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Homemade Soda
Making your own soda is easy and inexpensive. Best of all, you control the sweetness level and ingredients, so you can create a drink that’s exactly what you want. Using a few simple techniques, anyone can make a spectacular variety of beverages. Try Pomegranate Punch, Chai Fizz, Fruity Root Beer, Sparkling Orange Creamsicle, Honey Cardamom Fizzy Water, Sparkling Espresso Jolt, Cold Fudge Soda, Lightly Salty Caramel Seltzer, Sangria Shrub, Maraschino Ginger Ale, Malted Molasses Switchel, or Berry Vinegar Cordial. Some recipes show you how to re-create the flavors of favorite commercial soft drinks, and others show you how to use homemade soda in decadent desserts and adult cocktails. The delicious possibilities are endless!
329 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
59 people are currently reading
341 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Schloss
33 books8 followersAndrew Schloss is a restaurateur; the author of 12 cookbooks; a writer whose articles have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, Bon Appetit and Family Circle; and president of product development company Culinary Generations, Inc. He is the former president of The International Association of Culinary Professionals and former director of the culinary curriculum for The Restaurant School in Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 21, 2011
Making my own soda is something I've been interested in for awhile, so I approached Andrew Schloss's Homemade Soda with a lot of curiosity. Primarily a recipe book for soda, with a bit of interesting historical detail and humor sprinkled in here and there, the book is fairly straightforward in approach and the recipes are generally very simple to follow. There are three approaches to soda making and many of the recipes can be made with all three (although some are restricted to only one approach): mixing with pre-bought seltzer, creating your own seltzer with a siphon, or brewing. So far I've only tried the first two, but may try brewing at some point in the future. I've made about 10 of the recipes at this time and have found the results to range from fabulous to disappointing (to be fair, the same can probably be said of many cookbooks since everyone's tastes vary). The cream and juice sodas I've made have been great; the root-beers have been interesting, but with extremely bitter aftertastes, despite seemingly absurd amounts of sugar (this was quite disappointing, because I was most looking forward to the rootbeers). The peanut-butter cream soda was a complete disaster (how much of this was the recipe versus my own ability to make it may be hard to determine).
Many of the ingredients are easy to find, but some are quite a bit more difficult than the author implies, despite hints on where to get them. I live in one of the largest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and couldn't find most of the basic rootbeer ingredients at any local store, including homebrew stores, health-food stores, etc. I ended up purchasing them online, which was easy and, per volume, probably cheaper than I would have found locally, although I had to buy in a quantity larger than I might prefer when still testing recipes. Plastic bottles for brewing (specifically recommended in the book in lieu of glass) are also difficult to find, because most homebrewers tend to prefer glass and this is what the stores generally carry.
I was a little disappointed in the lack of diet recipes in the book. Schloss discusses artificial sweetners in the opening section and essentially says "they ruin the taste, don't use them." Given the at times very high sugar content (and thus high calorie count) of many of these drinks recipes, a little more support for those who love soda but would prefer lower calorie options would have been aprpeciated. At least all of the recipes use natural sugars and avoid corn syrup.
A minor pet peeve of mine, common to many cookbooks, not just this one, is that many recipes call for things like "the juice of a medium orange" or "the zest of two lemons". I realize this is common parlance, but personally I find it much more useful and helpful to translate these into measurable volumes, particularly since the average size of fruit that one finds in a store today may be quite different (usually larger) than it was years ago (you can look up the approximate values for these concepts online and will often find that what you get out of a single fruit can be 50-100% larger than what the technical volume is supposed to be).
The volumes of the recipes vary a lot, ranging from 1 serving to 3 servings (about a liter) to 1 gallon. In many cases it is not at all obvious why there is so much variation in output amongst the recipes and a little more standardization might have been useful. The last part of the book contains food recipes to go with sodas, but realistically this just felt like filler material to flesh out the final length of the book a bit more.
