Seasonal Fruit Syrup

Homemade fruit syrups are great for mixing with sparkling water, adding to cocktails, glazing cakes or drizzling over ice cream. You can also turn your fruit syrup into a fruit shrub, also known as a drinking vinegar, by adding quality wine vinegar. Shrubs add a lip-smacking tartness to seltzer water, boozy drinks and can be even be whisked with extra virgin olive oil to make a fruity vinaigrette.

We're using up our abundance of late summer plums for this recipe, but you can use whatever is in season. Fresh berries, figs, pineapple and citrus are all great choices. Feel free to experiment with additional spices and herbs too—a little fresh ginger, basil, cardamom—let loose!

Ingredients

1 pound roughly chopped pitted plums
6 ounces caster sugar
6 ounces Murakami Syouten Okinawan Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

To make it a shrub
1/2 cup Katz Late Harvest Zinfandel Vinegar

Instructions

Place chopped plums, both sugars, and salt into a quart-sized mason jar. Stir ingredients to combine.

Place a paper towel over lid of mason jar, securing rim over the paper towel. Let it sit on counter overnight.

The next day you will notice the plums have released some of their juices, creating a slushy-like texture. Stir ingredients so that all of the sugar is dissolved. Place a fresh paper towel over lid, securing rim over paper towel again. For the second time, leave the mason jar on counter overnight.

On the second day, you will notice the plums have released most of their juices and the mixture has become thick and syrupy.

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the liquid into a clean jar. Use the back of a wooden spoon to press firmly on the fruit as your strain, making sure to capture all the delicious juices.

Your plum syrup is ready! Use it within a few days.

To make your syrup into a shrub, add the wine vinegar. If you like a shrub on the tarter side, add more vinegar to your liking.

Thanks to the vinegar, the shrub should last one month, sealed and in the refrigerator.