOWLY and gently pulling, you can release the scape lower down, giving you access to more, and more tender scape goodness!

I prefer to take them on the early side, when they are softer and more tender eating. And I recommend the smaller ones for fermenting.

But if you get ‘tough’ or fibrous scapes, those are great for the garlic scape pesto recipe below.

You can harvest them when you want, depending on your end goals… and a little nibble goes a long way if you’re unsure!

You will also want to snip off the flower tips and add to the compost as the buds can harbor bad bacteria if fermenting. Plus I just don’t dig the texture.

Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup + of garlic scapes, chopped
½ cup basil
Juice from ½ lemon
½ tsp+ salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup sunflower seeds or pine nuts
¼ cup grated Parmesan / Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Instructions:
Place scapes in food processor (or Ninja) and pulse to chop finely, add all ingredients but the olive oil and pulse until well-combined. Then drizzle in (or add in batches to Ninja) olive oil. Try to freeze half for a mid-winter burst of summer flavor! *If using raw seeds or nuts, toast before using.

Let me know if you’ve tried growing garlic scapes and your favorite way to enjoy them!

Dig in!

Michelle

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This was the first herbal salve I ever made, years ago and it is still one of my all time favorites to use, pretty much daily. this Calendula salve softens, heals, soothes and calms my skin in ways that nothing else can.

Making salve is kind of the gateway herbal bath and body product. Once you realize that you can mix a few natural, quality ingredients and end up with a practical, beautiful and healing product most people feel empowered. I want you to feel that power too!

At a time when more and more of us are becoming aware of what we’re putting on and into our bodies – along with the carbon footprint the products we use leave behind… making your own salve is a great place to pivot.

These salves also make great gifts! As I am writing it is prime holiday shopping time, yet my gifts are being made from things I am already have in my home. Nothing beats a consumable, homemade gift as far as I’m concerned. Bonus that you can use canisters you already have, furthering your commitment to ‘reduce – reuse – recycle’!

Basic Benefits of Calendula Salve:

Calendula petals contains anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties, and is used to soothe a long list of skin ailments. Plus, it’s safe to use on babies (yes, even the finished salve with beeswax)! The oils and beeswax are both sustainable and deeply healing in their own right – so being able to swirl and melt them all together can make just about anyone feel like a healer.

Flowers First

Like all recipes, it’s important to start with quality ingredients. Growing my own Calendula adds so much to the garden, as both a trap crop for many common garden pests, and as a draw for beneficial insects – plus they’re gorgeous. I prefer Calendula Resina because it has the highest concentration of petal ‘resin’ aka the good stuff.

These are also great starter plant to seed save from; more on seed saving here. This is all before I snip off the buds to use their medicine. More in depth info on growing these and other beauties at my  Companion Planting Flowers for your Vegetable Garden.

Harvesting Calendula

Summer is in full swing when it is finally time to start harvesting the flowers. This is both rewarding and a great way to tidy up the garden. Picking them at their peak, with fully opened petals but not drooping- and after the morning dew has dried but not in the heat of the afternoon, will yield the best resin.

So, start with either homegrown calendula or skip that part of the process and buy your calendula from a trusted source. The only place I’ve been consistently happy with is Mountain Rose Herbs. They have an amazing selection and grow things they way I do.

Making Calendula Oil:

Once the flowers are cut, I usually let my calendula (and any other herbs/petals) wilt for a good day or two. Or sometimes I’ll place them in our dehydrator overnight to reduce the water content. This make for a more intense infusion and reduces the chance of mold in the oil as you let the plants sit and infuse.  After they’re wilted/dried a bit cover the petals with enough oil so the petals are fully submerged. This also helps keep any possible mold at bay. I use a mason jar and screw the lid on. I usually write the date I started the infusion on a dissolving label and let it set for at least 4 to 6 weeks – usually much more. I routinely let my oils infuse for 3 months.

Sweet Almond Oil was my go-to carrier oil for infusing, until I realized that folks with nut allergies are also allergic to almond oil. So while it has the softest feel, a good shelf life and healing properties of its own I only use it for recipes I know only my family will use. I now prefer Apricot Kernel oil. I’ve used a light Extra Virgin olive oil and avocado oil as well, they work great, too.

Infusing the Oil

Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time, a process often called steeping.

Herbal academy

Think of this as a cold brewed tea on overdrive. There are quicker methods where you heat the oil. I’ve never tried this, but if you want to check out the Double Boiler Herb-Infused Oil section of the Herbal Academy article, you can make the infusion in a day. It will not be as potent as the slower, lower temperature version.

*You can also slowly add petals to this jar as they bloom- just make sure they are dried a bit and remember to keep adding oil to cover petals completely.*

By the time I’m ready to make salve the bulk of my outdoor garden work has slowed down – and if you don’t have time to make the salve right away, just try to strain off the oil from the infusion within 12 weeks. This straining is as easy as leaving it to drip through a sieve, until the very end when you’ll want to get in there and squeeze out every last drop of goodness. The oil will be cloudier as you squeeze, this is totally normal.

Alchemy Time

Basic Salve Recipe

1 C Calendula Infused Oil (or less if adding other oils)

1 Oz Beeswax

20+ drops of Essential oil of choice.
Here’s a great list of essential oils for salves and their properties.

Now it’s time to get your other ingredient(s) and containers in order. Mainly, beeswax and any other oils you’ll be adding to the mix. One word about beeswax. If you can buy directly from a beekeeper, the raw goodness, plus the smell of honey will add another layer of healing to your salve. Local beeswax will keep the carbon foot print low as well!

I keep my salve recipes pretty simple and just add a bit of jojoba or emu oil to the pot as I’m warming the ingredients. And topping it off with essential oils just before I pour it off.

So Simple

Melt + Pour.

It really is that simple.

In a double boiler (see my cheater version above) or a heavy pan start warming the infused oil and beeswax. If you want to make a larger or smaller batch a good rule of thumb is 1 ounce of beeswax for every 1 cup of oil. You can play around with these ratios as much as you’d like. Adding more beeswax will give you a harder salve; some like a harder slave for summer so it doesn’t melt.

The only trick is to not let the mixture get above 140- low heat is the trick here! If adding essential oils (I do love this, but unless capped they loose their fragrance quickly) do so right at the end. I usually turn off the burner and add just before I pour in.

I usually opt for lavender or rosemary, but this time I let my son choose. I make this as much for his eczema as anything else, so I figured he could chose the scent…and I love that after smelling over 30 bottles he chose frankincense, which is an essential oil known for being wonderful for your skin!

Let the containers cool and cap in a few hours.

Congratulations! You’ve just made your first salve.

These are great as gifts, and you’ve solved the dilemma of needing an upstairs + a downstairs + a car + a backpack skin cream without any fake chemicals or plastic packaging. Well done!

I wonder what you’ll dig into next!?!

Michelle

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