Because ripe fruit is high in sugar, fruit juices are easily carbonated by wild yeast and were among the first carbonated beverages drunk for refreshment. It is therefore not surprising that while medicinal sodas made from herb teas were commonplace at early pharmacy soda fountains, the first flavored soda fountain beverages sold purely for refreshment were combinations of fruit juice and carbonated water.
To this day, all fruit sodas are made by one of these two methods: either fruit juice is fermented with yeast until it is naturally carbonated (such as sparkling cider), or a base of fruit juice or fruit and sweetener is artificially carbonated with sparkling water (such as orange soda). Yeast fermentation produces full-flavored drinks with a creamy mouthfeel. Fruit sodas made from artificial carbonation tend to be sweeter and thinner, characteristics that increase their refreshment quotient.
When fruit sodas are made via the artificial carbonation method, in which a fruity base is diluted with sparkling water, the sodas retain some of the nutrition of the fruit but can have far fewer calories than straight fruit juice, a quality that endears them to dieters. With that said, remember that commercially produced fruit sodas are mainly fruit-flavored sugar water, not a carbonated juice base. They can have just as many calories as standard sweet sodas, and can be just as void of nutrition, which for many people is the main impetus behind making their own fruit sodas.
The recipes that follow start with either bottled fruit juice or a fresh fruit purée. When using a purée you will have to strain the fruit to rid it of excess pulp, which could otherwise cause the soda to separate as it sits. You can instead use a juice extractor to make the fruit bases for recipes calling for a purée, thereby eliminating the need to strain. However, if you do so you will have to increase the amount of fruit in the recipes, anywhere from 50 to 100 percent, depending on the fruit’s pulpiness, in order to produce enough fruit base to make the ratios in the recipes come out correctly.
Watermelon is so sweet and juicy that it is practically a beverage right off the vine. A bit of added water makes it truly quaffable. Watermelon is lower in sugar than other melons (6.2 percent, as opposed to the 7.8 percent of cantaloupe and 8.6 percent of honeydew), but it is also very low in sodium (1 percent, as opposed to the 16 percent of cantaloupe and 18 percent of honeydew), which means it can be bland when juiced. A little bit of sea salt takes care of that. A glass of watermelon juice tastes sweet but has only 60 calories.
ENOUGH FOR 4 SERVINGS
Cut the rind from the watermelon and chop the flesh into small pieces, trapping any juices that flow out. Combine the chopped watermelon flesh, collected juices, and water in a blender or food processor. Process until puréed.
Set a strainer over a large bowl and pass the puréed melon through the strainer, stirring the loose purée gently as it strains to get as much liquid through as possible without forcing any solids into the strained liquid. Discard the solids, and stir the salt into the watermelon liquid.
Note: Because watermelon juice is so naturally watery, it cannot be diluted with seltzer into a sparkling beverage. It must be carbonated in a soda siphon.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON4 SERVINGS
Pour the juice into a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve. Garnish with more sea salt, if desired.
Before refrigeration, ginger was commonly added to beer to counteract off flavors that could develop when the fermentation process went awry. The practice has waned, but the appreciation for ginger-flavored beverages has not. Ginger is a unique aromatic ingredient, one of the few that burns and cools simultaneously. With its pronounced floral character, it has an affinity for both honey and orange. Select a mild honey, such as orange blossom, for this soda. If the honey is too bold it will fight with the ginger and overpower the orange flavor. This soda may take slightly longer that usual to ferment due to the acidity of the orange juice.
ENOUGH FOR 1 GALLON BREWED GINGER ALE
Combine the water, sugar, honey, ginger, and orange juice in a large saucepan, and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves, then let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool for 30 minutes, and strain out the solids.
This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup and juice into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water, syrup, and juice in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
TO BREW1 GALLON
Combine the water and syrup in a large container. Test the temperature; the mixture should be at a warm room temperature, from 75 to 80°F. (If it is too hot, let it sit until it cools a bit. If it is too cold, warm it over low heat.) Add the yeast and stir until it is completely dissolved. Stir in the orange juice.
Pour the mixture into sanitized plastic bottles (see here) using a sanitized kitchen funnel, leaving 11⁄4 inches of air space at the top of each bottle. Seal the bottles. Store for 4 to 6 days at room temperature. When the bottles feel rock hard, the soda is fully carbonated. Refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving; drink within 3 weeks to avoid overcarbonation.
MixologyPrepare the orange honey ginger syrup as described above, then carbonate as desired.
