Spiced cranberry sangria combines local shrub, wine

Editor’s Note: Linda Weaver of Mt. Nittany Vineyard and Winery offers this delicious recipe for a pleasant cocktail full of holiday flavor that features Mt. Nittany wine and cranberry shrub from Tait Farm Foods.

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Tags: recipes | recipe | wine | Mt.NittanyVineyard&Winery | TaitFarm | shrub | holidays |

Shrubs are an “old-fashioned drink for modern times”

Though summer seems like a long way off (and it is, as my newly frozen hair indicates), it’s never a bad thing to plan ahead a few months. For those seeking out a refreshing drink to try at their summer dinner parties—or really anyone just looking to add another item to their drink mix—I introduce you to shrubs. And for most (read: all) of my information on shrubs, I turn to author Michael Dietsch, whose book, Shrubs, was published on October 6 by The Countryman Press.

A shrub, Dietsch tells me (and states in his book), is an acidulated beverage, or a drink made with some type of acid—historically vinegar, lemon juice, or other citruses.  This acid is mixed with sugar, water, and sometimes alcohol; then, to give the drink a unique flavor, a fruit or a type of fruit juice is steeped in the mixture. Though the acidic components might seem unpalatable in what would be an otherwise sweet beverage, they were orginially a practical component. “Vinegar used to preserve fruit after the harvest,” Diestch says.  “This was in a time before refrigeration.”

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Tags: shrub | MichaelDietsch |

Local Food Notes for Sept. 12

For this week’s Local Food Notes….honeycrisp apples are back, your chance to meet a sheep at the Millheim Farmers Market, Tait Farms Foods introduces a fall flavored shrub, and how to store that winter squash purchase you made at farmers market.

- Honeycrisp apples are back: Honeycrisp apples are a much-loved variety, due to their crisp texture, sweet flavor, and juicy mouth-feel. They are back now, and can be found at various Central Pennsylvania orchards, such as Harner Farm and Way Fruit Farm. Get them before the rest of the Honeyheads end up eating them all.

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Tags: LocalFoodNotes | fall | apples | shrub | wintersquash |