Desipte these issues, I have quite enjoyed the experimentation with sodas and will continue to do so in the future. Definitely a good choice for soda lovers considering making their own.
Many of the ingredients are easy to find, but some are quite a bit more difficult than the author implies, despite hints on where to get them. I live in one of the largest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and couldn't find most of the basic rootbeer ingredients at any local store, including homebrew stores, health-food stores, etc. I ended up purchasing them online, which was easy and, per volume, probably cheaper than I would have found locally, although I had to buy in a quantity larger than I might prefer when still testing recipes. Plastic bottles for brewing (specifically recommended in the book in lieu of glass) are also difficult to find, because most homebrewers tend to prefer glass and this is what the stores generally carry.
I was a little disappointed in the lack of diet recipes in the book. Schloss discusses artificial sweetners in the opening section and essentially says "they ruin the taste, don't use them." Given the at times very high sugar content (and thus high calorie count) of many of these drinks recipes, a little more support for those who love soda but would prefer lower calorie options would have been aprpeciated. At least all of the recipes use natural sugars and avoid corn syrup.
A minor pet peeve of mine, common to many cookbooks, not just this one, is that many recipes call for things like "the juice of a medium orange" or "the zest of two lemons". I realize this is common parlance, but personally I find it much more useful and helpful to translate these into measurable volumes, particularly since the average size of fruit that one finds in a store today may be quite different (usually larger) than it was years ago (you can look up the approximate values for these concepts online and will often find that what you get out of a single fruit can be 50-100% larger than what the technical volume is supposed to be).
The volumes of the recipes vary a lot, ranging from 1 serving to 3 servings (about a liter) to 1 gallon. In many cases it is not at all obvious why there is so much variation in output amongst the recipes and a little more standardization might have been useful. The last part of the book contains food recipes to go with sodas, but realistically this just felt like filler material to flesh out the final length of the book a bit more.
Desipte these issues, I have quite enjoyed the experimentation with sodas and will continue to do so in the future. Definitely a good choice for soda lovers considering making their own.
August 18, 2011
This book is full of delightful ideas and flavor combinations that have, so far, seduced me at the kitchen table, but I've yet to buy my own seltzer bottle, probably because I'm just too lazy. It's on my to-do-when-I've got-some-free-time list, and right now sits on my bookshelf as simply great food porn.
July 12, 2011
This could be the first "cookbook" I've ever considered buying after flipping through it.
Do you want all-natural cola? Here's how, with three different methods depending on the amount of time you have. Green tea coconut soda? Cardamom apricot soda?? Orange honey ginger ale??? Cocoa chile soda???? You could make soda pop until you were 85 and not make it through all the recipes.
Granted, I haven't tried any of these yet, but the drool factor alone is worth a few stars. And the explanations are very clear.
Do you want all-natural cola? Here's how, with three different methods depending on the amount of time you have. Green tea coconut soda? Cardamom apricot soda?? Orange honey ginger ale??? Cocoa chile soda???? You could make soda pop until you were 85 and not make it through all the recipes.
Granted, I haven't tried any of these yet, but the drool factor alone is worth a few stars. And the explanations are very clear.
July 10, 2011
The recipes look easy, for the most part. I've opted to use the seltzer method, rather than making my own seltzer with a siphon, and my honey almond cream soda is currently delicious. There are several other recipes I can't wait to try, too!
July 23, 2011
Some very interesting flavor combinations and ideas, I can't wait to try them.
June 7, 2017
This is such a fun book! It's full of history and trivia and all sorts of fascinating recipes. It is fun to read and dream over, but I can't seem to bring myself to actually make anything out of it. The colas and root beers tend to call for ingredients that are definitely in the hard to find category and the fruit sodas (which I was most looking forward to) are--for my taste buds--odd combinations that hold no appeal for my family.
Are you determined to make your own sodas not matter what? This is definitely the book for you. Do you love the history and interesting tidbits about things like this? You'll love this book! If you're a busy mom that would like to make a healthier soda for your child but don't have time to track down hard to find items or if you don't like funkier flavor combinations, this might not be the right book for you. Over all, I enjoyed the book. I just didn't get the use out of I thought I would.
