My birthday was a few months ago and it got me thinking about what to get myself. See, every year for Christmas and my birthday I buy myself a present because frankly, I buy myself THE best presents. I wasn’t going to buy myself anything because I recently took an impromptu trip but then I started thinking. I randomly decided that I wanted a SodaStream! I’ve had my eye on making this recipe for cola for a few months ago and while the recipe says to add seltzer to the syrup to make pop it just didn’t seem authentic. What I needed was a SodaStream.
Nevermind that I never drink pop. Nevermind that this contraption forces you to buy the machine, carbonators, syrups and all sorts of stuff. Nevermind that I don’t have anywhere to store the machine. Nevermind any of that! I just wanted to make pop!
Side note: Yes, I call it pop. Not a soda. When I lived in the U.S. I’d say pop and people would look at me like I had two heads. Except people from Michigan who also say pop. They know what’s up.
After some soul-searching I decided not to buy the SodaStream. Realistically I knew that I’d use it 4 times and then forget about it for years. As a consolation prize to myself I decided to figure out how to make ginger ale or ginger beer. A few years ago I wanted to make myself some and noticed that I didn’t need any fancy equipment. If I couldn’t have a SodaStream at least I could have homemade pop.
When it comes to matters of food that may get a bit science-y I like Alton Brown. Lucky for me I was able to find a recipe by Alton for ginger ale on the Food Network site. Score! And no special equipment was required. Even better.
Surprisingly enough the ginger ale recipe only required 5 ingredients: sugar, ginger, water, yeast and lemon juice. Doesn’t that so much better than the crap on the ingredient list for most ginger ale brands? In terms of equipment I just needed a plastic bottle to put everything in and I was in business.
Truth be told I was a bit skeptical about how this would all work out. I had to make a syrup with the sugar, a bit of water and ginger. Easy enough. Once the syrup was cool I combined it in a bottle with the yeast, lemon juice and remaining water. Then it was a waiting game. The bottle gets left on the counter for two days to allow the mixture to carbonate. One of the indicators that the beverage is ready is the firmness of the bottle. It was so true! The bottle went totally firm and unsquishable after about a day and a half. I then popped it in the fridge to chill.
When I opened the bottle (slowly) it immediately erupted all over the place. Well at least I knew the yeast did its job! When I finally poured a glass I was surprised to see how bubbly it was. The ginger flavour could’ve been stronger, that was probably at least partly due to the age and quality of the ginger that I used. All in all it tasted more like ginger beer than a ginger ale (think Canada Dry) but that was just fine with me. I also found that the homemade ginger ale stayed fizzy far longer than traditional pop. We’re talking 2 weeks of continued fizzy action.
I was so happy with the results that I decided to try making my own cola using the same method. I used the recipe that I mentioned above and went to town. The results were… interesting. Truth be told I haven’t had cola in YEARS so I can’t really comment on how it compared. Sure, it didn’t taste like Coca-Cola but I can’t quite pinpoint whether or not it tasted like a more natural version of it. Would definitely love to do a side-by-side comparison.
Needless to say I’m now obsessed with making homemade pop because it’s so easy and really chances are you have something on hand to make your own cola syrup. I’m already thinking of all sorts of different combinations…
Homemade Ginger Ale
1 1/2 ounces finely grated fresh ginger
6 ounces sugar
7 1/2 cups filtered water
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Put the ginger, sugar and a 1/2 cup of water into a saucepan. Set heat to medium-high and cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, cover and let the mixture cool and steep for about an hour… although longer shouldn’t hurt. Strain through a fine strainer (over a bowl) making sure to press the solids down to extract all of the juice. Cool the mixture to at least room temperature.
Pour the syrup into a 2-liter plastic bottle (a funnel will make this easy) and add the yeast, lemon juice and remaining water. Screw the cap onto the bottle and shake the bottle to help dissolve the yeast. Let the bottle sit on the counter at room temperature for 2 days. After 2 days check for desired carbonation by opening the bottle. Once the beverage is sufficiently carbonated put it in the fridge (leaving it out on the counter will further the carbonation process).
(Recipe via the Food Network)
Homemade Cola Syrup
Grated zest of 2 medium oranges
Grated zest of 1 large lime
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1 section of a star anise pod, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 one-and-a-half-inch piece vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon citric acid (available at health food stores, or canning supply stores or kingarthurflour.com)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon caramel color powder, optional (available at kingarthurflour.com).
1. Over medium heat, bring 2 cups water to a simmer with the zests, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, lavender, ginger, vanilla and citric acid in a pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
2. Place sugar in a bowl. If using caramel color, sprinkle it over the sugar.
3. Line a sieve or colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth and place over the bowl. Dump the mixture in the pot into the sieve and squeeze the cheesecloth to extract all of the liquid.
4. Stir the syrup occasionally and allow the mixture to remain at room temperature as the sugar dissolves. Transfer to containers and keep refrigerated. To make a soda pour 1/4 cup of syrup into a class and top with 1 cup of seltzer OR use method above with yeast to carbonate.
Yield: About 3 cups syrup.
(Recipe via New York Times)
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