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The Shrub Almanac — Volume I

Forty Recipes from Three Centuries

Cold process, hot process, fermented, and historical. Forty tested shrub recipes organized by season, with primary source documentation going back to 1727. Everything you need to make the most interesting things in your refrigerator right now.

✦ 40 tested recipes

✦ PDF · instant download

✦ Three centuries of sourcing

✦ Printable recipe cards

The Shrub Almanac

Fruit · Vinegar
Sweetener

Volume I

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The Shrub Almanac

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40 Recipes

Cold, hot, fermented, and historical — one for every week of the year.

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Primary Sources

Recipes documented back to Eliza Smith, 1727. Properly cited.

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Printable Cards

Every recipe available as a kitchen-ready 4×6 card format.

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Inside the Ebook

What You Get

Forty recipes organized by season and base ingredient, with full method notes, historical context, and serving suggestions for each. A complete introduction to the cold and hot process methods is included for anyone starting from scratch.

Spring — Floral & Fresh

10 recipes · cold process emphasis

Elderflower & White Balsamic
Strawberry & Black Pepper
Rhubarb & Champagne Vinegar
Lemon Verbena & Honey
Rose Petal Cordial (from Eliza Smith, 1727)
+ 5 additional recipes

Summer — Berry & Stone Fruit

10 recipes · cold and hot process

Raspberry & Red Wine Vinegar
Blackberry, Lemon & Thyme
Peach & Bourbon Barrel Vinegar
Blueberry & Lavender
Cherry & Balsamic (Randolph, 1824)
+ 5 additional recipes

Autumn — Spice & Root

10 recipes · hot process emphasis

Mother Root — Ginger & Raw Honey
Spiced Apple & Brown Sugar
Quince & Red Wine Vinegar
Cranberry & Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger Cordial (Simmons, 1796)
+ 5 additional recipes

Winter — Dark & Warming

10 recipes · hot process & fermented

Blood Orange & Sherry Vinegar
Pomegranate & Red Wine Vinegar
Pear & Cinnamon
Winter Citrus & Clove
Mulled Shrub (adapted, 18th c. English)
+ 5 additional recipes

Preview

A Look Inside

Every recipe follows a consistent format: at-a-glance stats, full ingredient list, numbered method, process notes, and serving suggestions.

Recipe Page

Mother Root — Ginger & Raw Honey

Historical Context

From the Archives — Eliza Smith, 1727

Printable Recipe Card

4×6 Kitchen Card Format

The Research

Sourced from the Record

Every historical recipe in the ebook is documented against a primary source. These are not paraphrased summaries — they are properly cited adaptations from cookbooks that are now in the public domain.

1727

The Complete Housewife

Eliza Smith — London

The earliest English-language cookbook with documented shrub and cordial preparations. Five adapted recipes in the ebook draw directly from Smith's work.

1796

American Cookery

Amelia Simmons — Hartford, CT

The first American cookbook. Simmons's vinegar-based tonic preparations form the backbone of the Colonial American recipes in this volume.

1824

The Virginia Housewife

Mary Randolph — Washington, D.C.

Arguably the most complete American culinary record of the early 19th century. Randolph's Southern preserves and cordials are well-represented in the summer and autumn chapters.

Questions

Frequently Asked

PDF, delivered instantly after purchase via Gumroad. The file is formatted for both screen reading and printing. Printable 4×6 recipe cards are included as a separate PDF in the download package.

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No. A mason jar, a fine-mesh strainer, and a clean bottle are all you need for cold-process shrubs. Hot-process recipes require a small saucepan. The ebook includes a brief equipment guide for anyone starting from scratch, but the barrier to entry is genuinely low.

Yes. The ebook opens with a complete beginner's section covering what a shrub is, how the cold and hot process methods differ, vinegar selection, sweetener selection, and bottling and storage. The first recipe is the Mother Root — the simplest possible starting point. Most people make their first batch within an hour of reading the introduction.

Yes. Volume I covers forty seasonal recipes with historical documentation. Volume II is planned for 2026 and will focus on fermented shrubs, vinegar production, and regional American traditions. Subscribers to the newsletter get early access and a discount on future volumes.

Ready to Start

Forty recipes. Three centuries.
One very good afternoon.

The full collection — cold process, hot process, seasonal, and historical. Instant download. 30-day guarantee.