Pour 2 ounces (1⁄4 cup) golden rum over ice in a tall glass. Add 6 ounces (3⁄4 cup) Orange Honey Ginger Ale and stir briefly. Garnish with an orange slice.
This serious soda is like biting into a fresh lemon peppered with a hint of chile and a glaze of caramel richness. The sensation is hard to define, but there is something about the midnight hue, the sultry mouthfeel of citrus oil, and the intriguing combination of clove, sage, and sweetness that sets the taste receptors on boggle. Crazy rarely tastes this delicious.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the water, lemon zest, nutmeg, cloves, sage, and chile flakes in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and browning sauce. Let cool, then strain.
This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
In 2005 The Center for Science in the Public Interest published a report, “Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming Americans’ Health,” examining the increased consumption of soft drinks, especially by children and teenagers, and the increased incidence of obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, osteoporosis, and kidney stones in the population at large. The report recommended stopping the sale and advertising of soft drinks in schools, requiring medical professionals to ask patients about their soft drink consumption, and the levying of taxes on soft drink sales to pay for a mass-media campaign to improve diet and promote exercise.
The combination of honey and lemon is embraced as a soothing cure for coughs, sore throats, and colds, as a digestive aid, and as a weight-loss method. I would like to make the case for its power to produce pure delectable pleasure. The two ingredients complement one another as they spar on the palate — the honey syrupy and floral, the lemon bright, fruity, and acidic — delivering a rambunctious, full-flavored mouthful in every swallow. Few foods fulfill that kind of promise with such simplicity.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Mix the honey and lemon juice, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Rickeys can be alcoholic or not, and made with any fruit and practically any liquor. The common ingredients they all share are lime juice, sugar, and soda water. The drink is said to have been named for English colonel Joseph Rickey, who was stationed in Washington DC in the late 1800s and reputedly concocted the libation at Shoomaker’s, a local bar. The Cuban mojito is a modernday rendition of the rickey.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Mash the raspberries in a small saucepan with a vegetable masher. Stir in the lime juice and sugar until combined. Warm over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and the raspberries have released all of their liquid. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature and then strain.
This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but is best used immediately.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
MixologyAdd 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) gin to a glass of carbonated Raspberry Lime Rickey.
Replace the raspberries in the raspberry lime syrup with mint leaves, then carbonate with seltzer. Add 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) bourbon to each glass of soda.
Pomegranate juice is loaded with antioxidants that help the body fight diseases of all sorts. Its intense flavor is matched by its overt tartness. In this soda, the pomegranate’s pucker is tempered by the floral sweetness of strawberries.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Combine the mixture with the pomegranate juice in a blender or food processor and purée. Set a strainer over a small bowl and scrape the purée into the strainer, so that the liquid drains into the bowl below.
Stir the purée gently as it strains to get as much liquid through as possible without forcing any solids into the strained liquid. Discard the solids, reserving the liquid. You should have about 2 cups.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but is best used immediately.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
There are two methods for making fresh pomegranate juice. Either one will make about 1 cup of juice from a medium-size pomegranate.
METHOD 1: Cut the pomegranate in half along its equator. Working with one half at a time, place the fruit, cut side down, on a square of double-thick cheesecloth that has been dampened with water. Wrap the corners of the cheesecloth up around the pomegranate and squeeze the juice into a container.
METHOD 2: Cut a pomegranate in quarters. Scoop the seeds and flesh into a food processor equipped with a knife blade. Process until the juice separates from the seeds and pulp. Strain out the solids, reserving the juice.
Naturally carbonated grape soda lives on the road between grape juice and wine. The main difference is that in grape soda, the carbon dioxide produced by the yeasts consuming the juice’s sugar is trapped in the bottle, and the fermentation is stopped as soon as the desired level of carbonation is achieved. This also limits the amount of fruit sugar that converts into alcohol, producing a soda that is ever so slightly alcoholic, vigorously fizzy, and subtly sugared — a sweet teetotaling version of champagne.
This recipe does not begin with a flavor base. Follow the complete brewing instructions to make two quarts of Grapagne.
TO BREW2 QUARTS
Combine the grape juice and yeast, and stir until the yeast is dissolved.
Pour the mixture into sanitized plastic bottles (see here) using a sanitized kitchen funnel, leaving 11⁄4 inches of air space at the top of each bottle. Seal the bottles. Store for 2 to 4 days at room temperature. When the bottles feel hard, the soda is fully carbonated. Refrigerate for at least 1 week before serving; drink within 3 weeks to avoid overcarbonation.
