Seriously Simple: A shrub you can drink
4 ripe peaches (about 1 pound), peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1. Put the peach chunks in a bowl and, with a potato masher or your fingers, mash into a chunky paste. You should have 1 1/2 cups mashed peaches.
2. Mix the sugar into the peaches. Don't be afraid to be rough with it; the solids are later discarded, so you want to extract as much juice and pulp as possible.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. Press the peach mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much juice and pulp as possible. Discard any pulp trapped by the sieve.
5. Whisk in the vinegar, then transfer to a Mason jar or a bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for five days, shaking periodically to dissolve the sugar. The shrub will keep, refrigerated, for up to three months.
(Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including "Seriously Simple Parties," and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.)
