Ok, I swear I think this is going to be the last of the rhubarb posts for this year. That isn’t to say that my Willy Wonka rhubarb patch is not going to continue to give. It’s just that I really do need to move on.  This season has been a busy one for me, busy with work, and I fear even more lack of time to flex my preserving prowess in the coming weeks.

I think I may have missed strawberry season entirely in the northeast. (Did I?)

But never you mind with that because this little shrub-o-mine consists of one of my absolute favorite flavor combinations.

Shrubs are about the easiest thing you could ever make. At their simplest they are equal part fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Mixed with water or sparkling water they make a refreshing summer drink sans alcohol, or use as a base for a cocktail and you’ve got a whole other party going on. For all you’ve ever wanted to know about shrubs, read this great post over at serious eats.

There’s two ways to make a shrub, either by cooking the fruit, or by what is called the cold-process method. I prefer the cold-process method as it retains the fresh fruit flavor. Cold-infused herbs render a much brighter herbal flavor also. Plus, you can be lazy about the whole process, which I like.

Rhubarb Lavender Shrub

Yield: 1 & 1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

I’ve got that rhubarb out of the way just in the nick of time, ’cause I got blueberries coming at me! Lots of them! (as long as I can keep the birds at bay) Wait! Did I just say blueberries & bay?!  That sounds like another perfect shrub combo!

I’ve had a lot on my plate these past few weeks- I had 2 of these in 2 nights in nyc:

Then I had 8 of these in 4 days in Miami:

In between I rounded up a big raucous bunch of allium recipes and after all that, and in a bit of a haze there was the last minute planning of a much needed vacation to California. What all this means is:

1) I’m still alive.

2) I had to get jammin’ with my can jam at the very beginning of April in NYC without even a thought of getting up to the Berkshires to experience the glorious springtime weather & check out the bounty.

3) My biggest challenge this month was getting all that stuff off my plate and some other stuff into jars.

Some of you may remember my first attempt at butter; though good, it was a tad too sweet. I want a fruit butter that tastes like the fruit it is with just enough sweetness to be on the side of applesauce, and since I have plenty of experience enhancing jams with herbs, I wanted to see how they work with butters.

So that was the plan, and a more immediate one during my 10 minute Whole Food frenzy was finding the most potent smelling herbs I could find, and this was it:

I had a few flavor pairings in mind, and once the sage was settled on, the pear was the pairing for sure. Luckily, but not locally unfortunately, the pear section at Whole Foods was overflowing with fruit and so…

Saged Pear Butter

Directions

The tomatoes! And while I’m on the subject of tomatoes…oh how I loved him (R.I.P). He was so beautiful, inside and out. Ahem.

Ok, so back to this curry pickle: I used zebras, who happen to be green even when they’re ripe. But, for this you want green – as in unripe – tomatoes. The fleshier the better. Little zebras or any kind of paste tomato will work well.

Curried Green Zebras

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! For many, the king of vegetables (even though we all know it’s a fruit, don’t we?)  Grown for putting up.

Just as the mighty tomato straddles the veggie-fruit kingdoms, it also straddles the level of acidity needed to safely water bath can. A lot of old recipes don’t add acid before hot water bath canning, but modern times call for such measures. So if you’re trying this at home, make sure to use a source that follows the current USDA guidelines. Or go straight to the source yourself.

crushed tomatoes – bigger than a breadbox I hope you’ll be thinkin’ of me during the winter when you sit down to a nice hot bowl of tomato something-or-other!

crushed tomatoes – wine book girl ooh! Bloody Mary with homemade tomato juice and dilly beans. Yikes! Thanks for that – I’m in trouble.

tomatoes packed in water – Rufus and clementine ya see nik (I do see that you saw) when it comes to tomatoes simple is usually better. There’s time to get fancy when you open the jar.

ketchup – market life sf very good tip on subbing in some cherries, and the fennel looks like a nice addition. Can you taste it in the finished product?

ketchup – putting by more homemade ketchup! You people are all caught up in the ketchin’ up! Sounds like it was a hit, and just a little less celery seed next time! And this just in: bbq sauce!

orange tang ketchup – hip girl’s guide to homemaking this ketchup is gorgeous! The color, and I am so down for small batch anything miss kickass! (Oh, and peeps, watch the clip!)

spicy ketchup – locally preserved this looks nice, immersion blenders are where it’s at, no? …and I like the spice! 🙂

tomato ketchup – what Julia ate if I had a jar of this it would be all over my scrambled eggs! What? Yeah right, like you don’t. 😉

If you would like to make your very first confiture de __________, then let’s do it! ‘Cause really, can you ever have enough fruit in alcohol layin’ around?

To start you need either a fermenting crock with a lid to keep air out like the one I just ordered

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Or you can use a european glass canning jar with gasket & lid.

You want a vessel that is pretty much airtight but that will also allow for the venting of fermentation gases. Size matters too; if you really want to get through the summer adding as many different types of fruit as you can, then try to get at least 1/2 gallon, or even a gallon or more. Finally, you should keep the fruit in the dark. I mean if they ask, you can tell them what’s going on.

But if you’re using a glass vessel keep it in a larder or pantry during the making of. If you are using a ball jar with screw cap, do not screw the cap on too tight because you need to allow gas to escape.

To make confiture de vieux garçon start with a layer of fruit, then cover with a layer of sugar. The traditional recipe requires an equal sugar to fruit ratio, and I’ve seen recipes that require half the weight of sugar to fruit. I’ve also read that it works with less as long as each layer of fruit is covered with sugar when added. I’m going to go with covering the fruit and not bothering with weighing. The sugar should be a fine-grained sugar so the grains are sure to dissolve.

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Then cover well with your chosen kirsch, cognac or brandy (you could also use rum). Put the lid on and store in a cool place. Repeat this process with each newly in-season fruit throughout the summer (or fall). When the final fruit is added, fill the container with alcohol to 3/4 inch from the top and let sit in a cool place for at least 3 or even 6 months before eating.

To avoid spoilage or mold it is important to use top-quality fruit free of bruises or sore spots, and dried completely before adding to container. Place each new layer on top and never stir, making sure sugar & alcohol cover the fruit completely.

Traditional fruits used are berries of all kinds; strawberries, raspberries, cherries, gooseberries, currents and grapes too.

If you know where your fruit’s been, do not wash raspberries, currents or gooseberries. remove stems, stalks, and tails respectively of strawberries, currents, grapes & gooseberries, but leave the cherries be with their stems and pits intact.

If you can find very small plums & gages you can leave them whole and add them with their stones and all. Otherwise quarter them and remove the stone. Quarter apricots and always remove their pits.

Skin, stone and quarter peaches & nectarines. Pears should be skinned, pitted and thickly sliced.

Any combination of fruit will work, but citrus is a no-no. I’ve read not to over-do the strawberries or they will dominate and I’ve also read not to add ‘foreign’ fruit. Which I’m assuming means things like papayas, mangos and the like.