I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Are you determined to make your own sodas not matter what? This is definitely the book for you. Do you love the history and interesting tidbits about things like this? You'll love this book! If you're a busy mom that would like to make a healthier soda for your child but don't have time to track down hard to find items or if you don't like funkier flavor combinations, this might not be the right book for you. Over all, I enjoyed the book. I just didn't get the use out of I thought I would.
I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 19, 2022
The author clearly has a deep love of homemade beverages. This book is far more than simply what your average person would call sodas. Throughout the book, the author offers glimpses into the history of the development, and or the pleasure given by them as some are older beverages long forgotten in the modern age.
There are fruit sodas, fizzy juices, root (birth, sassafras, ginger and other) beers, colas, herbal blends, kombucha, teas, coffees, and drinks derived from vinegar called shrubs and switchels. Offering variations along the way to try something even more exotic. The book ends with a list of recipes in which to eat these concoctions for any meal. Happily, the author also shares resources for the hard to find ingredients.
This entire book is a fun, and fascinating way to make ones' own drinks.
There are fruit sodas, fizzy juices, root (birth, sassafras, ginger and other) beers, colas, herbal blends, kombucha, teas, coffees, and drinks derived from vinegar called shrubs and switchels. Offering variations along the way to try something even more exotic. The book ends with a list of recipes in which to eat these concoctions for any meal. Happily, the author also shares resources for the hard to find ingredients.
This entire book is a fun, and fascinating way to make ones' own drinks.
March 24, 2019
Good reference for soda lovers
This book had a nice wide range of recipes with several classic and unique flavors. Some of the recipes at first glance didn't look appealing to me but thats to be expected in any recipe book.
What I liked most was the range the book covers including shrubs and fermented sodas. If you're tired what your grocery store has to offer this might give you some inspiration. Now I just need to figure out which recipe to try first.
This book had a nice wide range of recipes with several classic and unique flavors. Some of the recipes at first glance didn't look appealing to me but thats to be expected in any recipe book.
What I liked most was the range the book covers including shrubs and fermented sodas. If you're tired what your grocery store has to offer this might give you some inspiration. Now I just need to figure out which recipe to try first.
June 20, 2024
This book contains a number of recipes for different kinds of sodas and carbonated beverages. I don't know that I'll really get into soda making, but my very brief summary is that you can pick any flavor you want, boil the flavor component with sugar, then add seltzer... Results may vary. (And some recipes in here rely on flavoring that comes from e.g. yeasty fermentation, but, realistically, I just want flavored sweet water, so I don't think that'll affect me.)
July 5, 2017
This was a far more in-depth introduction to soft drinks than I had expected, with tons of recipes that range from pedestrian to truly wacky. I wasn't expecting so much history thrown in, either! This book is really worth a gander for curious cooks and herbalists.
April 6, 2019
How to make syrups, shrubs, and non-alcoholic herbal flavors
Great book for making sodas from scratch with real ingredients instead of artificial. Great projects for kids. Perfect for upping your cocktail game.
Great book for making sodas from scratch with real ingredients instead of artificial. Great projects for kids. Perfect for upping your cocktail game.
June 21, 2018
Informative and thorough. Am looking fwd to trying these recipes.
January 1, 2019
Algunas recetas valen la pena, pero otras requieren de equipo que no es común tener en casa
December 15, 2023
Interesting history, wont be making any recipes though.
June 15, 2017
In this day and age of endless chemical laden sodas, one begins to dream of a simpler time. A time when soda was made with real sugar. A time when flavors of soda actually tasted like something nature made. I remember my parents had purchased a home soda maker from Schwan's when I was a child. I loved the idea of making my own soda. Even today, I collect recipes for all natural homebrewed sodas but brewing my own is intimidating. I could make it, it's not that hard but I always feel like I need someone to hold my hand through the process.
