Kid-friendly Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

Recipe: Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

by Dylan Sabuco
Photo by Dylan Sabuco
prep time
5 minutes
cook time
5 minutes
makes
4-6 servings

Fun Food Story

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Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

Way back when, before fridges were a thing, people preserved fruit in "shrubs," zingy syrups made of fruit, vinegar, and sugar. These days, we like to add shrubs to bubbly water to create fizzy drinks that are sweet, sour, and totally awesome! It might sound strange, but don't snub the shrub—it's the most refreshing drink in the cool-drink club!

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • blend :

    to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

  • pour :

    to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

Equipment Checklist

  • Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
  • Large pot
  • Measuring tools
  • Cutting board + kid-safe knife
  • Cups
  • Strainer
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X

Ingredients

Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

  • 1/4 C apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 1 C fresh or frozen strawberries **(for STRAWBERRY ALLERGY sub blueberries)**
  • 1 C water
  • 1 C orange juice

Food Allergen Substitutions

Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

  • Strawberry: Substitute blueberries for strawberries.

Instructions

Strawberry "Shrub" Drinks

1.
intro

Shrubs are drinks made using vinegar as the surprise ingredient. Sounds crazy, right?! This drink traditionally has sugar and fruit added to balance the sourness of the vinegar. For this version of a shrub, you will use apple cider vinegar for its high amount of flavor and natural slight sweetness. Combine that with orange juice, strawberries, and sugar, and you are in store for a tasty and unique sipping experience.

2.
clean + chop

Rinse and chop the green top off of 1 cup of strawberries, discarding the tops. Place the strawberries in a large saucepan.

3.
measure + boil

Measure and pour in 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 1 cup orange juice. Place the pan over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

4.
scoop

Gather as many cups as you need to serve your family and fill them halfway with ice.

5.
blend + strain

Turn the heat off. Then, using a blender (or pitcher for use with an immersion blender), blend all the contents of the saucepan. Strain the mixture to remove all the strawberry bits. Finally, pour the drink over the ice in your cups and enjoy! Cheers!

Let's learn about England!

Photo by Tomsickova Tatyana/Shutterstock.com
  • England is ruled by a Monarch, a Prime Minister, and a Parliament. Windsor Castle is the oldest royal castle in the world that is still being used by the royal family.
  • England is on the island of Great Britain, along with Wales and Scotland. It is also part of the United Kingdom, which consists of those three countries and Northern Ireland. 
  • Did you know that there's no place in the UK that is more than 70 miles from the sea?! 
  • Stonehenge is a construction of immense stones that the early inhabitants of what's now Wiltshire, England, began building around 3100 BCE. The final sections were completed around 1600 BCE. Scientists are still not sure how or why they built it. One theory for its purpose is an astronomical observatory. It is very popular with tourists.
  • Other popular tourist spots in England include the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament (Palace of Westminster), the Roman Baths and the city of Bath, and the Lake District.  
  • London, the capital city, wasn't always called that. In the past, its name was Londonium.
  • England took part in the briefest war in history. They fought Zanzibar in 1896, and Zanzibar surrendered after just 38 minutes!
  • There have been several influential English authors, but perhaps the most well-known is William Shakespeare, who wrote classics such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet.
  • English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee is credited with inventing the World Wide Web.
  • The British really like their sandwiches—they eat almost 11.5 billion a year!

What's It Like to Be a Kid in England?

  • Most schools in England require students to wear a school uniform. 
  • Sports kids play include football (soccer), cricket, rugby, tennis, netball (similar to basketball), and rounders (similar to baseball). They also play video games, watch the telly, and ride bikes or skateboards.
  • Boxing Day is a unique holiday kids celebrate in England the day after Christmas, December 26. The official public holiday is the first weekday after Christmas if Boxing Day falls on a weekend. When the English created the holiday, it was the day to share the contents of alms boxes with the poor. Today, it is mostly a day off from school and work, although some small gifts may be given out to family and employees, or collected to give to the poor.
  • English kids may have different names for everyday items also found in the United States. For example, a kid will call his mom "mum." Their backyard is a "garden." A big truck is called a "lorry," and the trunk of a car is a "boot." Biscuits in the US are closest to the British "scones," and cookies in England are "biscuits." A TV is usually called a "telly." Bags of chips are referred to as bags of "crisps." French fries, like those from a fast-food hamburger place, might be called "fries," but if they are thicker, like the ones typically served with batter-fried fish, they're called "chips" (fish and chips). Finally, kids call the fish sticks they might have for lunch "fish fingers.

THYME for a Laugh

Why were the little strawberries upset? 

Because their parents were in a jam!

That's Berry Funny

What is a scarecrow’s favorite fruit? 

Straw-berries!

That's Berry Funny

What do you call strawberries playing the guitar? 

A jam session!

Lettuce Joke Around

What do you call a sad strawberry? 

A blueberry.

The Yolk's On You

What sounds like a small tree and has fruit like some trees, but you can drink it?

A shrub!

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