So, it's a ghastly hot day, you've been out in the broiling sun forever, and there would be nothing so much like heaven on earth as a tall, cold, carbonated, iced something. Instead of popping the top on a chilled high-sugar ( or worse - artificially sweetened) canned soda, you can easily mix up a brew of your own, following this simple formula. I mean, doesn't that iced glass of blueberry soda to the right make you want to say, "I'll have what she's having?"
There's just a little bit of prep, and a couple of things to have on hand...
- fruited simple syrup (recipe follows)
- club soda or seltzer water
- ice in a tall glass
To make a fruited simple syrup, combine 3/4 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the syrup boil for one minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Combine in a blender with 1-2 pounds of fresh or frozen fruit and blend well. If you're using a heavily seeded fruit like kiwi or strawberries, next, you'll want to strain the syrup through a sieve. Decant the mix into a glass jar and stash in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it will keep...it's never around long enough to go bad!
To mix up a fresh fruit soda that's SO much better for you than that canned stuff, fill your favorite 16 oz. glass with ice, add 1-3 tablespoons of syrup (depending on the fruit...), then fill the glass with seltzer. Wah-lah! Compared to a can of soda, which may contain the equivalent of, like, 1/2 cup to 2 cups of sugar, you're only getting, say, one to one and a half tablespoons (depending) per serving. And why settle for "natural fruit flavoring" when you can have the real thing? Really? Especially when it's way yummier!
Some fruity suggestions:
- peaches with lemon juice
- ginger/lemon - combine simple syrup with the juice of 4 lemons and 1 teaspoon powdered ginger; use only about a tablespoon of syrup - it's potent! use with club soda.
- strawberries with lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- strawberry/kiwi
- mango/lime
- pineapple with banana
The possibilities are mind-boggling!
Thanks for playing in Spike's kitchen! Come again soon!