On this page you
will find tested soda recipes that you can use in Club Soda, or with a carbonation
device such as the one I describe on my carbonation page. (Link at bottom of
page). These recipes are not fermented so they contain no alcohol or yeast,
and they are convenient to make.
Some people purchase syrup concentrates and mix this into their carbonated water
in order to make their own soda. While this saves time, it does not offer much
flexibility and you are often going to end up with a soda full of preservatives
such as benzoates and sorbates. In addition, many of the flavouring ingredients
and colourants are synthesized and do not exist in nature. As the human body
cannot recognize these synthetics, they have the potential to be unhealthy.
One can find many examples of synthetic ingredients once deemed safe:
Making Your Own Sodas without Artificial Ingredients
The best approach
to making soda concentrates is to make a sugary syrup concentrate. This highly
concentrated form allows you to make plenty of soda without having to make up
a new batch every time you need to make a litre or two. The sugar in the syrup
also helps to preserve it and if you keep it refrigerated, it can last for at
least a month without the risk of fermentation or molding. Further, you can
freeze these syrups. The frozen syrup never gets hard so it can be scooped out
from a container much like ice cream. This extends the life of the syrup to
many months. On to the recipes...
Root Beer (
Makes 1 litre of concentrate for 10 litres of Root Beer)
Most Root Beers available today use Oil of Wintergreen or the synthetic equivalent
Methyl Salicylate instead of sassafras due to safety concerns. This oil in combination
with anise oil (strong liquorice flavour) creates a nice root beer flavour.
5 drops Oil Of
Wintergreen
2 drops Oil of Anise
10 Tablespoons Molasses (adds flavour and "head" to the root beer)
20 drops Natural Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon (4.5 grams) Citric Acid (can substitute lemon juice-3 Tablespoons)
4 cups (900 grams) Table Sugar
2 cups (460 ml) Spring Water or Filtered Tap Water (preferably with chlorine
removed)
Mix the sugar and water in a pot and heat to about 160-170 F (72 - 77 C). Stir
until sugar is completely dissolved. This temperature will ensure that any yeast
or mold spores that are dormant and sitting in the sugar or Molasses will be
killed. Let Cool to about 150 F, and add remaining ingredients, stir well. Once
cooled to 125 F, you can pour into 1 litre PET soda bottle, or other container
such as a glass jar. Ensure container has been thoroughly washed out, then refrigerate.
With proper preparation and refrigeration, the syrup should keep for about a
month, or if frozen, many more months. A syrup that goes "off" can
be detected through change in taste, aroma, or appearance of bubbles (fermentation).
Preferably, Oil of Wintergreen should be purchased as an organic essential oil to ensure that it is derived from the Wintergreen shrub (Gaultheria procumbens), an evergreen common to eastern North America. The main ingredient of wintergreen essential oil is a salicylate and has similar pain killing effects on the body as aspirin, also a salicylate. The 1/2 drop added to 1 litre (final beverage after dilution) is equal to about 25 milligrams compare this to the 600 -1000 mg of ASA in one aspirin tablet. You would need to consume about 24 litres to equal one small aspirin.
Syrup Usage
For a 1 litre bottle, add about 100ml or 10 parts water to 1 part concentrate.
This proportion allows the syrup to go a long ways. I typically make 2 liters
of syrup per batch which allows me to make 20 liters of soda.
Using the same proportions of sugar and water, you can also make many more flavors
by adding powdered drink mixes, although many of these may contain artifical
ingredients.
Non-Sugar Sweeteners
For those who wish not to consume sugar, artificial sweeteners may be substituted.
Keep in mind that aspartame should not be heated. Stevia, a natural sweetener
found in a herb (Stevia rebaudiana) is worth considering and is commonly used
in Japan, although it does have a somewhat bitter aftertaste. I must admit however,
that I do not have much experience with artifical sweeteners. The ability of
sugar to preserve the concentrate will be unavailable with this approach so
it may be best to add sweetener just before carbonating.
If you need to
Carbonate your beverage inexpensively?, consider the soda
maker article found here. It also has recipes for cream soda, and a great
tasting all natural Clementine Soda adapted
from a turn of the century recipe (great around Christmas!)
Questions? You can email me at:
sodamaker(please remove)@inventionsthatwork.com When your mail program opens, remove "(please remove)" -brackets and contents!. This is done to reduce spam. Sorry for the inconvenience.
PFriedrichsen