The Magic of “Shrubs”

As we approach the last harvest I am furiously preserving food in order to have yummy and healthy treats over the winter – pestos, salsas, and also SHRUBS! A shrub is an ancient way to preserve fresh fruit in vinegar and sweetener, dating back to the Babylonians, which is then splashed into some sparkling water, used as a mixer in cocktails, or added to salad dressings or marinades. Because it is non alcoholic it is a great EANAB (Equally Attractive Non-Alcoholic Beverage) for those who want a fun cocktail AND are caring for their health and liver.

The versatility of shrubs

The fruit should be ripe and sweet but doesn’t have to be perfect, making it a great way to use up the last of the fruit harvests that might be about to go bad in your kitchen this time of year. I’ve used squishy plums, wild blue elderberries (don’t use the red ones they are toxic), and blackberries, but really any fruit will work. Plus it is a great base for herbs to be added in, creating medicinal or even magical syrups that have your particular creative spark thrown in. I love lemon verbena and lemon balm for their uplifting properties in my plum shrubs and might add tasty cold herbs to my elderberry shrub like thyme, mint, ginger or rosemary if I want to use it primarily for its anti-viral qualities. Be sparing though, a little herb goes a long way, especially strongly flavored ones.

I like to use honey and apple cider vinegar as my base to preserve the fruit with, both of which have been used as health tonics and provide a tasty nourishing backdrop. However any vinegar you have on hand can be used, balsamic and wine vinegars create lovely rich flavors for berries while rice vinegar might be nice for lighter fruits like pears, etc. Just make sure the vinegar is at least 5% acidity to start. For the sweetener, you can use anything from white sugar to more natural sugars including honey, palm sugar etc.

The magic of shrubs

While making your fruity, health giving or magical shrub you can infuse even more magic into it by stating your intentions for your life while crafting it and I love to sing mine. Deep Well Woman, a song I recorded with the Crow Women on our second album, Crow Magic, is a great all-purpose song for visualizing health and wholeness. I recommend it for your kitchen witchery.

I’m a well woman, well one
I’m a well woman now
I’m a well woman, well one
I’m a well woman now

I’m a deep woman, deep one
I’m a deep woman now
I’m a deep woman, deep one
I’m a deep woman now

I’m a deep well woman, deep well
I’m a well woman now
I’m a deep well woman, deep well
I’m a well woman now
I’m a deep woman now
I’m a deep well woman now

music & lyrics © Alane Susan Brown (ASCAP) 2011

You can listen to me singing this song through this link.

Basic Shrub Recipe

1 pound of pitted and sliced fruit or berries (~1 cup)

1 cup vinegar of your choice

1 cup of sugar of your choice

Uncooked shrubs for delicate fruits and flavors

Soak fruit in the sugar in a bowl for approximately 24 hours. Add the vinegar and place in a clean lidded jar and store in the fridge. after a week or two the fruit can be strained out of the shrub if you would like. Shrubs can keep in the fridge for several months. If it gets an off taste or mold obviously throw it away. Hopefully it will be gone by then!

Cooked shrubs for fruits you would make jam out of

Cooked shrubs will keep longer meaning you can make larger batches. The flavors will be deeper. Elderberries and fruits that are bruised or on the edge of spoiling are a good choice for this method.

Heat the sugar and vinegar until dissolved and then add the fruit. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes and then cool and strain into a clean lidded jar. Store in the fridge.

To Enjoy

• Add a small amount of shrub to a glass of sparkling water to taste.
• Mix 2 parts oil and one part shrub for a tasty salad dressing.
• Apply directly to meats as a glaze.
• Add a splash to or substitute for the fruit juice in your favorite cocktail recipe

As an EANAB, a shrub is a considerate beverage to make available at a ritual where participants may not want to consume alcohol because they are in recovery or just don’t care to be altered by alcohol. Especially powerful is a shrub that has been created with spiritual intent and energized with magical music.

Enjoy! Blessed Be

For more information about the Crow Women pagan choir, and access to all the blog posts by Melanie and the other 9 crowsingers who have written for Pagan Song, you can visit the Crow Women author page here on Pagan Song.

Please subscribe to the Pagan Song blog, to receive our blog post each week. Don’t miss any of the musical magic!

Visit our homepage to see the full list of the musicians who write for the Pagan Song blog.

Pagan Song has a fan club on Patreon. Join for as little as $3 a month for exclusive features! Click for info.