Bright in a Glass: Peach and Plum Shrubs for Grey November Evenings

November is not a season that offers much in the way of brightness. The fruit bowl is down to apples and the last stubborn pear. But if you have a bag of peaches in the freezer, or a punnet of plums that never quite ripened, you have the makings of a shrub: a sweet-sour fruit vinegar that turns soda water into something worth drinking. Shrubs are old-fashioned, practical and quietly glamorous. They are also the best use I know for stone fruit that is past its best.

What a shrub is, and what it is not

A shrub is not the garden kind. In the drinks world, a shrub is a fruit syrup preserved with sugar and vinegar. The idea is simple: fruit gives flavour, sugar draws out juice and balances the acid, and vinegar does the preserving while adding a bright, sharp edge. The result is a concentrate that you dilute with sparkling water, tonic or something stronger. It is not a cordial, and it is not a vinegar you would use for salad. It sits somewhere between the two, and that is exactly why it works.

There are two main ways to make one. The cold method involves macerating fruit with sugar for a day, straining the syrup and stirring in vinegar. The simmered method cooks the fruit briefly with sugar and vinegar. I prefer the cold method for stone fruit because it keeps the perfume fresh and the flavour clean. It also requires very little attention, which suits a wet November evening.

The method, without fuss

A good starting formula is 500g fruit, 250g sugar and 250ml vinegar. This is not a law. Very juicy peaches may need a little less sugar; sour plums may need a little more. The vinegar should be something you enjoy the taste of. Cider vinegar is mild and appley, red wine vinegar is robust, and white wine vinegar is clean and sharp. Avoid malt vinegar unless you want chips with your cocktail.

Chop the fruit, toss it with the sugar in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. The sugar will pull out a surprising amount of liquid. Stir once or twice, mash the fruit lightly with a fork, then strain through a fine sieve or a piece of muslin. Press gently to get the syrup out, but do not squeeze so hard that the syrup turns cloudy. Stir the vinegar into the syrup, taste, and adjust. It should be sharp but drinkable, sweet but not cloying. Bottle it in a clean bottle and keep it in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of months, though the flavour is brightest in the first few weeks.

Peach and thyme shrub

This is the softer of the two, with a floral edge from the thyme. Use ripe peaches, or frozen peach slices defrosted and drained. The vinegar should be cider vinegar.

Ingredients

• 500g ripe peaches, stoned and chopped
• 250g caster sugar
• 250ml cider vinegar
• 4 sprigs of thyme

Method

Put the peaches in a bowl with the sugar and thyme. Stir well, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Stir again, lightly mash the fruit, then strain through a fine sieve into a jug. Stir in the cider vinegar. Taste and add a little more sugar if it is too sharp. Pour into a clean bottle and refrigerate.

Use it with soda water and a slice of lemon, or add a splash to a gin and tonic. It also works well in a mocktail with tonic, lots of ice and a rosemary sprig.

Plum and star anise shrub

Plums can take a more assertive vinegar. Red wine vinegar gives this one a deep, almost mulled flavour, while star anise adds a liquorice note that makes it feel made for dark evenings.

Ingredients

• 500g plums, stoned and chopped
• 250g caster sugar
• 250ml red wine vinegar
• 2 star anise

Method

Combine the plums, sugar and star anise in a bowl. Stir, cover and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Stir and mash lightly, then strain into a jug. Stir in the red wine vinegar, taste and adjust. Bottle and refrigerate.

This one is excellent with sparkling water and a strip of orange peel. For a cocktail, add a spoonful to a glass of whisky with soda and ice. It also makes a fine non-alcoholic spritz with tonic and a squeeze of lime.

How to drink them

Dilute a shrub to taste. Start with one part shrub to three or four parts soda water, tonic or sparkling wine. Add ice, citrus peel or herbs. A peach shrub is lovely with mint; a plum shrub likes rosemary or orange. Do not treat it like a cordial and pour it neat. It is a concentrate, and it is meant to be stretched.

For a simple mocktail, put 30ml peach shrub in a glass with ice, top with tonic and add a rosemary sprig. For something stronger, stir 20ml plum shrub into a whisky highball. The point is not to follow a strict recipe; it is to have a bright, sharp bottle in the fridge that makes a plain glass of fizzy water feel like a treat.

Why make it now

A shrub is a small act of defiance against the drizzle. It uses up fruit that might otherwise be thrown away, it costs very little, and it gives you a reason to keep something interesting in the fridge. A bottle also makes a good gift, especially if you tie a little label around the neck with serving instructions.

Late-season stone fruit is not always perfect for eating raw. That is fine. A shrub does not need perfection; it needs flavour. Freeze the last peaches, collect the plums that are slightly too soft, and turn them into something bright. On a wet November evening, a glass of peach shrub and soda is a useful reminder that summer is not entirely gone.