Pair the tutti-frutti grapey sweetness of ripe kiwi with the fragrant acidity of freshly squeezed lime juice and you have a natural soda that is perfectly balanced. The only challenge is leaching the juice from the pulpy fruit. That’s easily accomplished by heating the mashed kiwi with sugar. Because sugar is hydroscopic (water-attracting), it leaches the juice from the kiwi without any squeezing or puréeing.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Mash the kiwis and sugar in a small saucepan with a vegetable masher. Warm over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and the kiwis have released their liquid. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the lime juice; strain. You should have about 1⁄2 cups syrup.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
The fragrance of blueberries is subtle and fleeting — spectacular when the berries are freshly picked, but lacking when they are cooked and puréed. Blueberries need a boost of sweetness, acid, or, best of all, cinnamon: the spicy bark’s woody bite is just what a blueberry needs to bloom and become its best self.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Mash berries, wine, and sugar in a small saucepan with a vegetable masher; stir in the cinnamon. Warm over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and the blueberries have released their liquid. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, and strain. You should have about 2 cups syrup.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Sloe, the berry of the blackthorn bush, looks like a swollen blueberry and tastes somewhere between a blueberry and a plum. It is the flavoring of sloe gin, a rendition of English gin infused with sloe in place of juniper berries. Sloe gin is red from the berry’s juice, which is extracted by macerating the fruit in sugar. It is combined with seltzer to create a sloe gin fizz, a classic nineteenth-century cocktail. This nonalcoholic version uses a combination of blueberry and prune juices to approximate the flavor and color of sloe.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the blueberry juice, prune juice, and almond extract, stirring to combine.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the juice into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and juice in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Orange Crush was created in 1915 by Neil Callen Ward, a chemist in Los Angeles who solved the perishability problems of orange juice by creating an orange beverage solely from the oils in the peel. Orange juice was added briefly to the formula in 1921, but today’s beverage contains no juice.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the orange zest and sugar in small saucepan. Add the water, stir, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the citric acid and gum arabic, then remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, and strain. Stir in the food coloring.
This syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Would that which we call “soda” by any other name taste as sweet? No, it seems. The United States is divided between soda drinkers, pop drinkers, and, in the South, a good many coke (with a small c) drinkers, where a soft drink by any manufacturer is still called coke.
The name soda apparently derives from its connection to sodium, a mineral commonly found in natural spring water. Its use in association to carbonation was first recorded in 1802. The name pop, on the other hand, was first used in 1812 to describe the sound a cork made when pulled from a bottle of carbonated beverage.
The hard-to-pin-down yet familiar flavor of cola is at heart little more than citrus flavored with coriander (see Natural Cola). Once we know the basic formula, it becomes fun to fiddle with, which is exactly what we’re doing here. The citrus base is a natural for mixing with other fruit flavors, and to my palate, the one that fits seamlessly is plum or prune. Prune juice is one of the great culinary secrets, an all-purpose fruit flavor that adds richness, natural sweetness, and a generic fruitiness that few people can pinpoint. Prune and cola — quite a mysterious couple.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the prune juice and cola syrup, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Maraschino is a cherry-infused alcohol that derives much of its flavor from benzaldehyde, the potent aromatic in cherry pits. Benzaldehyde’s flavor is easily replicated with a few drops of pure almond extract. When added to a glass of ginger ale it generates instant time travel, transporting our palates back to childhood days of sipping maraschinotinted Shirley Temples at the bar, just like the sophisticates we emulated.
This recipe does not begin with a flavor base. Follow the complete mixing instructions to make one serving of Maraschino Ginger Ale.
TO MIX WITH GINGER ALE1 SERVING
Combine the ginger ale and almond extract in a tall glass, stirring just until blended. Fill with ice and serve.
MixologyPrepare the Maraschino Ginger Ale as described above.
Pour 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) whiskey over a few ice cubes in a sour glass. Top with 3 to 4 ounces (6 to 8 tablespoons) Maraschino Ginger Ale. Garnish with a cherry.
