Soda is by no means a modern invention, and before it was so widely available to buy, many people made it home. We’ve covered how to do that for our readers already. Now, we’re going to go a little deeper.
In this blog post, we’ll learn how to make soda pop that you can enjoy on its own or as a mixer for your favorite drink in the comfort of your home.
How to Turn Sparkling Water Into Homemade Soda Pop
Things You’ll Need
- Carbonated water
- Fresh fruits
- Raw honey
You have multiple choices for carbonated water, but regular club soda from the store is a good option. However, if you’d like to make your own bubbly concoction, all that’s needed is a seltzer bottle. You can craft homemade sparkling goodness in no time at all and with minimal effort!
Directions
- Combine your honey with water and put it in a pan over medium-high heat, letting it cook until the honey dissolves. Then simply set it aside to cool.
- Now it’s time to prepare your fresh fruit soda pop by chopping it up in your blender or juicing it. Use whatever you want, but if you’re unsure where to start, we recommend apples, blueberries, grapes, limes, lemons, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon.
- Once the fruit has been broken down, you may want to strain it if you don’t like leaving the pulp in. It’s entirely up to you, but the texture of your soda pop will depend on which route you take.
- After that, add your fruit and honey syrups to your seltzer water, seal it tightly, and put it in the refrigerator to cool.
- Pour it over ice and add gin, vodka, or other spirits you prefer. Drink it right away!
The Invention of Soda Water
Joseph Priestly, from England, made the first drinkable and manufactured carbonated water back in 1767. Three years later, a Swede named Torbern Bergman designed a machine that used sulfuric acid to make sparkling water from chalk. The first-ever American patent for soda water was issued in 1810 to Simons and Rundell.
Strangely enough, given their enormous popularity nowadays, these first fizzy drinks weren’t a hit with the public. It wasn’t until John Mathews came up with his version of a rig to create carbonated water en masse in the USA in 1832 and started selling it to soda fountain owners that America’s great love affair with pop began in earnest.
The Benefits of Drinking Homemade Soda
As with most things, making soda at home gives you a much healthier beverage than the one you purchase at the corner store.
For starters, you won’t be adding nearly as much sugar as the big brands do, and there will be far fewer calories to worry about in your home brew. Then there’s the fact that you aren’t loading up on unpronounceable chemicals that do who-knows-what to your system. You’re controlling what’s going into your body, and keeping your beverages as fresh as your food menu will do your overall health a lot of good.
If you’re sensitive to caffeine, then your homemade soda will have that much more to offer. It’s a drink you can have no matter what time of the day you’re craving it. And you can add whatever alcoholic beverage you like to it too.
Soda pop statistics are frightening, with revenue in this segment expected to exceed $300 billion in 2023. The market is predicted to enjoy a compound annual growth rate of almost 3% over the next five years, and the USA is the country that generates the most profit from this market, responsible for 25% of global revenue.
Think of how much money you’ll be able to save if you simply start making your own soda pop at home!
No one’s saying you have to give it up completely. You can still ensure the refreshment a good cool drink offers, but you’ll drastically reduce its negative impact on you.
The Immense Array of Fizzy Beverages
There may be just seven basic types of soda:
- Citrus Soda
- Cola
- Creamy Cola
- Ginger Ale
- Ginger Beer
- Soda Water
- Tonic Water
But, there are almost 400 different soda brands available to Americans. It’s not all good news, however.
Most store-bought soda has zero nutritional value, and its high acid levels can wreak havoc on your stomach lining and teeth. Additionally, the average soda has over nine teaspoons of sugar, which is terrible for your waistline. Soda pop is also notoriously high in caffeine, a diuretic that can cause dehydration.
Worse, soft drinks sweetened with sugar are increasingly linked to ailments like dental cavities, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for ways to make your own soda without an expensive machine, give this guide a try. With just a few household ingredients, you can create carbonated beverages that taste even better than store-bought brands. Let us know in the comments below if you have other tips or tricks for making delicious homemade soda.
