Peach Shrub

I've been revisiting Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation book and finding all sorts of amusements and possible future fermentation fun. Had I read it a week ago I might have tried making daylily wine, but I need to acquire a few things before I try wine making, and my daylilies have peaked and are starting to dwindle.

One amusement is Katz's talk about vinegar and shrubs - a soft drink of sorts (pre-carbonated sodas) made with vinegar and fruit. I had recently tried making this shrub after my friend served it to me with bourbon and bubbly water some weeks ago. It is peach season, though I have not had any MN peaches yet, and this shrub is quite tasty with some fresh mint. I ended up increasing the amount of vinegar and decreasing the sugar a bit, and I found that I like this best with bubbly water, no alcohol. I also want to try switchel sometime, not quite a shrub, but similar: vinegar, sugar, molasses and ginger that you then add bubbly water to.

I finished my peach shrub today amidst a labor intensive day of chopping wood followed by digging up part of the yard for a retaining wall. It was at large root number 7 (or so) where I decided a peach soda beverage was in order (gatorade-hydration-energy-boost-style) so that I could complete the digging before the landscaper truck person finished his job next door and came with his front loader to load all my dirt fill. I made it just in time.

The peach shrub recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen, where it is used in her "Bourbon Peach Smash" recipe. My version (with the option of a little less sugar and more cider vinegar) is below.

Peach Shrub

1 large very ripe peach, pitted, thinly sliced
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt

Place peach slices in a jar, cover with sugar, water, 1-3 tablespoons vinegar (more may help for a longer steeping time, less if you are worried about vinegar taste), and a pinch of salt. Place lid on jar, give it a swish/shake until mixed and let chill in fridge for 3 hours, overnight, or up to 1 week.
*I had mine 2 weeks using 3 T vinegar, and that lasted just fine. I did like the shrub better at the end than the beginning, so maybe it was more mellow by then?

Serve with bubbly water and fresh mint. Add some bourbon if you want to try that.

Kale, peach, corn and feta salad

This was a blogluck contribution that I thought turned out super tasty. The combination of veggies and fruit are not something I would ever have come up with...peaches, on salad?! The flavors were amazing together though, and it is another raw kale option that tasted really nice and fresh and substantial. I think this is especially perfect now, when the peaches are just ripe and the corn is fresh off the cob.

I found the original recipe at a new blog here. Her directions are a wee bit vague though, and I made a larger amount. My measurements are below, but see hers if you want to make a salad for 2 or 4.

Serves 8
2 large bunches kale
1/4 c. sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. cilantro
salt
1 red onion
4-6 ears corn (depending on size of ear, mine were really small, so I used 6)
4 ripe peaches
1 block salty feta

1. Remove stem from kale and chop into bite size pieces.
2. Mix vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and cilantro. Add salt generously. In a large salad bowl, mix kale with dressing and stir well so that all greens are coated.
3. Sliver the red onion and add to salad.
4. After cooking the corn, remove kernals and add to bowl, along with peaches. Top with crumbled feta.

This salad seems to get more tasty the longer it marinates. I recommend making it at least an hour in advance.