The tang of root beer is so pronounced that it easily trumps almost any other flavor it is paired with. The trick is not to try to compete, but to complement. Unobtrusive fruit juices like apple and pear are frequently paired with more assertive juices in the manufacturing of commercial fruit beverages. This easy mixed drink takes advantage of the same phenomenon. Apple juice blends effortlessly with root beer flavoring, making it mellower and smoother.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the apple juice and root beer syrup, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
In the summer of 2008, Bill Waters of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was antiquing in the Texas Panhandle. He happened upon an old apothecary ledger filled with formulas and bought it for $200, thinking that something that old might be worth more. It turns out that the ledger was from Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas, the same store that first served Dr Pepper soda. On the book’s cover was a faded title, Castles Formulas (John Castle was a partner of W. B. Morrison and its druggist as early as 1880). One of the formulas, titled “D Peppers Pepsin Bitters,” was of particular interest, because early soda bases were very similar to bitters and were sold as digestive aids. Dr Pepper was first served at the Old Corner Drug Store in 1885. Could this be the original Dr Pepper formula? Representatives from Snapple, which now owns Dr Pepper, say that the formula is nothing like the formula they use, but that is not to say that the discovered formula is not an early version.
Think about it! Cherry flavor is no more like a fresh cherry than carob is like chocolate. Although we may associate cherry flavor with cherries, it is mostly because the foods it flavors are commonly dyed red. It looks like a cherry, but it tastes like … almond extract. That’s right. The flavor of all cherry-flavored concoctions is almond. The aromatic in almond extract is benzaldehyde, a toxic substance derived from bitter almonds and detoxified of cyanide for consumption. Benzaldehyde is also found in the pits of most drupe fruits, like apricots, prunes, and, most notably, cherries.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the cola syrup and almond extract, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Amending Coca-Cola with fruit flavors was a popular trick of drugstore soda jerks in the 1950s. Cherry and lemon were the most popular additions. The Coca-Cola Company did not produce a bottled cherry-flavored Coke until 1985; lemon came along in 2001.
Merriman-Webster’s definition of elixir includes this hyperbole: “a substance held capable of prolonging life indefinitely.” I’m not sure whether this concoction qualifies, but it certainly packs enough antioxidants to come close. Antioxidants help your body neutralize free radicals, which have been implicated in the growth of cancerous cells and in cell aging.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the blueberry juice, pomegranate juice, and agave syrup, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the juice into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and juice in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Passion fruit, native to tropical and subtropical parts of South America, has a hard husk and hard seeds embedded in its pulp. The fruits are a pain to deal with, so I usually use passion fruit juice for making soda. The juice is often sold blended with a nondescript fruit juice, like apple or white grape, to stretch it. This is actually beneficial, as straight passion fruit can be over-powering. The fruit has a strong, penetrating aroma that is tutti-frutti, floral, and musky. In this soda, the intensity is tamed with sweet-tart pineapple juice and a touch of vanilla.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the passion fruit juice, pineapple juice, and vanilla extract, stirring until blended.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the juice into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and juice in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Because ripe pineapples bruise easily and don’t travel well, and because the fruit doesn’t ripen after being picked, processed pineapple products like juice and canned fruit that are made from fully ripened fruit frequently taste better than the fresh pineapples available to most consumers. That’s why I don’t waste my time juicing my own pineapples for beverages. Strawberries are another matter. Strawberry juice, because of its low acidity, is highly perishable. In this light sparkling soda, the strawberry juice is fresh and the pineapple juice is processed — the best of both worlds.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small bowl and let sit for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is very wet. Combine the mixture with the pineapple juice in a blender or food processor and purée.
Set a strainer over a small bowl and scrape the purée into the strainer, so that the liquid drains into the bowl below. Stir the purée gently as it strains to get as much liquid as possible without forcing any solids into the strained liquid. Discard the solids, reserving the liquid. You should have about 2 cups.
The purée can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 day, but is best if used immediately.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Spoon the purée into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and purée in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Cardamom is one of the few spices that is equally at home in savory and sweet preparations. Quite pungent, with hints of lemon and ginger, it is completely delicious when teamed with drupe fruits like plums, peaches, and my favorite, apricots. Like other pulpy fruits, apricots are difficult to juice, so bottled nectar is the best source.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the water, sugar, and cardamom in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain out the cardamom seeds, then stir in the apricot nectar.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
I know what you’re thinking — this is the chapter on fruit sodas, and there’s no way that cucumber is a fruit. Hold on. It’s not sweet, like an apple or a grape, but a fruit it is. What cucumbers are missing in sugar, they make up for in refreshment. Cucumbers are cool, clean, and so full of water that all you need to do is grind them up to turn them into the most thirst-quenching of soft drinks. This one is sweetened with syrup flavored with celery seed.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the water, sugar, celery seed, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and stir just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, and strain.
Combine the syrup and cucumber in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Pass through a strainer to make sure that the mixture is completely smooth.
