I’ve posted before about shrubs, an old style of drink that I’ve discovered in the past couple of years (and which, apparently, is coming back into fashion). Steep some sort of fruit or herb in vinegar, mix the resulting liquid with sugar and you have a cordial that can enhance water or many other drinks. Previously I’ve made shrubs with rhubarb and with lovage and my mum bought some strawberry and raspberry ones at a craft fair recently.

My latest experiment was beetroot, which yields an amazing magenta coloured result. So pleased was I that I’ve set another batch going. I will experiment further in future but I can’t think of anything that is likely to beat it for vivid colour. Rhubarb is a gorgeous red but beetroot wins the eye-catching crown.