Thai Basil Black Raspberry Shrub

(Updated August 31, 2020)

Fruit Shrub Spritzers have become favorite refreshments on these hot summer days. Simply pour a little shrub over a glass of ice and fill with seltzer and you’ve got a sparkly delicious drink.  We’ve enjoyed trying out some new flavor combinations too, as we compete with the birds for our black raspberry harvest each day, and as our herb patch explodes with such aromatic goodness!

This week, we added a few sprigs of Thai Basil to our Blackberries during the cooking and the result was quite pleasing. We used the hot process recipe, but cut back on the sugar so that the fruity and savory flavors could share the spotlight. Since these recipes are meant to be refrigerated and the vinegar does the bulk of the preserving work, you have some flexibility with the sugar.

This is as easy method for getting the most out of small amounts of fruit. You can find more Shrub recipes and a Cold Process (no cooking method) here. 

What flavor combinations will you be trying out this summer?

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Thai Basil Black Raspberry Shrub

Ingredients

• 1 cup Black Raspberries
• A few sprigs of Thai Basil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar apple cider vinegar is our preference

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, simmer equal parts water & sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add the fruit & basil, and simmer until fruit is sufficiently softened and can easily be crushed.
3. Crush fruit to release the juices and allow to cool.
4. Pour through a fine sieve or straining funnel and collect the juices. If you want to maintain higher clarity of your shrub, just allow the juices to drip through. At this point, you may choose to save the fruit syrup as is OR you can add your vinegar to complete the shrub.
5. Fill your vessel of choice by using a funnel. Cap it, label it and store it in your refrigerator. I love keeping some of these French Square bottles on hand for things like this…they look so pretty, but are also great space savers and fun for sharing! Stout Bottles are another unique container option.

Recipe Notes

The generally accepted ratio for a shrub is equal parts fruit, sugar & vinegar. As mentioned above, we reduced the sugar for this recipe so that the fruity and savory flavors of the thai basil could share the spotlight.