Enter Andy Schloss and his new book Homemade Sodas. The book starts out with clear instructions for making and brewing your own sodas. He talks about the history of soda and how ingredients have changed. The pictures call to the reader to remember the better times. Times when drinking coke was a treat not a necessity.
Andy Schloss then moves into the drinks, slowly, starting with sparkling waters. Easy to create mixes that combine with sparkling water to make a refreshing spa-like drink. He moves onto fruit based drinks some mixed with seltzer, others carbonated with a soda siphon and eventually to brewing.
What I loved about this book is he gives you all three options most of the time. You can make the soda with seltzer, through a soda siphon or brew it. For me, that gives me the chance to work my way up to brewing. If we like the flavor with the seltzer then we know we'll like the brewed variety. And it gives me the chance to chicken out if I still can't talk myself into homebrewing.
Some of the soda concoctions sound highbrow - like honey cardamon or fizzy honeydew. They can be off putting for your average soda drinker but those with a sense of adventure can only see the beginning of possibilities.
Don't worry Andy Schloss has offered a few "normal" recipes from Orange Crush to Cola to Very Cherry Cola to several types of root beer.
This book has recipes for everyone from the soda drinker to the organic concoction drinker. I will definitely be making some cola extract and see if I can wean my boys off the canned stuff and to the homemade varieties. Now all I need is a recipe for Mellow Yellow and we just may give up store-bought soda all together.
Enter Andy Schloss and his new book Homemade Sodas. The book starts out with clear instructions for making and brewing your own sodas. He talks about the history of soda and how ingredients have changed. The pictures call to the reader to remember the better times. Times when drinking coke was a treat not a necessity.
Andy Schloss then moves into the drinks, slowly, starting with sparkling waters. Easy to create mixes that combine with sparkling water to make a refreshing spa-like drink. He moves onto fruit based drinks some mixed with seltzer, others carbonated with a soda siphon and eventually to brewing.
What I loved about this book is he gives you all three options most of the time. You can make the soda with seltzer, through a soda siphon or brew it. For me, that gives me the chance to work my way up to brewing. If we like the flavor with the seltzer then we know we'll like the brewed variety. And it gives me the chance to chicken out if I still can't talk myself into homebrewing.
Some of the soda concoctions sound highbrow - like honey cardamon or fizzy honeydew. They can be off putting for your average soda drinker but those with a sense of adventure can only see the beginning of possibilities.
Don't worry Andy Schloss has offered a few "normal" recipes from Orange Crush to Cola to Very Cherry Cola to several types of root beer.
This book has recipes for everyone from the soda drinker to the organic concoction drinker. I will definitely be making some cola extract and see if I can wean my boys off the canned stuff and to the homemade varieties. Now all I need is a recipe for Mellow Yellow and we just may give up store-bought soda all together.
June 27, 2011
This one's definitely on my to-buy list, as a print book. Perfect for summer especially; make your beverage after hitting the farmers market for the freshest fruit or other ingredients. From the colorful, slightly retro fun illustrations and photos to the wildly varied recipes, it's very enticing. The book begins with the highlights of the history of carbonation and soda and the history bits mixed in are pretty interesting. Then it covers three kinds of soda making: 1.) make your syrup with your fruits, herbs, honey or sugar etc., and simply combine the syrup with a bottle of store-bought seltzer water; 2.) do the same but use a carbonation charger such as Sodastream; 3.) or ferment your own beverage (the most complicated).
Recipe types that really caught my interest were the sparkling waters (lightly flavored), fruit sodas, herbal sodas, sparkling coffees and chocolate, and vinegar/fruit drinks like shrubs and switchels. These are the kind of specfic recipes that totally intrigued me: sparkling rose water, chocolate mint sparkling water, blueberry cinnamon soda, orange crush soda with actual oranges, coffee chocolate stout bee (nonalcoholic), orange rosemary crush herbal soda, vanilla pear shrub, etc etc! It covers more typical sodas too, like cola, root beer, cream soda, kombucha, etc., and at the end, recipes for cooking with soda, including desserts.
