Oriental Shrub Syrup

Shrub Oriental Syrup for Oriental Cuisine

Shrub Oriental Syrup by Schusters Shrub is a vinegar-based spice syrup made with cinnamon, coriander, cumin, cardamom, and other spices. It seasons oven-roasted vegetables and couscous, and mixed with sparkling water, it makes a lemonade with an oriental note.

Shrub Oriental Syrup is a vinegar-based spice syrup from the Schusters Shrub manufactory in the Steigerwald region. A blend of cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, coriander, star anise, cloves, chili, and cardamom sets the tone, while apple cider vinegar provides the natural acidity. A versatile syrup with a touch of the distant Orient.

Warm spices, fine acidity, mysterious

On the nose, it is a whole spice bazaar, with cinnamon and star anise at the forefront, joined by the earthy scent of cumin and coriander. The aroma itself has something festive about it, as if one were standing in the middle of an oriental market.

On the palate, the spice unfolds slowly—fragrant, flavorful, and festive, carried by the lively acidity of the apple cider vinegar. The many spices combine into a rounded whole without any single one overpowering the others; the chili adds only a fine, warm hint. The aroma comes 100 percent from real spices, completely without artificial additives.

The finish leaves behind a warm, spicy note. There are about 61 g of sugar and only 0.004 g of salt per 100 g, with the spices clearly taking center stage. Such a shrub is efficient; even a small splash is enough for a large glass.

We use it for oven-roasted vegetables and couscous

Its grand entrance is in oriental cuisine. A spoonful added to oven-roasted vegetables or a bit in bulgur or couscous salad gives the dish a mysterious, spicy depth.

It rounds off sauces and dips where the spices provide warmth. Even a simple baked apple gets a festive note with it. Spicy, aromatic, and festive, it transforms simple ingredients into something special.

One tablespoon in 1 liter of ice-cold sparkling water and you have a lemonade with a touch of the distant Orient. The 250 ml bottle lasts for many glasses and many pans, because just a small splash brings a lot of flavor.

In winter, it warms you from the inside; a splash in hot apple juice or tea and your kitchen will smell of cinnamon and star anise. A tagine or a lentil stew also gains a mysterious depth from it. This is how the Orient travels into your home kitchen, without the need for extensive seasoning.

Hanna macerates the spices in apple cider vinegar

In her small manufactory in the Steigerwald, Hanna Schuster macerates the spices in apple cider vinegar for months until their aromas are naturally infused into the vinegar.

Afterward, the spices are removed, the spicy vinegar is sweetened with sugar, and it is bottled hot. This is how fruit has been preserved for over 200 years, and without preservatives, the 250 ml bottle lasts for about three years. "In a shrub, the ingredient should set the tone," emphasizes Hanna, and that is exactly what you can taste.

Once opened, the syrup does not need to be refrigerated; it just needs to be stored in a dark place. For adventurous home cooks, it is a small adventure in a glass. You can find more from the manufactory among the Schusters Shrub syrups. After so much spice, the range there also leads back to pure fruit, with raspberry and redcurrant.