eno2001's Journal: TOPIC: Pop 1 (Soda for you uns)

POP! I said in a comment a few weeks back that I would post some recipes for soft drinks based on the Stevia supplement (that is sweeter than sugar). Keep in mind, if you are into Coke or Pepsi, NONE of these will truly satisfy your caffeine urge although my wife swears that the Cherry variation and it's associated carbonated fizzle pep her up a bit. A few things to note as well. For some of the juices I use the Knudsen brand "pure" series that has no refined sugar or corn syrup. I also use another brand called Lakewood for some of the other juices. I will note which ones in the recipes. I also bought a "fizz saver" stopper from the local grocery shop to keep my seltzer fizzy for a little longer than just putting the cap back on the bottle. Seltzer is cheap, but then again so am I. ;P The fizz saver is basically a replacement cap with a pump on it that forces pressurized air into the bottle to keep the gases in the seltzer. It's not perfect, but I get about three days out of a bottle, vs. one night. I also recommend finding a local generic brand that has the amount of fizz you like. I had to experiment until I found a brand I liked and then I stuck with it. DO NOT use flavored seltzers, tonic water, or quinine. They're really not the same as plain old seltzer. The only ingredient in your sletzer should be carbonated water. All of the recipes serve one person using a tall tumbler (around 16 Oz or a little less) and are best served fresh. I've haven't tried experimenting with premade syrups on hand, but I suspect it should work if you want to save a little time. I also haven't tried any kind of bottling to see if the seltzer would survive that so I can't say if it will or won't. Also remember that there is no hard and fast rule about the ingredients and I will be giving out my best estimated since a lot of it is really "to taste". In general my rule of thumb is two parts seltzer to one part "syrup". So here goes.

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My very first homemade seltzer combo was Cherry Seltzer (serves one person):

-3/4 of a Cup of Knudsen "Just Black Cherry" juice (make sure it's sweet and not tart. There is a little variance in the Knudsen juices but Black Cherry tends to be sweet.)
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1 or 2 Tbsp. of white powdered Stevia (I use SweetLeaf Stevia Plus Powder which can be ordered online at http://www.webvitamin.com)
-1/4 tsp. of pure Almond extract (Almonds and cherries are related. If you are familiar with the flavor/scent of Maricino Cherries, you will understand why the addition of Almond extract gives the cherry seltzer a more "soda pop" flavor)

What I usually do put the cherry juice in the tumbler first. Then I stir in the almond extract a few drops at a time until the scent is "just right". Too much and it smells alcoholic as the extract does contain alcohol. Too little and you don't really detect much of a change. Now it's time to add the stevia powder. I do this while vigorously stirring with a fork to make sure that the stevia dissolves as the brand I use isn't very water soluable, but that's a good thing... I then test the "syrup" by dropping a few drops with the fork onto the back of my hand. It should be almost "too sweet" to bear because you're going to water it down with the seltzer. If it tastes right, then add the seltzer (the stevia powder will cause the seltzer to fizz even more than it normally does). Finally, add some ice (I prefer crushed) and enjoy!

I have one variation that I use with the Cherry Seltzer that is about as close as I've come to a semi-cola-ish (won't satisfy the Coke and Pepsi fans, remember) flavor. It was a semi-serendipitous discovery. I wanted to experiment with the addition of vanilla one night and accidently poured a little too much in. The result was actually something I liked though. (But who am I to judge as I loved all cough syrups as a kid too? ;P) I would suggest that if you're curious and you've succeeded at making a cherry seltzer you like, you then try adding vanilla with varying amounts. I add about 1.5 tsps. to get the flavor I like. You can use that as a base amount for the "stronger" taste. Also note that natural vanilla extract is better both in flavor and healthwise as it doesn't contain corn syrup. Artificial vanilla flavorings all seem to have corn syrup in them.

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"Key Lime" Seltzer:

-1 plain old lime to get about a 1/4 cup of juice (not Key Lime. If you CAN get real Key limes, then you'll need more like two or three of them)
-A little less than 1/2 Cup of Water
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-2 Tbsp. of Stevia powder

Juice the lime(s). and pour them into your glass. You can strain the pulp if you wish. I used to but found that I actually don't mind the lime pulp and began skipping that step. Add the water which basically thins out the juice so it's not as bitter and also pads the syrup to keep with my 2:1 ratio of seltzer:syrup. Stir in the vanilla extract. I've found that vanilla is an awesome complement to nearly ANY citrus based fuirt juice and once again gives you that "missing" flavor that you taste in artificially flavored citrus drinks vs. plain juice. Then vigorously stir in the stevia powder with a fork and make sure it's well dissolved. Give it a taste test with a few drops as I suggested in the cherry recipe. If it's not sweet enough, add a little more stevia but be careful not to add TOO much as it will also magnify the bitterness of the lime. Once the syrup seems to have the right balance of heavy sweetness (again close to being too sweet to bear) and a little bitterness, you're ready to add the seltzer. Finally add ice to your liking.

