Mix with ice cold water for a refreshing, non-alcoholic summer drink, or with some vodka or tequila for a delicious cocktail, or with some champagne for a wonderful mimosa! And just like that, summer is about to tap out. I’d like to say it was good while it lasted, but I won’t. This summer was extra hot and humid. But the prospect of summer fruits soon going on sale is something I’m very much looking forward to. 🙂
Shrub syrups to preserve summer fruits for longer
I love to come up with drinks and fun cocktails with summer fruits whenever I get a chance (like this rhubarb margarita, lychee mocktail, kiwi margarita, frozen mango margarita etc.!), but to make sure those fruit last much longer, I like to preserve the flavors of summer with beautiful shrub syrups. Shrubs (AKA drinking vinegar) have been my new obsession this summer. Recently, I shared this simple vanilla strawberry shrub syrup recipe that’s a great way to use up overripe strawberries and even used, empty vanilla pods. Today, I’m sharing the recipe for my Lavender Peach Shrub Syrup! It’s a beautiful medley of sweet, fruity, tangy, floral flavors, and it’s one of my favorite drink recipes to beat the summer heat! What I really love about this recipe is that it has great staying power! I made an extra batch of this lavender peach shrub and it lasted for over a month in the fridge! It would’ve finished sooner, had my fridge not been stocked with half a dozen different shrub syrups (so expect a few more of those recipes in the future).
Recipe tips for this peach shrub syrup
When you go to the grocery store, don’t avoid those peaches that are overripe. Give those mushy, bruised fruits a chance. Those extra sweet, overripe fruits work best for a shrub recipe. Another peachy option would be this easy peach galette and this sweet and spicy peach relish with slightly overripe peaches. Alternatively, if you have peaches in your pantry that have passed their firm, ripe stage – those are perfect for this lavender peach shrub syrup too! And instead of peaches, you can use your favorite stone fruit too. Mr K would have voted for nectarines, and I wouldn’t have minded plums in place of those peaches. But you can just as easily make this shrub with apricots, white peaches, yellow nectarines, pluots or even cherries. This lavender peach shrub syrup is truly exceptional. It’s great for the whole family too. Just mix it with ice cold water, or soda water for a healthier soda drink for your kids. Or for the adults, you can mix it with some vodka or tequila for a delicious cocktail (which is of course what I do), or better yet, mix it with some champagne for a wonderful mimosa! It takes a little bit of time for this peach shrub syrup because it’s a cold shrub instead of a hot one, so it preserves those fresh fruit flavors much better (read my vanilla strawberry shrub post for more info on drinking vinegar and the cold vs hot method), but once mixed with apple cider vinegar (use unfiltered cider for a healthier option), it just gets better with age. Just make sure to store the shrub syrup in sterilized jars/bottles.
Shrub syrups are a great way to reduce food waste at home too
Food waste is a really important topic for me. Every year, about one third of food produced worldwide (that’s 1.3 billion tonnes of food worth about US$ 1 trillion) gets lost or wasted! Those numbers are incomprehensible when you consider how much of the world suffers from acute malnutrition and hunger. We have all been guilty food wastage at some point, and I have been making a conscious effort to eliminate it from our lives. This includes planning meals ahead and finding ways to preserve the food we do have. Plus, we are using more seasonal produce too.
