Last summer my dad bought a SodaStream machine. At first I thought this is going to save some money, then I realized the concentrates all contain sucralose – the exception being the flavors used for flavoring water (since this posting I have found some that contain pure cane sugar). That changed my mind. I either want organic or cane sugar or no sweetener at all. Since it was here and just collecting dust, I decided to see what else I could do with it. It was so expensive that it seemed like a waste to just leave it sit in a box unused. I knew there had to be some homemade soda recipes that I could use the carbonation with.
It’s great for making carbonated water. I tried the flavors they sell for flavoring water but that didn’t taste so great to me. What I did find was I could make a simple syrup using a combination of fruit, herbs and sugar. Once the simple syrup was made all I had to do was fill a glass with ice, some of the simple syrup and some of the carbonated water. I could then add some fresh herbs, fruit or a combination of both to the glass and have a very fancy looking herbal soda.
How To Make A Simple Syrup
Fill a quart jar with the fruits, herbs or flowers you wish to use. Cover them with water (cold water if you are making a sun tea or hot water if you are making a quick tea). Allow the herbs to steep all day in the sun or for 10 minutes if you are using hot water.
Pour the water off the herbs. Heat it up enough to dissolve 1 cup of sugar for every 2 cups of water you have. Feel free to use honey in place of the sugar or even to use less sugar if you like, but do keep in mind you are adding a small amount of this simple syrup to a large glass of carbonated water.
Place the simple syrup in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to a week as long as it doesn’t turn cloudy. If it does, discard it.
Adding Carbonation
The colder the water is when you make your carbonated water, the more carbonation it will contain. To combine the simple syrup with the carbonated water, fill a glass with ice, fill the cup 3/4 of the way up with the carbonated water and then pour in enough of the simple syrup to finish filling up the glass.
Play around with the amounts until you find the combination of simple syrup and carbonation that suits your taste.
