Fresh seasonal rhubarb stems, juiced and combined with British sugar

Seasonal, freshly cut rhubarb stems are juiced and combined with British sugar and vinegar to make the most British of the three shrubs — tart, clean, garden-bright and faintly nostalgic, but without the part where someone insists on putting custard on everything.

Rhubarb is a marvellous thing. It looks like a vegetable, behaves like a fruit, and has the general disposition of a botanical civil servant who has seen too much. In a shrub, it becomes sharp, lively and wonderfully refreshing.

Taste

Fresh rhubarb tartness, light sweetness, clean acidity and a long, crisp finish.

Best with

• Sparkling water
• Ginger ale
• Tonic
• Soda with lime
• Elderflower tonic for a softer floral serve

Garnish ideas

Rhubarb ribbon, Lime wedge, Mint, Lemon peel, Fresh ginger

Cooking with shrubs

Shrubs are not just for drinks. They are fruit, sugar and vinegar in a bottle, which means they are very useful wherever a dish needs acidity, sweetness and aromatic fruit.

Use them as you would use a sweet vinegar, fruit gastrique, cordial reduction or finishing syrup.

Ideas

Rhubarb pan sauce for pork
After cooking pork chops, deglaze the pan with a splash of Garden Rhubarb Shrub and a little stock. Reduce briefly. Finish with a knob of butter.

Mackerel dressing
Whisk shrub with olive oil, lemon zest and black pepper. Spoon over grilled mackerel or smoked mackerel pâté.

Rhubarb yogurt ripple
Stir a little shrub through thick Greek yogurt with toasted oats and almonds.

Roast fruit sharpener
Add a splash to roasted plums, apples or pears. It gives fruit a tart rhubarb lift without requiring you to find rhubarb, which is often hiding in the calendar.