5 from 2 reviews

Huckleberry Fig Shrub

By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Oct 6, 2014 (updated Aug 3, 2024) / 36 Comments Jump to Recipe

A simple shrub recipe made from huckleberries, figs, sugar, and two types of vinegar. Mixed with ice, fizzy water, and lime, this drinking vinegar tastes like soda for grown-ups.

The best thing about meeting other food bloggers is learning that you are not the only person obsessed with obscure produce. Though many people I know dislike their sweet, seedy flesh and sharp taste, fresh figs are a favorite fruit of mine. I can never resist buying up every variety I can find, then leaving them on the counter where I gaze upon them lovingly every time I walk by. (Unfortunately, the fruit flies that descend on us every summer like them this way too...)

The stars aligned last week when, at a tomato-themed dinner hosted by Princess Tofu via Feastly, Phi mentioned planning her next dinner around figs. And she wanted me to make desserts. (Plural.) Coincidentally, my dear friend and photojournalist Shelley knew of an under-appreciated stand of fig trees in Santa Rosa that were ripe for the picking. Shelley's friend Angela's late mother loved figs and planted a dozen trees on their property, but no one else in the family likes them, so they go to waste year after year. We loaded up the car with sunscreen, hats, and baskets, and headed north.

We picked a lot of figs.

Craving refreshment after a day in the sun, I muddled the ripest figs into a shrub along with some huckleberries that Jay had picked up from our co-op. I added sugar, and red wine and apple cider vinegars, and strained the mixture to make a thick, crimson syrup. The huckleberries add earthy notes which tamp down the sweetness of the figs, and the vinegars work to provide balance and acidity.

Mixed with fizzy water, lime juice, and plenty of ice, this shrub has been a lifesaver during our California Indian Summer.

More Shrub Recipes:

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this huckleberry fig shrub recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*

5 from 2 reviews

Huckleberry Fig Shrub {Drinking Vinegar}

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A simple shrub recipe made from huckleberries, figs, sugar, and two types of vinegar. Mixed with ice, fizzy water, and lime, this drinking vinegar tastes like soda for grown-ups.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 15

Resting time: 1

Total: 15

Servings: 8 to 12 drinks (makes 1 generous cup)

Ingredients

1 cup chopped fresh figs
1/2 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries
3/4 cup organic blonde cane sugar
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (preferably unpasteurized)
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
ice, fizzy water, and lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

In a large glass jar or bowl, combine the figs, huckleberries, and sugar. Mash lightly, cover tightly, and let sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. After 24 hours, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid syrup. (The solids are good stirred into plain yogurt, or tossed with more fresh fruit and baked into a crisp.) Stir the vinegar into the syrup, pour the syrup into a jar, and store in the refrigerator. The shrub will keep for up to at least a month, and probably longer. To serve, mix a tablespoon or two of syrup into a glass of ice and fizzy water, squeeze in a lime wedge, stir, and serve.

Notes

If you can't find huckleberries, blackberries or wild blueberries make good substitutes.

I like the clean taste of sugar here, but feel free to try this with 1/2 cup honey or 2/3 cup grade A maple syrup in its place.

Nutritional values are based on one of eight drinks.

Nutrition

Calories: 87kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 20IUVitamin C: 0.6mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 0.1mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)