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Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrubs

July 7, 2016 by Kayley 7 Comments

*This Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub is free of refined sugars and is a sweet and sophisticated fizzy little summery sip of a drink. Dark, sweet cherries are a must use for this recipe!

Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub

Ever since discovering shrubs (see this post), I’ve been waiting for cherry season to hit so that I could make a fresh cherry shrub. When the cherries on my trees started to ripen, I quickly gathered up a basket-full and went to town. Well. That was a mistake. I learned a very important lesson from my first batch of shrub syrup, made from the sweet/sour light red cherries of my backyard tree: Backyard Cherry Tree Cherries are NOT GOOD for making shrubs with. The syrup was too sour and since the insides of the cherries were more yellow than red, the syrup turned out to have an icky light brown color to it. I don’t think my disposal enjoyed that shrub syrup anymore than I did.

So, with one failed batch of shrub syrup down I tried again and put my newfound knowledge to use. This time I bought a bag of super dark, incredibly sweet, juicy Bing cherries. The end result was just as I’d hoped: Sweet, tangy, spicy, with mellow vanilla notes. I added a vanilla bean and a few cardamom pods to the cherries and sugar, let it sit for a few days, then lightly blended and strained the mix. I added a mix of apple cider and balsamic vinegars to the syrup and let it sit for another few days in the fridge. The balsamic vinegar deepens the cherry flavor and adds a tangy richness to the overall drink.

Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub

A few notes:

*DO find Bing cherries for this shrub. Other varieties won’t have the right amount of sweetness to carry the acidic flavors.

*After letting the fruit syrup develop, you can simply press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve as is, or you can process it first in a food processor or blender, and then run it through a sieve. I like the latter method as it extracts more flavor, gives more body to the syrup due to making the syrup thicker, and gives you more syrup overall.

Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub

Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub
 
Print
Serves: serves 6-8
Ingredients
  • 4 cups Cherries (use a dark, sweet variety such as Bing), pitted
  • 1 Vanilla Bean, split in half
  • 2 cardamom pods, seeds removed (discard pods)
  • 1 cup Unrefined Cane Sugar
  • ½ cup Raw Honey
  • ½ cup Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • Ice
  • Sparkling Water
Instructions
  1. Place the cherries, vanilla bean halves, and cardamom seeds in a large jar. Add the sugar and mash in with the cherries using a muddler or wooden spoon. Place in the fridge and let sit for 2 days, shaking occasionally to help dissolve sugars. After two days, pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to strain out the fruit syrup (alternatively, you can blend the whole mixture and then strain it through a sieve to get the most fruit and flavor out of it). Place the syrup back in a jar and mix with the honey and vinegars. Place back in the fridge for 5-7 days. Shake syrup before using.
  2. Mix 1 part syrup to 4 parts sparkling water and pour over ice. You may like more or less syrup, depending on your preferences.
3.2.2925

 

Black Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla ShrubBlack Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla ShrubBlack Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla ShrubBlack Cherry, Cardamom, & Vanilla Shrub

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Comments

  1. Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says

    July 8, 2016 at 6:45 AM

    I am so glad you are into shrubs. I am obsessed with making them for summer drinks – I will eventually need to save some of the shrubs so I can share on my blog one day. I have a peach, basil, and vanilla shrub in the making – hopefully it will turn out the way I hope! I love the addition of cardamom in this black cherry shrubs!

    Reply
    • Kayley says

      July 13, 2016 at 10:08 PM

      Thanks Amanda! Shrubs are amazing! Your peach version sounds incredible, I’ll have to give that combo a try!

      Reply
  2. Tori//Gringalicious says

    July 8, 2016 at 7:56 AM

    What gorgeous and refreshing drinks! I can tell you’ve outdone yourself again with them!

    Reply
    • Kayley says

      July 13, 2016 at 10:08 PM

      Thank you so much Tori! xo

      Reply
  3. Mary says

    July 9, 2016 at 3:02 PM

    Never heard of shrubs! Would like to give it a try! Do you slice the vanilla bean through the entire length of the bean to reveal the yummy little seeds?

    Reply
    • Kayley says

      July 9, 2016 at 3:52 PM

      Yes, slice the vanilla bean in half and add to the cherries and cardamom seeds. Hope you get to try it! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Sarah Hope says

    October 3, 2016 at 11:50 AM

    I love this recipe! I have never had a shrub before but after purchasing a soda stream I was looking for fun beverages to make with sparkling water so we didn’t feel the urge to buy pop. Another fun part of making this shrub was making fruit roll-ups with the left over fruit puree!

    Reply

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My name is Kayley! Welcome To The Kitchen McCabe, a blog based on wholesome recipes, beautiful food and photography. More >>

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