Homemade Soda: A Fruit Shrub in Your Glass

I have a terrible confession to make: I’m actually sort of a sucker for soda pop. Since most soda is sweetened with genetically modified high fructose corn syrup, I tend to avoid the store-bought stuff, but lately I’ve been into making homemade sodas as a treat from time to time.

Sugary drinks are far from healthy, and you should definitely stick to even homemade sodas in moderation. As a sometimes treat, though, a fruit shrub is a lovely indulgence! The name is a little bit deceiving – this drink doesn’t contain a lot of fruit, and certainly not a whole shrub’s worth. When you’re talking about beverages, a “shrub” is actually a tangy, fruity syrup that you can mix with carbonated water to create homemade sodas. A splash of booze in that ain’t too bad either!

Fruit Shrub Ingredients

1 cup juice of your choice. I made the shrub pictured above from red naval oranges, but you can use berry, citrus, or any other fruit juice you like.
1 cup sugar, or sweetener of your choice. If you use a liquid sweetener, cut back to 1/2 cup.
1 cup apple cider vinegar.

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a glass jar, close the lid, and shake well until all of the sugar is dissolved. If the sugar is being very stubborn, you can heat the mixture in a small pan on low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.

2. To make a drink, just spoon about 2 tablespoons of your shrub syrup into a tall glass, and top it off with seltzer. You can add 1 oz. of rum or vodka, if you’re feeling really festive, too!

I know, the vinegar might sound like an odd ingredient, but it adds a nice tang to offset the sugar and the sweetness from the juice. If you’re hesitant about the vinegar, you can reduce the amount to 3/4 cup at first. You can always add more vinegar next time, if it turns out you want a little bit more tanginess.

Have any of you guys whipped up a fruit shrub at home? I’d love to hear what sort you made and how you liked it!

Image Credit: Photo by Becky Striepe

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

health t.

3:08AM PDT on May 15, 2012

http://www.squidoo.com/apple-cider-vinegar-information

send a green star

Carmen S.

6:41PM PDT on Apr 1, 2012

thanks for this

shelby m.

10:41PM PST on Mar 9, 2012

Thanks so much for posting this! I want to stop drinking soda since it's so bad for the environment and health, but I have to have carbonated stuff(it's a mouth feel thing, like how some people crave crunchy stuff). Relatively healthy solution!!

Has anyone made this using stevia yet? I was wondering how much to use, since it's so much sweeter than regular sugar.

Ruth P.

2:02PM PST on Mar 6, 2012

Sounds really nice, and simple too! Vinegar is a great addition to drinks (if your digestion can handle it, of course!)

If anyone is looking for more interesting soft drink recipes, try a syrup of orange rinds and mint with vinegar. It was very pleasantly bitter with a nice herbal taste. (But I drink dandelion and burdock, so my tastes in pop do lean that way, haha)

Debbie B.

3:54PM PST on Mar 4, 2012

Thanks

Anna C.

3:12PM PST on Mar 3, 2012

I just tried this recipe; it was good, but tasted a little too vinegary (and I only used three tablespoons of it), but I'm afraid if I add less next time it would just be juice, sugar, and seltzer. It was much cheaper and tasted healthier than regular soda, though! Thank you for posting.

Sheri P.

9:50PM PST on Feb 29, 2012

sounds like a great way to work ACV into your diet! that stuff tastes so horrid on its own but is supposedly so good for you...

Carolyn D.

7:03PM PST on Feb 28, 2012

Sounds good and I shall give it a try. Thanks

Bojon S.

12:25PM PST on Feb 25, 2012

save water drink beer

Mike O.

1:18AM PST on Feb 25, 2012

why do all you people call it soda its not soda its P O P becus you P O P the tab