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Orange Seltzer:

-1 fresh seedless naval Orange or 3/4 Cup of Orange Juice
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1.5 to 2 Tbsp. of Stevia powder

If you are using fresh oranges (a treat in my opinion) then juice them and strain the pulp out. Pour your orange juice (fresh or premade) into your glass and add the vanilla extract. Once again the sense of smell is important here since you'll want to make sure that the smell approximates something like a McDonald's Orange Shake. Sadly that's the closest Orange flavored junk drink I could think of. Once the balance seems right to you, vigorously stir in the stevia powder and test the flavor. Again, it should be almost TOO sweet to bear. Add the seltzer and ice, and you're done. Other than drinking it that is. My wife prefers the orange seltzer without the vanilla. She says that to her, the plain orange juice + stevia + seltzer reminds her of one of her old favorite drinks: Orangina.

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"Zazzleberry" Seltzer:

-8 Oz. can of Pineapple juice (check to make sure that it's pure juice only)
-The juice from 1/2 of a Lemon
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
-1.5 to 2 Tbsp. of Stevia Powder
-Water (to pad the juice mixture)

There's obviously no berry in this drink at all. We just came up with the name as an in joke, so I'm sharing the name with you. You should feel priveleged. ;P Not to mention "Pineapple-Lemon Seltzer" sounds REALLY lame. Pour half of the pineapple juice and the lemon juice into your glass. You should have nearly a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of the juice mixture. Pad it with a little water keeping that 2:1 ratio in mind. Once you've got enough water, add the vanilla extract, and vigorously stir in the stevia powder. Test the flavor. It should be almost "Sour Patch Kids"-like. Sort of a nuclear sour + nuclear sweet flavor. Add the seltzer and ice and enjoy. It's not for everyone. But if you like those REALLY sour vs. sweet flavors, this is a fun soft drink.

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Lemon Seltzer:

-The juice from a whole Lemon
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
-1.5 to 2 Tbsp. of Stevia Powder
-Water (to pad the lemon juice)

Juice the lemon and strain the pulp. Pour the juice into your glass and add the vanilla extract, stevia powder (stir vigorously) and water (to get about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of "syrup"). Add the seltzer and ice. This one reminds me of a soft drink that I used to drink as a kid but I can't decide if it's Sprite or Mountain Dew or something in between.

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Raspberry Seltzer:

-3/4 of a cup of Lakewood Pure Pomegranite juice (Not from concentrate. Lakewood sells two types. You want the somewhat pulpy one.)
-1.5 Cups of plain seltzer
-1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
-1.5 Tbsp. of Stevia Powder

You'll notice there's no raspberry in this recipe. There's a few reasons for that. The first is that I've never seen anyone selling raspberry juice. The second is that I DID actually try to make some with fresh raspberries once and I will warn you now: DON'T. I actually strained the raspberry juice through cheese cloth to make sure it was just pure juice. But pure raspberry juice smells bad and still has a more vegetable fiber like taste. However, recently I saw pomegranite juice at the local health food store (I think it's in season because I've never seen it before) and thought I'd try a pomegranite seltzer. I was surprised to find that it didn't really taste that much like pomegranite, but reminded me a lot more of artifically flavored raspberry candies and drinks. So I lied with the name. My wife agrees that it tastes like the ideal raspberry drink and she's a huge fan of raspberries. So with all that out of the way. Pour the pomegranite juice into your glass, mix in the vanilla and stevia (Remembering to stir vigorously... Got that?). Add the seltzer and ice and go relax with your drink.

Those are a few of our favorite flavors and I'm always trying to experiment with more. Although it only takes ten to fifteen seconds to go to the fridge and pull out a chilled can of commercial soft drinks, I just can't justify putting that much sugar and/or corn syrup in my body. Mixing the actual soft drinks above takes me anywhere from four to seven minutes and we consider it time well spent. Not to mention that before we changed our diet we used to like to go out of our way to try all sorts of unusual juices and soft drinks. But after the negative effects on our health (and our figures) hit, and we discovered just how much sugar and corn syrup the mainstream juices and drinks had I decided I had to do something. ANYTHING to reclaim the enjoyment offered through soft drinks. The above is the result. Hope you enjoy. Please feel free to comment or ask me questions. I'm no expert, and you may very well NOT like the results.

Re:

[eno2001]

No problem. :) I'm glad someone wants to try them. I don't guarantee perfect success with the intial trys. You'll definitely need to tweak them especially where the amount of stevia is concerned. It's likely that you're more familiar with the qualities of the brand of stevia you use, so you might want to go more with what you suspect would be the right amount. I also find that sometimes if you increase the amount of juice and decrease the amount of seltzer to compensate, that the results are a little b