The purée can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Spoon the purée into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and purée in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.)
Also see recipe in Fruit Soda Mixology.
Dates are the sweetest of dried fruits, saturated with so much sugar that their skin practically crystallizes from the concentration. Aged balsamic vinegar has a similar character, containing so much natural sugar that it is really more dessert sauce than acidifier. Combine the two and any additional sweetener becomes superfluous. The flavor of this soda is both familiar and exotic, combining the musky caramelized qualities of dates with the oaky, plummy aromas of balsamic.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the dates and boiling water in a small bowl. Mash the dates with the back of a fork, working the mixture into a coarse paste. Pass through a sieve to remove bits of skin and undissolved pieces of date. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
The purée can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Spoon the purée into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and purée in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
Prepare the date purée as described at left, then carbonate as desired.
Pour 2 ounces (1⁄4 cup) port wine into a wine glass and stir in 4 ounces (1⁄2 cup) Balsamic Date Soda.
Prepare the date purée as described at left, then carbonate as desired.
Pour 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) golden rum over a few ice cubes in a rocks glass. Fill glass with Balsamic Date Soda and add a dash of bitters.
Prepare the cucumber purée, then carbonate as desired.
Pour 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vodka over ice in a tall glass. Add 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) vegetable cocktail juice and 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) Cucumber Celery Tonic. Stir just to blend, and garnish with a wedge of lime.
The oil-rich zest of lemons, limes, and oranges is sweet, but grapefruit zest still contains some of the alkaloids from the pith and has a bitter aftertaste that I have emphasized in this soda by cooking it in bitter quinine water. The bitterness is offset by sugar syrup for a sophisticated bittersweet soda.
ENOUGH FOR 3 SERVINGS
Combine the sugar, tonic, and grapefruit zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature, and strain out the zest. Add the sea salt and grapefruit juice, stirring until the salt dissolves.
The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
TO MIX WITH SELTZER1 SERVING
Pour the syrup into a tall glass. Add the seltzer and stir just until blended. Add ice and serve.
TO CARBONATE WITH A SIPHON3 SERVINGS
Combine the water and syrup in a 1-quart soda siphon. Charge with CO2 according to the manufacturer’s directions. Siphon-charged sodas can be stored in the siphon in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. Disperse as desired into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve.
MixologyPrepare the grapefruit tonic syrup as described above, then carbonate as desired.
Mix 11⁄2 ounces (3 tablespoons) vodka and 4 ounces (1⁄2 cup) Bittersweet Grapefruit Soda in an old-fashioned glass. Add several ice cubes and drizzle in 1⁄2 ounce (1 tablespoon) Campari.
Put a martini glass in the freezer for at least 5 minutes. Rim the glass with sugar. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add 11⁄2 ounces (3 tablespoons) vodka and 4 ounces (1⁄2 cup) Bittersweet Grapefruit Soda. Stir to chill (do not shake), and strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a grapefruit section, if desired. Serve chilled.
When the Coca-Cola Company introduced the calorie-free grapefruit-flavored soft drink Fresca in 1963, the American public met its first adult-rated soda. Decidedly tangy, with a sharp citric acid edge, Fresca delivered a lingering bittersweet aftertaste, which was partly due to its artificial sweetener, but more importantly paid homage to the bitter alkaloids that give grapefruit its discriminating not-for-kids edge. The adult image stuck, for better or worse, and although Fresca was President Lyndon Johnson’s beverage of choice (he kept a refrigerator stocked with it in the Oval Office) and the NHL’s favored refresher in 1967 (a presage to Gatorade), its adult appeal kept it from full-blown mainstream acceptance.
For almost three decades Fresca maintained a die-hard cult following. In the years since 2000, its popularity has begun to grow — enough so that in 2005 Coca-Cola reintroduced the soft drink with an updated sleek logo and a campaign with an emphasis on discriminating sophistication.
Grapefruit continues to be a fringe soft drink flavor. Pepsi never came out with a Fresca clone, but there are several grapefruit sodas sold internationally: Kiss Grapefruit (a boutique bottled retro soda from Orca Beverage in Mukilteo, Washington) is made with sugar and grapefruit juice; Izze Sparkling Grapefruit soda boasts a full serving of juice in a 12-ounce bottle; and Jarritos Toronja is a natural grapefruit soda produced and bottled in Mexico. Coca-Cola also markets Fresca in Mexico, but there it is made with sugar rather than aspartame, the calorie-free sweetener in the current U.S. product.
