I can usually smell lavender before I see it. The day I bought the lavender to develop this softly floral blueberry shrub recipe was no exception. I was walking through the Union Square Greenmarket and caught a whiff. I looked around to find the stand that had herbs and then finally located the lavender on a back table. Though the herb is pungent, it still complements the blueberries without being overwhelming. Wash lavender well before using. Choose blueberries that have no obvious mold on them; you can also used thawed frozen berries. Shrubs can be mixed with sparkling water or paired with spirits in cocktails.

　　

Ingredients

1 pint blueberries

　　1 cup sugar

　　8–10 lavender sprigs

　　1 cup apple cider vinegar

　　

Step 1

Place blueberries and sugar into a medium bowl. Crush the berries, and then stir to combine.

　　

Step 2

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Allow to macerate for up to two days.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, place lavender into a nonreactive container, cover with cider vinegar, and refrigerate for up to two days.

　　

Step 4

Position a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and pour blueberry mixture through to remove solids.

　　

Step 5

Strain vinegar mixture over the same mesh strainer, into same bowl as blueberry syrup. Allow to combine.

　　

Step 6

You may have some sugar clinging to the berry solids in the strainer. If so, set the strainer with the solids over another small bowl. Pour the syrup-and-vinegar mixture over the solids to wash the sugar into the bowl. Repeat as needed.

　　

Step 7

Pour syrup-and-vinegar mixture into a sanitized mason jar. Cap it, shake it well to incorporate any undissolved sugar, and place in the refrigerator for a week before using.

　　

Step 8

Discard the solids or save them for another use.

　　Excerpted from Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times by Michael Dietsch. Copyright © 2016. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon.