By Araluen Hagan

This month at the Northern Valleys Locavore Store (also a Slow Food member) we are moving further into the reduction of food waste.  There were many tangelos, a few pears and a tray of strawberries that were looking a bit tired.  To get the most from these ‘still ok, but not at their best’ looking fruits, it was decided that a shrub would make an excellent choice to give new life to produce that was potentially headed to waste.  A shrub is a drink that is made by infusing equal parts fruit and sugar into the same volume of apple cider vinegar, it is left to mature for a month, then drunk.  Shrubs are great additions to cocktails/mocktails, used in salad dressings and sauces or just with soda water.

Shrubs are ancient drinks, which have origins dating back to the Babylonian times, and have been recorded and made in various forms through out Europe.  The version that is now made has its roots in Colonial America, where fruit was preserved in vinegar due to lack of refrigeration.  Once the fruit was eaten, the sweetened vinegar was added to the water to make it more palatable.  The acidity of the vinegar, no doubt killed many pathogens present in the water.  Once refrigeration was invented, the need to preserve the fruit was not so great and so the interest in shrubs reduced.  About 12 years ago the cocktail makers of the United States revived the shrub, and now they are made around the world again and are gaining popularity once more.

Also on display in store is a Fire Cider.  Fire Cider is fabulous tonic to build immunity and the effects of cold weather.  Many of its ingredients (Horseradish, ginger, garlic, onion, citrus, chilli and apple cider vinegar) are also said to help with blood pressure, inflammation and sugar level control.  Other herbs and spices can be added to the brew, depending on the health properties or flavour that it desired.  The demijohn with its ingredients is left to infuse for a month before drinking in small doses either straight, or in a warm cup of lemon and honey daily, if nothing else it is a great start to the day. Once the drained vinegar is removed, the solid ingredients can be once again covered with a second batch of vinegar and left to infuse for another month.  After this the spent solid ingredients can be dehydrated and ground up to make a very tasty seasoning for fish or chicken.  The best thing about this is that there is no waste, as well as potential health benefits.