This is a shrub.
I'm sure I'm out of the loop on such things, having never heard of such, but these seem to be popular now and the idea appealed to me immediately; me being the one who drinks apple cider vinegar in hot water in winter and cold in summer (approximately 1 tablespoon per 12 oz of water, if you're wondering).
A shrub is a old, fallen out of use technique for preserving berries. The final liquid is used to add to other drinks, such as mixed drinks or juices, or, in my case, plain water. (My plan is for sparkling water, but once you open that bottle, you know, there's no going back...)
The process isn't hard.
I used about 1 cup of mixed blueberries and raspberries (mine happened to be frozen, but fresh would be best), mixed with a very shy cup of plain table sugar. Let this sit until it macerates; I let it sit out a while, then put it in the fridge overnight, then mashed it up. Add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, unfiltered. (I like the little organic bottles from the popular neighborhood small grocery chain with the initials "TJ," though if I keep making this, I'll have to buy in larger quantities.) The ratio is 1:1:1, but you can play with that to taste.
Let this fruit/sugar/AC Vinegar concoction rest in your fridge awhile (awhile being a few days). Cover with plastic wrap when your husband complains about the smell. Stir and mash up gently, often. I couldn't resist trying some the next day: a couple tablespoons in a glass of ice water, mmm!
After finally being sick of the big measuring pitcher in the fridge (about 2 days), I strained it through a regular kitchen strainer, pushing with a spoon, into a glass jar. The remains went into the compost.
This couldn't be much prettier. I like it in water, it's great in orange juice, too. (I'd bet it would be good in lots of other things, including alcoholic, but sickness recovery is putting a damper on my adventuresome-ness with regard to drinks.)
It's tart and spicy and sweet all at once, a lovely end-of-summer (oh, no!) drink.
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