Giveaway: Shrubs - An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times

The idea of drinking vinegar may wrinkle your nose but there is something strangely delicious and deeply refreshing about a shrub -- an acidulated beverage made with fruit juice, sugar and other ingredients that can be drunk mixed with water, seltzer or alcohol.

When I first heard about shrubs a few years back, I was highly skeptical. A fruit-based drink made with vinegar? Gross! But then I tried a few and found the mixture of sweet and tart to be strangely compelling and more than a little addictive.

So when I saw that drinks expert, Michael Dietsch had written a book about them that is beautifully photographed by his wife, Jennifer Hess, who happens to be my Facebook friend, I ordered one a tout de suite. Dietsch's writing is enjoyably conversational and he's packed this little volume full of fun and fascinating historical notes about this beverage that was a staple in Colonial America, drool-inducing recipes and creative cocktail ideas. See below for Dietsch's recipe for a simple, cranberry-apple shrub that would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving meal, either mixed with seltzer or something a bit stronger...

Thanks to the good folks at Countryman Press, I also have a copy of Shrubs: An Old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times to give away!

You can enter by doing any of these things via the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post before Sunday, November 23rd:

• Like the Garden of Eating on Facebook
• Sign up to receive posts by email and confirm your email in the widget below
• Tweet about this giveaway via the widget below
• Pin the image at the top of this post and enter the URL of your pin in the widget below
• Tell me why you're interested in shrubs in the widget below

All entries must be logged in the Rafflecopter widget below by midnight on 11/23/14 to qualify. This giveaway is only open to people in the continental U.S. One lucky winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!

Cranberry-Apple Shrub
Yields 1 cup of shrub syrup

Ingredients

* 3 medium apples, quartered (no need to core or seed them)
* 1 cup cranberries
* 1 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Shred the apples using a box grater or a food processor.

2. Add the cranberries and vinegar to a blender or food processor and blend until pureed.

3. Put the shredded apples, cranberry-vinegar mixture and sugar in a nonreactive container. Cover and leave in cool place on the countertop for 2 days.

4. After 2 days, strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, squeezing to remove any remaining liquid - you can compost the solids that are leftover.

5. Pour the liquid into a clean Mason jar or glass bottle. Cover tightly with a lid or cap and shake well. Store in the fridge. Shrub will keep for up to one year.

a Rafflecopter giveaway