In spirit of those of you that have not the taste for alcoholic beverages (hic!) I’m here to share some basic recipes for making soda pop at home! What could be better than a frosty ginger ale to help cool off during these hot summer days? If ginger’s not your thing, how about a lemon-lime soda or an orange-ade? The combination is unlimited so long as your imagination is put to good use. The best part is it’s all homemade so you’re avoiding massive doses of sugar, artificial flavorings, and caffeine.
Do note that some of these recipes contain yeast, and as yeast feeds on sugars it releases alcohol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because these recipes aren’t aged but a few days, the amount of alcohol is extremely minor. I personally feel comfortable allowing my own daughter to drink beverages made from these recipes without any worry. It should not be enough to cause intoxication for even our small samplers. If, however, you avoid alcohol for personal or medicinal purposes I recommend sticking with the recipes that don’t include yeast.
Ginger Ale
Mildly sweet and spicy with a hint of lemon
(prepare 3 days prior to drinking)
- 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1-1/2 cup sugar
- 3 inch portion of ginger club, grated
- 1 lemon, juiced and grated for zest
- 1 small piece sassafras root (approximately 1/4 tsp) *optional*
- 1 Tbsp yeast
- 1 gallon water
- Boil water. Add all ingredients except yeast and let steep for 2 hours.
- Once water is between room temperature and 100F, add yeast and stir.
- Cover liquid and let rest for one day.
- On the next day, strain liquid with cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer.
- Pour liquid into clean, sterile bottles and close tightly.
- Store in cool, dark place for two days.
- Chill to stop fermentation and enjoy over ice!
**sassafras contains safrole which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats when consumed in high doses. You can purchase safrole-free sassafras extract or use the leaves which do not contain safrole if you have concerns.
Lemon Lime Soda
Like a liquid SweeTart
(prepare 3 days before drinking)
- 1 lemon, juiced and grated for zest
- 2 limes, juiced and grated for zest
- 1-1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 Tbsp yeast
- 1 gallon + 2 cups water
- Boil water and add all ingredients.
- Simmer over low for one hour.
- Add yeast after water has cooled.
- Let rest overnight.
- Strain, bottle and cap tightly after one day.
- Allow to rest two days before drinking
- Chill to stop fermentation, then serve
Summer Refresher
Perfect for a hot day in the garden
- 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced
- 1 lime, bruised and sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint or lemon balm
- 2 liters of carbonated soda water
- *add fresh aloe or 1 cup aloe water for additional health benefits
- Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and cover. Allow fruits to remain in pitcher.
- Store in refrigerator and serve when chilled.
Orange-Ade
Fun for the kids, best prepared over a sink or outdoors
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 quarts water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 3-4 oranges, juiced (substitute limes or lemons if desired)
- Boil sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved.
- Chill syrup until very cold.
- Stir in baking soda.
- Prepare room for overflow!
- Add sugar syrup to iced glasses.
- Just before serving, add orange juice to each glass. The citric acid will activate the baking soda. The kids will adore this one!
Fruit Pop
Make with seasonal fruit
- 2 cups fresh fruit such as strawberries (rasp-, black-, blue-, huckle-, goose-…), peaches, pineapple, or grapes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 quarts water
- 2 liters carbonated soda water
- Boil water, sugar, and fruit to make a syrup.
- Strain skins and seeds through cheesecloth or a mesh strainer.
- Allow to cool in refrigerator.
- Pour syrup over ice, then top with soda.
- For a fun twist, add 2 Tbsp half & half and top with whipped cream.
Vanilla Cream
For those that like it smooth
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 3 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp cream
- 8 oz carbonated soda water
- In a tall glass, mix extracts, sugar, and cream until sugar is dissolved.
- Add ice and stir in soda water.
As you can see, the recipes are limitless. Combine different fruits to make a beverage that you enjoy. Don’t forget to top of your soda with a nice garnish made from fresh fruit, basil, mint, or watercress.
Jennifer can be found blarging at Unearthing This Life where she rambles about her daily doings, her crazy chickens, and her quirky family.
What kind of yeast – baking or brewers?
Brewers would be preferential for flavor’s sake, but plain bakers yeast will yield carbonation just the same.
Most yeast is genetically modified and I try to get more probiotics into my kids so we make it using wild yeast:http://www.sustainableeats.com/2009/05/26/homemade-rhubarb-soda/
I meant to include a recipe for wild yeast soda. It’s pretty simple but takes an extra day or so. Avoid adding yeast altogether and let your juice sit out, covered with cheesecloth until it captures some wild yeast. You’ll know you’re golden when it starts to bubble on its own!
Now that is brilliant. I like the ginger bug flavor but it gets old feeding it all the time, especially when it wants sugar and ginger is not local to me. Totally trying that one.
Thank you SO SO much for the home made drink recipes. I have been making Ginger Beer for about a year now and love that. And now I am super excited about the other recipes you listed. THANK YOU THANK YOU! Emily in So. TX
I can’t wait to try them all! Yum! Thanks!
They look great!
How much yeast do you add for the lemon-lime recipe?
Oops! It gets hard to focus with the Kid around!
1 Tbsp yeast will do just fine.
Fixed the recipe.
I stopped drinking commercial sodas and started making different fruit syrups weekly about 2 years ago. Still haven’t had the nerve to try fermenting and carbonating my own! (Kaboom)
I saw your overview about planning for your winter stash @ folia. As much as you go through fresh syrup you should give fermenting a try. Just give your bottle a good tap before opening – and do it over a sink if you’re worried about fizzing. Just like sourdough or wine, you can tell if you’ve got bacteria instead of yeast. It’s bunches of fun and tastes far superior to anything commercial!
