Shrub Blueberry Raspberry Syrup

Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub. Two berries, sharing the work.

Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub is a fruit syrup made from blueberries and raspberries, steeped in unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar and sweetened with sugar — the manufacturer's best-selling variety. Not a berry syrup for children's lemonade, not a ready-made dressing, not a drink to be consumed neat.

Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub is a fruit syrup based on apple cider vinegar from the Schusters Shrub manufactory, in which two berries work with clearly defined roles. The blueberry brings depth and color, the raspberry provides the acidic peak on top. Spoon the syrup over a green salad, and you'll first see the violet color between the leaves. On the palate, the order is reversed: first the dark base of the blueberry, then the bright pull of the raspberry. This division of labor is precisely why this variety leads the assortment.

Why the blueberry alone would remain too subtle

The blueberry has color and depth, but little acidity. The raspberry has acidity and fleeting aroma, but little color. In the glass, each fills the other's gap.

The scent first presents the raspberry, bright and berry-like, followed by the darker, almost woody note of the blueberry. In the glass, the color is almost black-violet and comes solely from the blueberry skin. On the palate, the relationship shifts. The blueberry provides a broad and velvety base, while the raspberry cuts through with its sharpness. This prevents the fruit from becoming jammy. The apple cider vinegar draws a clear line underneath.

The finish leaves a dark, berry-like tartness, rounder than with the single-variety raspberry. Those looking for a single, clearly identifiable berry note will find the blend too complex. The vinegar note does not disappear even at a 1:15 dilution, and it's not meant to. For people who fundamentally dislike acidity in drinks, this syrup is not suitable.

The dressing that the manufactory no longer changes

The manufactory has established a dressing for this shrub that works without any further seasoning. Recreate it exactly once before you start to vary it.

Whisk five tablespoons of wine vinegar with one to two tablespoons of shrub, half a teaspoon of salt, and a quarter teaspoon of pepper. Then slowly whisk in two tablespoons of safflower oil and two tablespoons of olive oil. Finally, add a thinly sliced shallot and fresh herbs, parsley or dill. This works well with field and green salads, as well as baby spinach with goat cheese.

Good to know: The acidity in the dressing comes from the wine vinegar, not the shrub. The syrup here is for the fruit, not the acidity — hence the small amount. If you add more, you won't get a fruitier dressing, but a sweeter one.

In a barbecue sauce, it works the other way around, breaking the sweetness with its acidity; one tablespoon near the end of cooking time is enough. As a lemonade, 1.5 to 2 cl per 0.2-liter glass of sparkling water is sufficient, and as an aperitif, one part shrub to ten parts sparkling wine. If you want to understand the principle neat first, start with the single-variety raspberry.

Two fruit vinegars, one blend

Hanna and Gabi Schuster have been running their manufactory in Untersteinbach in the Steigerwald as a transparent operation since 2012. Those who wish can watch the production at work.

Blueberries and raspberries go into the unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar as whole fruit. Soft berries don't need mechanical breakdown — unlike quinces, which are chopped, or citrus fruits, which are sliced. The vinegar extracts the flavor compounds for four to six weeks. This process is technically called maceration.

Afterwards, the berries are pressed, and the pulp goes to compost. The fruit vinegar is then given enough sugar until sweetness and acidity are balanced, and is hot-filled into bottles. This preserves it for about three years, entirely without preservatives. With a blend, everything depends on the ratio: too much raspberry, and the blueberry disappears beneath it; too little, and the syrup becomes dull. Most of the approximately 25 varieties rely on one main ingredient. Here, two berries must be balanced against each other.

Why this variety belongs on the kitchen shelf

This shrub is not a drink syrup that occasionally finds its way into the kitchen. It's built the other way around: a kitchen product that also happens to work as a lemonade.

This explains its position in the product range. Once someone has had it in a dressing, they buy it again because the salad tastes flatter without it. As a gift for people who enjoy cooking, it is therefore more reliable than an unusual variety. It doesn't end up in the cupboard, but next to the olive oil. However, if you know from the outset that you prefer something darker and drier, you're better off with the tartier blackcurrant variety. With just under 61g of sugar per 100ml, the pure syrup remains a sweetener. In a dressing, this is spread over four portions, but for a spoonful neat, it's worth considering.

Two berries, one tablespoon, and the green salad is no longer a side dish, but the reason for the whole meal.