Mandarin tarragon shrub syrup drinking vinegar

Mandarin tarragon shrub syrup drinking vinegar is a delicious winter shrub syrup using in season mandarins and tarragon, raw low GI cane sugar and coconut vinegar. Mandarin tarragon shrub syrup drinking vinegar works well for refreshing drinks and for cocktails, including my take on the vintage 1930 Hoop la! Cocktail from Harry Craddock’s (1930) The Savoy Cocktail Book. Mandarins and tarragon are both in season here now and the bright orange colour is gorgeous and marks the change of season into Winter. The vegetable market is full of bright orange tarragon bunches and plants with flowers, along with orange mandarins, pumpkins, quinces and pomegranates.

Tips for more sustainable garnishes, seasoning, drinks, cocktails
Growing your own herbs in a herb garden or container and using reusable straws are two ways to make garnishes, seasoning, drinks and cocktails more sustainable as your plant will keep on producing leaves and flowers throughout winter which you can simply pick as you need them rather than buying bunches of herbs that then may not all be used up. Glass straws can be reused rather than thrown away.

1. Grow your own tarragon plant for garnishes and seasoning
   I have grown some tarragon in my garden, and it has burst into many flowers that I am enjoying in drinks, cocktails such as my Pickle mandarin Hoop la! Cocktail and as garnishes for carrot top pesto and pumpkin and fennel soup. Growing your own tarragon is so rewarding as it does not require much attention but produces delicious foliage and flowers in Winter when other herbs struggle to grow. My basil has finished for the season now and the tarragon has taken this place in the garden bed.
2. Reusable glass straws
   For this shoot I used reusable glass straws which are so fantastic to drink from – they feel so smooth – like the edge of a glass – making for a pleasurable drinking experience for refreshing cold drinks such as mandarin tarragon shrub with fizzy water.

Method: cold process maceration
This mandarin tarragon shrub syrup drinking vinegar does take a little advance preparation as I have used Dietch’s (2016) cold process maceration as he describes in his book Shrubs where the fruit is macerated with sugar overnight. The rest of the process is easy and well worth the effort and time involved as the shrub syrup offers a unique seasonal flavour for cocktails, drinks and desserts.

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Mandarin tarragon shrub syrup drinking vinegar

Print Recipe

Serves: 1-2 500ml jars Cooking Time: 8 ½ hours (8 hours maceration, ½ hour preparation)

Ingredients

• 250 grams very well mashed mandarin fruit, peel removed and reserved
• 125 grams Low GI raw cane sugar
• 1 sprig fresh tarragon
• 125 grams coconut vinegar

Instructions

1

Peel the mandarins and rub the sugar with the peel, set the sugar aside, discard the peel

2

Mash mandarin very well with a muddling stick in a clean container

3

Add the tarragon sprig and the sugar mix and mix well to combine

4

Seal the container with a clean lid and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, until there is evidence of the formation of a thick syrup

5

Sterilise jars – see Resources

6

When the syrup has formed strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container and pour over the coconut vinegar, so it passes through the ingredients and the sieve

7

Decant into your sterilised jars and refrigerate for up to one week

Notes

Recommended books

Michael Dietsch (2016). Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times (Second Edition) The Countryman Press, Norton: New York.

Holly Davis (2017). Ferment: A Guide to the Ancient Art of Culturing Foods, from Kombucha to Sourdough Murdoch Books: Crows Nest, Sydney.

Harry Craddock (1930, 2018 Dover reprint). Savoy Cocktail Book Dover: New York. Constable: London.

Recommended gear

Online mandarin shrub syrup recipes

Maude Farrugia (2018). Raw mandarin shrub in Pip Magazine, adapted from Holly Davis Ferment.

Satsuma mandarin shrub martini in Hungry Couple