Fig and Cinnamon Drinking Vinegar
A sweet/sour-spiced, gut-friendly fig and cinnamon drinking vinegar to sip, splash or spritz with sparkling water or wine.
This fig and cinnamon drinking vinegar is where deep caramel notes meet gentle spice and bright acidity. Made with ripe figs, warming cinnamon and raw apple cider vinegar, it’s a beautifully balanced sweet–tart tonic that feels both nourishing and indulgent. Diluted with chilled sparkling water, stirred through soda, or used in cocktails and mocktails, it delivers that signature shrub-style complexity with a functional twist. While vinegar isn’t probiotic like kraut or kefir, its natural acetic acid can support digestion and help moderate blood sugar, making this a delicious way to add a little daily ferment energy to your routine.
What Is a Shrub? (Not the garden version!)
A shrub is a traditional fruit-based drinking vinegar.
Historically popular in colonial America and the UK, shrubs were a way to preserve fruit before refrigeration.
Classic formula:
Fruit + Sugar + Vinegar
The sugar draws out the fruit juices (maceration), then vinegar is added to preserve and acidify. The result is a sweet-tart syrup that’s diluted with water (or soda) to drink.
Key features:
Always fruit-based
Contains added sugar
Sweet-tart flavour
Usually syrupy
Not typically fermented (it’s preserved with vinegar)
Think: raspberry shrub with sparkling water.
What Is a Drinking Vinegar?
A drinking vinegar is a broader category.
It simply means vinegar intended to be diluted and consumed as a beverage.
It may or may not:
Contain fruit
Contain sugar
Be fermented
Be syrupy
Drinking vinegars can be:
Apple cider vinegar diluted with honey and water
Herbal-infused vinegars
Honey-fermented vinegars
Vegetable-based vinegars
Traditional shrubs
So:
All shrubs are drinking vinegars.
Not all drinking vinegars are shrubs.
Need
- 1 Kilo fresh figs
- 1 Cup raw sugar
- 4 Cups apple cider vinegar unpasteurised
- 1-2 cinnamon stick(s)
Do
- 1
Clean and slice figs in half and place into a large jar or container with an airtight lid.
- 2
Sprinkle sugar over and muddle the fruit a little with the handle of a wooden spoon or similar
- 3
Split the cinnamon sticks lengthways and add to the jar. Leave the jar on the kitchen bench for up to 5 hours.
- 4
Pour vinegar over the top and allow to macerate for 72 hours, turning the jar as needed to help the sugar dissolve. Strain out the fruit and reserve liquid in a bottle with a burp-able lid.
- 5
Allow to ferment for a further 48 hours at room temperature. Check for fermentation by burping the lid once or twice a day.
- 6
To serve, pour cordial to taste into glasses and top with sparkling water or wine and ice if using. Garnish with mint or fresh figs.
- 7
This delicious adult cordial is great for kids as well. Just substitute the sparkling water or wine with a lemonade of choice.
This recipe can be seen if you sign up for the related course. Join the course to get access!
Gut Instinct Protocol: The Power of Fermented and Cultured Foods
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