I received the ebook courtesy of the publisher (Storey) and Netgalley.
Recipe types that really caught my interest were the sparkling waters (lightly flavored), fruit sodas, herbal sodas, sparkling coffees and chocolate, and vinegar/fruit drinks like shrubs and switchels. These are the kind of specfic recipes that totally intrigued me: sparkling rose water, chocolate mint sparkling water, blueberry cinnamon soda, orange crush soda with actual oranges, coffee chocolate stout bee (nonalcoholic), orange rosemary crush herbal soda, vanilla pear shrub, etc etc! It covers more typical sodas too, like cola, root beer, cream soda, kombucha, etc., and at the end, recipes for cooking with soda, including desserts.
I received the ebook courtesy of the publisher (Storey) and Netgalley.
September 18, 2013
This is a surprisingly fun book. In addition to recipes, soda basics are covered--different sweeteners, natural soda ingredients, what goes into a siphon (soda-carbonating machine, like SodaStream), a brief history, and more. Also sprinkled through are short notes about history person/company X, phenomenon Y, and tips for specific recipes.
The book explain the three different ways of making a soda: using a siphon, fermentation, and mixing a syrup with seltzer. Each has an easily-identifiable icon so you can easily locate the direction for your preferred method, and most recipes spell out multiple way you can make the soda depending on which carbonation method you use. In the event that one way isn't feasible--for example, the entires on kombucha, which much be brewed/fermented--it's very easily stated.
For fun, the end of the book also includes some soda-inspired (or included as their ingredients) recipes and desserts. Fun!
The book explain the three different ways of making a soda: using a siphon, fermentation, and mixing a syrup with seltzer. Each has an easily-identifiable icon so you can easily locate the direction for your preferred method, and most recipes spell out multiple way you can make the soda depending on which carbonation method you use. In the event that one way isn't feasible--for example, the entires on kombucha, which much be brewed/fermented--it's very easily stated.
For fun, the end of the book also includes some soda-inspired (or included as their ingredients) recipes and desserts. Fun!
March 24, 2011
You might call it soda, pop, or coke but whatever part of the world you are from you've most likely had a soda. Using beautifully illustrated and easy to understand recipes you will learn everything there is to know about soda from it's history to how it is made. The 200 recipes in this book rate from beginner to advanced, but there is most definitely something for everyone. Whether you want to make an egg cream or try your hand at birch beer or cola there's a recipe for you in this book. Some are classics and some are a little more exotic, but no matter the recipe each is easy to understand.. Throughout the book there are nice little tidbits relating to certain recipes. If you love soda. If you want to try and make your own, or even just want a better understanding about this world renowned drink then this is definitely the book for you.
May 12, 2013
This recipe book had everything I wanted:
-Tons of recipes for syrups that can be carbonated
-Interesting approaches to fruit-based mixes
-The level of water-to-syrup for seltzer bottle carbonation
-A wide variety of recipes to try
If you are looking for lots of syrup recipes to try, then this is your book. The recipes are simple and quick, mostly making a puree or dissolving syrup, which you then add fizzy seltzer to. If you are looking for more complex recipes or brewing techniques, this may not be your book.
The layout of the book is very easy to read, with a retro styling that I enjoyed.
I recommend checking it out at your library and giving it a good once-over before purchasing it to make sure it has the recipes you want. This was a perfect fit for my needs and I will be snatching it up soon!
-Tons of recipes for syrups that can be carbonated
-Interesting approaches to fruit-based mixes
-The level of water-to-syrup for seltzer bottle carbonation
-A wide variety of recipes to try
If you are looking for lots of syrup recipes to try, then this is your book. The recipes are simple and quick, mostly making a puree or dissolving syrup, which you then add fizzy seltzer to. If you are looking for more complex recipes or brewing techniques, this may not be your book.
The layout of the book is very easy to read, with a retro styling that I enjoyed.
