Experimental Shrub

Apr 30, 2011 22:50


About a year ago, I remember incandragon mentioning her discovery of some vinegar drink.  I thought it sounded quirky and interesting and resolved to find out more about it.  Then I forgot.  Thankfully, CookLocal has a better memory than me and actually went about developing a recipe for said drink (actually called "shrub").

Shrub is basically some vegetative substance steeped in vinegar for a time and then diluted with sparkling water.  Incandragon and I had planned to try our hand at making Japanese ramen followed by a Tampopo viewing tonight.  I've never made Japanese ramen before, so the whole thing was a grand experiment, I decided that adding one more experiment to the mix was called for.   I think I had pho (and the fantastic sweet basil ice cream I had in Panama) on the brain when I decided that basil was the flavor I would use in my shrub. CookLocal's actual recipe called for 24 hours of steeping.  I had 8 available.  I figured that the worst that could happen was that it wouldn't be strongly basil flavored enough.  I drank a Dr. Brown's cel-ray soda for inspiration and sallied forth.

In the end, the soda was lightly basil flavored and complimented the chicken/beef stock nicely.  We had excellent wine available, and I kept gravitating back to the basil soda.  I'd be willing to try it again witha longer steep time, but incandragon and I both liked it fine this time.  The boys declared it "fascinating" and declined to partake further.  Apparently you can't please everyone.  Now I'm really anxious to try to make that basil ice cream (and also some tasty shrub variations)!

The ramen experiment, incidentally, was what I'd call a limited success.  The stock had good flavor, but not strong enough.  I'd like to make more of a structured effort to have a go at things I've never made before, though.  Maybe a cook your way through a cookbook group?  In the meantime, another glass of shrub before bed :-) 

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