(I think you and your hubby would really enjoy the ginger ale based on your recipes!)
[…] following recipe and instructions are taken straight from Not Dabbling in Normal. Click on through for info on making 5 other kinds of soda, […]
Another great post! I do agree with “Sustainable eats”: I do not eat any Genetically Modified foods as well. Which is what store bought pop is made from: all GMO’s! So nice to see you can create your own drinkables without all the crap, and that we won’t be dropping our dollars into corporate pockets. Keep up your good work!
That orange ade sounds sweet!
Wow, what a great post. I’ve made root beer but it was years ago. Will have to try some of these luscious looking beverages. Thank you for the inspiration 😉
not for people with yeast sensitivities….
Wow…you never ever cease to amaze me!
Great post, I have never even considered making my own soda pop. We have not bought pop from the store for decades now and guess I never even realized you could make your own.
So one more thing I will add to my ‘must try’ list…thanks! kim
[…] In spirit of those of you that have not the taste for alcoholic beverages (hic!) I'm here to share some basic recipes for making soda pop at home! What could be better than a frosty ginger ale to help cool off during these hot summer days? If ginger's not your thing, how about a lemon-lime soda or an orange-ade? The combination is unlimited so long as your imagination is put to good use. The best part is it's all homemade so you're avoiding massi … Read More […]
Thanks for sharing these great recipe’s!
I will definately be trying a few of these 🙂
[…] Soda Pop – July 29, 2010 […]
These are some excellent looking recipes for soda that I am definitely going to have to try out the next time I start up a batch (which will be very soon!).
So funny, I just attempted my own ginger ale two days ago… totally different take though, I just added fresh grated ginger and agave nectar to carbonated water…
My next idea is to steep a bunch of ginger in a minimal amount of water, and then add the (semi-)strained liquid & agave nector to carbonated water.
I bring this up for the sake for the yeast sensitive. We bought one of those “Soda-Stream” soda makers to reduce our carbon footprint (irony) of the shipping and recycling associated with fizzy water.
This might be a good way to get around the yeast/alcohol situation.
What is nice about agave nectar is that it has a low glycemic index, and it behaves just like simple-syrup.
Why include the cream of tartar? Sorry, novice. 🙂
Hey, Mel!
Cream of tartar works as a stabalizer for the sugars, carbonation, and coloring. You can do without, but adding the cream of tartar will keep the drink fresh and tastier longer.
And never be sorry to ask a question! I’m sure there are many people who had the same question and you beat them to it!
I make a ginger drink with pineapple juice (the kind with no sugar) that people really like. No yeast. Grate lots of fresh ginger and add pineapple juice that has been brought to a boil in a pan. I like the ginger sold in a bottle that I think is from Belgium because it has no added sugar.
Turn off heat and steep for an hour or so. When cool, strain out the ginger. Ice this down. This has quite a kick. If you like alcohol, add some dark rum.
[…] Soda Pop via kottke Posted on August 13, 2010 at 6:00 am in The Friday Cool. Follow responses to this post with the comments feed. You can leave a comment. […]
[…] and with a ginger root sitting in my kitchen, I decided to try making ginger ale. I followed Not Dabbling in Normal‘s recipe. I’m not sure if it was just too hot, or what, but I didn’t get any […]
The My Pop Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe uses yeast and sugar to pressurize a reservoir so your drink does not taste of yeast or alcohol just pure flavor. http://www.mypopsoda.com
Wow, that seems like a lot of yeast! I haven’t tried your recipe yet, but make my own with just 1/8 teaspoon of yeast per gallon of liquid. It does take longer to fizz up, about 8-9 days. I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes; thanks for posting.
What a great recipe and a very nice blog.
[…] that I should give brewing cider vinegar a whirl. After all, I’ve brewed plenty of wine and soda pop and both could unintentionally turn into vinegar… why not do it on […]
Use brewers yeast not bakers yeast. Bakers yeast has a tendency to rise to the top when you open the bottle and gives a funky smell. Also avoid Champange yeast it eats all the sugar and does not leave a sweet pop taste. Have tried all types of yeast and found ale yeast has given me my best results. I am looking foreword to trying these recipies.
thank you so much for these recipes! we just made rootbeer with the kids this week and they’re so excited about it they want to make “sprite” next. i told them i ran across these recipes and now they’re thinking up different kinds of fruit and flavors we could make. yay for fun inspiration for teenagers!!
[…] some other homemade soda recipes, check out Jennifer’s post from July of 2012 here at NDIN on making soda […]
[…] isn’t your family’s thing, here’s a great post from Not Dabbling In Normal on how to make Soda Pop and one from America’s Test Kitchen Feed on making Root […]
I’m doing a batch from lemon verbena and honey…
Is there any way to carbonate the soda and store it at room temps instead of storing it in the fridge; without turning it into a “bottle bomb?” It seems like there must be, since the big commercial companies are able to do it. I ask because we have a very small refrigerator, and don’t have room for a gallon’s worth of bottles for two or three weeks (I don’t drink soda every day, just once in a long while). Not trying to be a spoil-sport, but the idea of mixing good healthy ingredients with commercial soda/carbonated water or something like that kinda defeats the purpose of making/brewing my own soda pop! Is there a way of making my own carbonated water maybe? Thanks for the recipes and this site.
JP: You can use FiZZ GiZ technique. Simple. EZ. Effective.