Celery Free Classic Apple Shrub
Tart, sweet, and laced with warm spice, this apple shrub is the kind of old-fashioned drinking vinegar that makes plain sparkling water feel like a proper craft cocktail. The process is beautifully low-effort — mostly just patience while the fridge does the work over two days, letting the sugar draw out the apple juices and the vinegar meld with cinnamon, cloves, and ginger into something genuinely complex. Once strained, you're left with a gorgeous amber syrup that keeps for up to three months, meaning you can batch it once and sip on it all season. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of celery and celery derivatives, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress involved — just clean, simple pantry staples. Splash it over ice with sparkling water for a refreshing non-alcoholic sipper, or use it as a mixer to elevate your favorite spirits. It's the kind of homemade condiment that feels a little fancy but asks almost nothing of you.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 2 medium apples (about 12 oz), cored and finely diced
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
For serving
- sparkling water, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the diced apples and granulated sugar in a medium bowl and stir well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, until the sugar has fully dissolved into the apple juices and a syrupy liquid has pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
- 2
Add the apple cider vinegar, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, and ground ginger to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for another 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
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