This sweet, fruity, tangy, floral Lavender Peach Shrub Syrup is simple to make and is a great way to use up bruised, overripe peaches.
Mix with ice cold water for a refreshing, non-alcoholic summer drink, or with some vodka or tequila for a delicious cocktail, or with some champagne for a wonderful mimosa!
And just like that, summer is about to tap out. I’d like to say it was good while it lasted, but I won’t. This summer was extra hot and humid. But the prospect of summer fruits soon going on sale is something I’m very much looking forward to. 🙂
Shrub syrups to preserve summer fruits for longer
I love to come up with drinks and fun cocktails with summer fruits whenever I get a chance (like this rhubarb margarita, lychee mocktail, kiwi margarita, frozen mango margarita etc.!), but to make sure those fruit last much longer, I like to preserve the flavors of summer with beautiful shrub syrups.
Shrubs (AKA drinking vinegar) have been my new obsession this summer. Recently, I shared this simple vanilla strawberry shrub syrup recipe that’s a great way to use up overripe strawberries and even used, empty vanilla pods.
Today, I’m sharing the recipe for my Lavender Peach Shrub Syrup! It’s a beautiful medley of sweet, fruity, tangy, floral flavors, and it’s one of my favorite drink recipes to beat the summer heat!
What I really love about this recipe is that it has great staying power! I made an extra batch of this lavender peach shrub and it lasted for over a month in the fridge!
It would’ve finished sooner, had my fridge not been stocked with half a dozen different shrub syrups (so expect a few more of those recipes in the future).
Recipe tips for this peach shrub syrup
When you go to the grocery store, don’t avoid those peaches that are overripe. Give those mushy, bruised fruits a chance. Those extra sweet, overripe fruits work best for a shrub recipe. Another peachy option would be this easy peach galette and this sweet and spicy peach relish with slightly overripe peaches.
Alternatively, if you have peaches in your pantry that have passed their firm, ripe stage – those are perfect for this lavender peach shrub syrup too!
And instead of peaches, you can use your favorite stone fruit too. Mr K would have voted for nectarines, and I wouldn’t have minded plums in place of those peaches. But you can just as easily make this shrub with apricots, white peaches, yellow nectarines, pluots or even cherries.
This lavender peach shrub syrup is truly exceptional. It’s great for the whole family too. Just mix it with ice cold water, or soda water for a healthier soda drink for your kids. Or for the adults, you can mix it with some vodka or tequila for a delicious cocktail (which is of course what I do), or better yet, mix it with some champagne for a wonderful mimosa!
It takes a little bit of time for this peach shrub syrup because it’s a cold shrub instead of a hot one, so it preserves those fresh fruit flavors much better (read my vanilla strawberry shrub post for more info on drinking vinegar and the cold vs hot method), but once mixed with apple cider vinegar (use unfiltered cider for a healthier option), it just gets better with age.
Just make sure to store the shrub syrup in sterilized jars/bottles.
Shrub syrups are a great way to reduce food waste at home too
Food waste is a really important topic for me. Every year, about one third of food produced worldwide (that’s 1.3 billion tonnes of food worth about US$ 1 trillion) gets lost or wasted! Those numbers are incomprehensible when you consider how much of the world suffers from acute malnutrition and hunger.
We have all been guilty food wastage at some point, and I have been making a conscious effort to eliminate it from our lives. This includes planning meals ahead and finding ways to preserve the food we do have. Plus, we are using more seasonal produce too.
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Lavender Peach Shrub Syrup
Ingredients:
- 680 g overripe pitted peaches cut into chunks, 1.5 lbs
- 250 g granulated white sugar preferably cane sugar, 1¼ cups
- 3 tbsp dried culinary lavender
- 300 ml good quality apple cider vinegar 1¼ cups
Instructions:
- Chop the peaches into rough cubes and place them in a large glass dish (with a lid). Sprinkle the sugar and lavender on top and mix well with the peaches.680 g overripe pitted peaches, 250 g granulated white sugar, 3 tbsp dried culinary lavender
- Seal with the lid and refrigerate for about 2 days – to let the fruit juices be extracted by the sugar and for the fruits to soften.
- Next, strain the fruit syrup from the fruit chunks. To strain, transfer the fruit pieces on to a clean cheesecake cloth, and gently squeeze to release any extra juice stored in the fruits (do not squeeze out pulp).
- Place this peach syrup in a jar or bottle. Also scrape any leftover sugar in the large dish into the peach syrup as well.
- Add the apple cider vinegar to the peach syrup. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.300 ml good quality apple cider vinegar
- Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean, dry bottle. The taste should be sweet and sharp.
- You could use it immediately, but the vinegar taste will be more pronounced at the beginning. Leave the shrub for a few days (about 4 – 7 days) to let the vinegar flavor slowly mellow out – it will continue to mellow out the longer you keep it, until it reaches a nice balance between sweet and sour (usually about 7 days). Give the bottle a shake everyday, to ensure the shrub is mixing well with the vinegar.
- Mix the syrup with ice cold water or soda water or alcohol in a 1:2 ratio for a refreshing drink (100 mL + 200 mL soda). Adjust to your preference. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
John Egbuniwe says
This was extraordinarily wonderful. My daughters and I made 2 bottles today and a slight sip lit their faces up. They cannot wait for Thursday to come. I told them that the drink will mature on the 5th day. I hope that they will wait. Thank you all at The flavor bender.
Davinder says
You are just amazing
Erin says
Do you think it needs to be refrigerated long term or could it stay out in a bottle in a cupboard or cellar? I know it may ferment a little but have you ever made so much and not drank it all immediately?
Dini says
Hi Erin!
I haven’t kept shrubs any longer than a month, and I always store them in fridge too.
It would definitely ferment, the longer I keep it – which isn’t a bad thing but I can’t be certain how long it can last without going bad.
cakespy says
It’s SUPER hot and humid right now so this shrub syrup looks like the perfect gateway to a necessary summer cool-off!
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
Dini, I just love drinking vinegar. I had it for the first time at Pok Pok in Portland, and it is sooo refreshing! Love the flavors here of peach and lavender, you totally captured summer!