Drink your rhubarb

An inaugural recipe drop for a tart-sweet shrub to savor on warm spring days

Normally when proper spring (which in NYC means late May) rolls into town, I’m singularly obsessed with eating as much asparagus as humanly possible (apologies to anyone who has to share a public restroom with me), with sugar snap peas coming in a close second. But for whatever reason, this year I became fixated on RHUBARB, and for the last couple of weeks I’ve been turning these beautiful stalks, which look a bit like large pink celery, into all manner of desserts (Rhubarb-Almond Cake forever).

Harvesting backyard rhubarb in Vermont last summer. Have you ever seen anyone more excited about anything EVER? (Photos by Matt Hunziker)

I’ve gotten a lot of inspo while poring over the pages devoted to rhubarb in the wildly talented London pastry chef Anna Higham’s incredible desserts book, The Last Bite. (The sorbet in particular is truly special.) And I want to make Nicola Lamb’s chic poached rhubarb tart so badly.

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But truth be told, 75 percent of the time I get my hands on rhubarb, I make shrub, a drinking vinegar that’s essentially sweetened vinegar often flavored with fruit juice. Mixed with club soda over ice, it’s my very favorite spring-into-summer drink, the balance of sweet and sharp flavors making it utterly thirst-quenching.

A batch of shrub from earlier this week made with 50/50 red wine and Champagne vinegar; super delicious with a soft sweetness.

Shrubs can take on all sorts of additional flavorings, so feel free to experiment. I usually leave mine plain because 1) purist and 2) lazy, but for this recipe, I’d try adding a couple of fresh mint or basil sprigs, lemon verbena, or a thumb’s worth of scrubbed, thinly sliced ginger (strain them out along with the rhubarb chunks). The leftover rhubarb pieces will be crunchy and bursting with tart-sweet flavor and you should absolutely eat them. They somehow remind me of both celery and vinegar-plumped raisins, which makes me suspect they’d be very good mixed into a chicken salad. Ditto on a snack plate or as an accoutrement to a grilled cheese.

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I would love to know what other rhubarb recipes you’re making—if we’re lucky we’ve got one or two more weeks of it left where I live, and I plan on getting my fill.

-CC

Rhubarb Shrub
Makes about 2 cups (enough for a dozen-ish drinks)

You can definitely drink the shrub as soon as the vinegar is mixed in, but I like the flavor best after it’s sat for at least a week. And remember, the pinker the stalks, the rosier your concoction.

Ingredients
2 cups rhubarb sliced ½”-thick (from about 3 medium or 6 small stalks), divided
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup water
1 cup vinegar (such as red or white wine, apple cider, Champagne, or unseasoned rice)

Preparation

1. Place half the rhubarb in a clean, heatproof container.

2. Combine the remaining rhubarb, sugar, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a lively simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. (Don’t worry about dissolving all the sugar.) Scrape mixture into container with the rhubarb and stir to combine.

3. Let the rhubarb mixture sit at room temperature for a few hours (I’ll usually just leave it out for the day), giving it the occasional stir. The mixture should turn nice and syrupy and bright pink.

4. Add the vinegar and stir to combine. Taste and add more sugar or vinegar as you please—it should taste equal parts sweet and sharp (keep in mind the flavors will meld as the shrub ages). Cover container and chill mixture for at least 24 hours and up to three days, tasting every so often until you’re happy with the flavor.

5. Strain the shrub and store in a jar in the fridge for up to six weeks (though it never lasts that long in this house).

6. For a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, combine a couple of tablespoons of shrub with club soda over ice. For a boozy version, splash an ounce or two of your favorite spirit into the glass. Or combine 2 oz. shrub, 1½ oz. of gin/vodka/tequila, and ½ oz. of fresh lemon juice in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until frosty; serve on the rocks.