(no subject)

[darchildre]

Chopped up one Pink Lady apple, yielded approx 3/4 cup. Added a generous sprinkling of both cinnamon and nutmeg, and 8 allspice berries that I cracked in a mortar. Covered with 3/4 cup brown sugar, stirred thoroughly and bruised the apple chunks with a wooden spoon to get them to release their juices faster. Allowed to macerate on the counter for approx 8 hours. Added 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar and stirred thoroughly.

I'm letting this one sit in the fridge for a week with the fruit in, rather than just adding the vinegar to the syrup. It already smells a lot less vinegary - I think the addition of the apple cider vinegar to the first one may have made it a bit stronger. Still, on a finger taste, they both seem promising and the apple spice shrub smells absolutely fantastic.

I bought bottles yesterday, so the first shrub now has a more pleasing home than the jar. I think I'll try that one today and see how it turned out.