I recommend checking it out at your library and giving it a good once-over before purchasing it to make sure it has the recipes you want. This was a perfect fit for my needs and I will be snatching it up soon!
June 20, 2011
After getting a SodaStream as a gift, I started buying their syrups and didn't love them. I do love it for seltzer, but crave different soda flavors. Along comes "Homemade Soda" and my quest is over! There are so many recipes that I will never be able to make them all (200, in fact)...soda syrups, teas, juices, flavored waters, floats, health drinks and more! And for those of you who don't have a soda machine or a siphon, most recipes for the syrups can just be mixed with bottled seltzer!
The book itself is in full color with easy to read fonts. Not just recipes though... there is information on the history of soda, soda machines, siphons and brewing.
I will definitely be using this book a lot!
The book itself is in full color with easy to read fonts. Not just recipes though... there is information on the history of soda, soda machines, siphons and brewing.
I will definitely be using this book a lot!
February 7, 2017
While I own this book and pull it out often to peruse its pages I can say honestly that I've never once actually made anything from this book.
Now for many people that's nothing new - I however LOVE cooking. Love, Love, Love!
I have my own collections of baby recipes, canning recipes, holiday recipes, camping recipes ect. All with my own notes and addendum's - I love nothing better than to rework and redo recipes to my own personal tastes.
From what I can tell these recipes all sound amazing - why don't I make them?
They all require massive amounts of specialty ingredients. The amount of money and time I'd need to devote to making a single recipe is staggering.
So every now and then I forget, pull it out, flip through it and then once again I put it back on the shelf.
Now for many people that's nothing new - I however LOVE cooking. Love, Love, Love!
I have my own collections of baby recipes, canning recipes, holiday recipes, camping recipes ect. All with my own notes and addendum's - I love nothing better than to rework and redo recipes to my own personal tastes.
From what I can tell these recipes all sound amazing - why don't I make them?
They all require massive amounts of specialty ingredients. The amount of money and time I'd need to devote to making a single recipe is staggering.
So every now and then I forget, pull it out, flip through it and then once again I put it back on the shelf.
July 18, 2012
I just came across this at the library by chance but it's exactly what I've been hoping to find. For various reasons, I've stopped drinking commercially made sodas, and although I feel great, I somewhat miss variety in my beverages. I'd already started making homemade gingerale with great success and am excited to try so many recipes in this book. My kids already enjoy helping make gingerale and knowing they'll grow up knowing how to make so many alternative drinks to the calorie and chemically laden offerings of commercial soda is only a good thing. My next trip to the bookstore will result in this one coming hoome with me.
September 24, 2011
Can't wait to try out some of these drinks! What I like is that I don't have to buy expensive soda making equipment. The author gives you 3 options/techniques which helped me to pick out only the ones where I can just mix the ingredients with seltzer. Also, there were some terrific sections describing the history of soda as well as a number of colorful timelines as I'm a sucker for graphs!
January 13, 2012
The author needs to choose which level of reader his is aiming at. Several times it feels like he is talking to ten year olds, and others at biochemists. I don't have a good feeling about this title.
June 18, 2011
my soda siphon's getting a workout!
October 9, 2011
Not sure middle school students would have the $$ or time or energy to create their own soda. Good book about creating healthier versions of favorites sodas but probably not for my demographic.
December 12, 2011
Lovely book for those of us with soda water makers. I've had a lot of fun exploring new recipes to make with my soda stream. I'm happy to say I've discovered a few lifetime keepers!
December 31, 2014
I don't normally rate cookbooks if I haven't tried the recipes, but the amount of soda history and science nerdery is high and makes this book worth reading.
May 3, 2013
tons of drink recipes, most with multiple ways to make them. as all but a few are syrups, they could be blended with water for a non-fizzy drink as well. some recipes use unusual ingredients.
February 27, 2013
I made a few of these recipes using seltzer from my SodaStream and they were all excellent. I want to buy the book and try a lot more of 'em!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews