With a pregnant wife looking to drink something more interesting than water, Charlie Berkinshaw started concocting shrubs, fruit- and sugar-infused vinegar syrups. Though not as common today as canning and pickling, it’s also a centuries-old colonial preservation method. Element’s shrubs use berries, melons and citrus bases with modern mixes of chai, jalepeno and turmeric.
When sick and cold (literally or figuratively) this month, try Berkinshaw’s remedy: Mix hot ginger tea with Element’s honeydew jalapeno shrub and, if you or your caretaker is up to it, muddled fresh ginger.
Alternatively, spike the shrub with tequila.
( February 2016 )
