Perfect your entertaining cocktails with these recipes by Anthony, lead bartender of Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens.

Grapefruit Shrub 

 

Ingredients:

2 Large Grapefruits
¾ cup granulated white cane sugar
¾ cup white wine vinegar

Procedure:

  1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the grapefruits and reserve skin for oleo saccharum (see note)
  2. When you peel the grapefruits, try and get as little of the white pith as possible (it’s bitter, we don’t want that.)
  3. Juice the grapefruits and reserve the juice in a container
  4. Discard the grapefruit hulls
  5. Build an oleo saccharum
  6. Add the peels and sugar together in a small mixing bowl, muddle the 2 with a muddler or wooden spoon
  7. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour (I do it over night)
  8. After an hour or longer, separate the peels and the sugar. Save the peels so you can candy them (see recipe)

 TIP: If you have a food saver or some type of cryovac machine, you can speed this process up by adding the peels and sugar to a bag and vacuum sealing it!

  1. The sugar from the oleo saccharum is going to be packed with citrus oil, it’s going to add depth to the shrub that sugar alone couldn’t add
  • Add the juice, the sugar from the oleo saccharum, and the vinegar to a jar and blend to combine (I let my shrub sit for a day or two, to let the flavors meld).
  • Your shrub is ready. Enjoy on the rocks with a little soda water or make a great cocktail with it!

Candied Grapefruit Peels

Ingredients:

Reserved grapefruit peels from your grapefruit shrub
4 cups sugar, divided
Pinch of sea salt
3 cups water

Procedure:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 F
  2. Combine 3 cups of sugar, salt and 3 cups of water and cook over medium heat, stirring until dissolved
  3. Add the peels and bring to a gentle boil – frequently stirring – making sure all of the peels are in contact with the simple syrup
  4. Arrange a wire rack on a baking sheet
  5. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the grapefruit peels and arrange them on the wire rack
  6. Keep the simple syrup, use it for lemonade or cocktails
  7. Bake, rotating the tray once or twice until just dried out / around 40 minutes
  8. Put the remaining cup of sugar in a mixing bowl
  9. Toss peels in the sugar, making sure they are coated
  • Return the peels to the wire rack after they are coated with sugar
  • Place in a cool spot overnight
  • Store in an airtight container. (Do not refrigerate)

Melon-Lemon Thyme-Mint Shrub

Ingredients:

2 pounds of cantaloupe or melon / cut into chunks
¾ cup granulated white cane sugar
½ ounce of lemon thyme
½ ounce of mint leaves bruised
¾ cups white wine vinegar

Procedure:

  1. Add cantaloupe chunks and sugar to a bowl, stir. Cover and leave to macerate on the counter for a few hours
  2. In the interim, add mint and lemon thyme to the vinegar in a glass jar
  3. After the cantaloupe has macerated, drain off the liquid and set aside
  4. Discard the solids (or save them and make ice cream)
  5. Add the liquid to the mint and lemon thyme vinegar
  6. Place the mixture in the fridge for up to 3 days
  7. Taste until you’re happy with the level of mint and lemon thyme
  8. At that point, strain out the mint and lemon thyme and discard the solids

YOUR SHRUB IS READY TO DRINK. ENJOY ON THE ROCKS OR MAKE A FANTASTIC COCKTAIL!