Cold Processed Shrub Recipes

Steps:

• Wash and sterilize a bowl or jar. Add blackberries; cover with sugar. Add thyme and sage. Stir well to combine. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until a pool of juice and syrup forms around the blackberries, 1 to 2 days.
• Remove thyme and sage from the bowl. Place a fine mesh strainer over a separate bowl and pour in blackberry mixture. Press lightly on the solids to expel all the juice.
• Sterilize a glass jar or bottle. Pour in juice and add vinegar. Cover with a lid and shake gently to dissolve any remaining sugar. Let rest until flavors intensify, at least 1 day.

Steps:

• Place berries or fruit in bowl. Cover with sugar and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until juice exudes from fruit and starts to combine with sugar to form syrup. This may take only 5 or 6 hours, or it may need a couple of days. A longer maceration won't harm anything, so feel free to leave it in fridge longer than it might need. Strain syrup from fruit. Press lightly on solids to express any remaining juice/syrup. Scrape remaining sugar into syrup. Add vinegar and whisk to combine. Pour through funnel into clean bottle. Cap and shake vigorously, and mark date on bottle. Store in refrigerator. Check periodically. Some sugar may remain undissolved for up to a few days. Shake to combine. After about a week, acids in juice and vinegar should dissolve sugar entirely.