I got the idea for this soda when trying to figure out a use for the Almond extract I originally picked up with the intention of using it in my cream soda. I never used it for my cream soda, but alas, I found another ingredient I thought would pair well with it-cinnamon. The spiciness of the cinnamon paired with the sweetness of the almond extract sounded quite delightful to me. Anyone who has ever used almond extract for any reason, however, knows that almond extract smells much like maraschino cherries. This is understandable, as almond trees belong to the prunus species-which includes peaches, prunes, plums, and cherries. Fun fact-almonds are not actually nuts-they are seeds. They're an edible cousin to the notorious peach pit. Another fun fact-Coca Cola company uses almond extract to flavor their Cherry Coke.
Anyways, I decided I wanted to make a cinnamon-cherry soda, but I didn't have any cherry juice available to me(maybe next time), so I proceeded with cinnamon sticks and almond extract.
The important thing to keep in mind about extracts is that they will lose their potency if put in too hot of water, so you will not be using the extract during the brewing process-it'll come later. On to the recipe...
4 x 3 inch Cinnamon Sticks
1/2 tsp. Almond extract
2 cups Sugar
1 gallon water
1/8 tsp. Ale yeast
Fill a stock pot with about 2 quarts of water and the cinnamon sticks. Put the water on med-high heat, bring to a simmer and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in the sugar, cover and let steep for another 20 minutes.
Pour in the other 2 quarts of water, mix in and check the temperature. If it's around 100 degrees fahrenheit, stir in your almond extract 1/4 tsp. at a time.
Put 1/8 tsp. of yeast in a coffee cup(or measuring cup you used for sugar) with 2 oz. warm water, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
Ideally, you'll want your brew water to be between 80-90 degrees. Stir in your yeast water and bottle.
This ended up being my first batch of homemade soda that a gallon batch actually filled 11 12 oz. bottles-and 8 oz. leftover to sample the brew. Usually I get about 10 12 oz. bottles with an 8 oz. tester bottle leftover. I think dividing the water in half in the brew process helps retain more of the water as not as much gets lost due to evaporation.
The tester glass tasted amazing-it was sweet, slightly tart and a but spicy. It reminded me of a cherry crisp. I'm anticipating popping open a bottle in 2 days to check out how it's coming along. I'll let you know how it goes.
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tutorial: Making your first batch of homemade soda from extract.
Ok, yesterday I wrote a post giving you a list of supplies to get you started on the journey of making your own homemade soda. Today, I will provide you step by step instructions on making your first batch.
First, get all of your ingredients ready. Get your bottle of extract
, your sugar, yeast, and water.
Then, make sure you have all of your other supplies readily available. It is of the utmost importance that your bottles and stock pot are both sterile, so clean them thoroughly in hot water and soap-might even be a good idea to give them a quick bath in a sink full of bleach water solution and a good rinse.
Fill your stock pot with a gallon of water, and set the temperature to medium heat. Since you'll be working with an extract today, you won't need to get the water much hotter then what you'd run your bath water at, so you can gauge by your finger. Once the water is warm enough(around 100 degrees), pour in 2 cups of sugar until it is dissolved.
Take your empty measuring cup, dip it into the pot and get out about 2 oz. of the mix. Measure out 1/8 tsp. of yeast and drop it in the measuring cup. Stir it in and let sit uncovered.
Once you have done that, add 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of the extract and stir in to mix the flavor in.
Now, take the yeast water from the measuring cup and pour back into the rest of the mix. Stir in well to make sure the yeast is in the whole mix and not just sitting at the top.
Using your ladle and funnel bottle your brew. If you've chosen to use 2 liter bottles and have steady hands, you may be able to place the funnel in the bottle and slowly pour the brew into the bottle directly from the pot-which will make the process go a lot quicker. If you're using glass bottles(which I recommend), it should take you about 20-30 minutes to bottle and cap.
Find a place where you can set the bottles out of sunlight and undisturbed for the next few days. If you've chosen 2 liter bottles, you can check the carbonation by squeezing the bottle. Once it's rock hard you should put it in the refrigerator to help slow the fermentation process down.
If you have bottled in glass, check the bottles after 48 hours and then again about every 24 hours after that. IF you crack open one bottle and have a good amount of carbonation, place the remaining bottles in the refrigerator to allow to cool. Fair warning, if the bottle is particularly warm or very carbonated, it will explode out of the bottle(as has happened to me) so I would recommend opening over the sink.
Ideally, you want to store the bottles at or around 70 degrees. If you store them somewhere too cold, your yeast will not flourish. If you store it somewhere warmer, check the bottles earlier, as the yeast will work exponentially quicker the hotter it is.
Once in the refrigerator, you're going to want to let them set for a few days to get the best flavor possible. With the glass bottles I've experienced my best flavor after a week, but it should taste good 3 days afterwards. You'll be in for a pleasant surprise, however, as your bottles will get progressively more delicious as the days go on. Bottled soda will keep for about a month(possibly longer), but it's very unlikely they will last that long.
I'm not sure how long it will keep in the 2 liter bottles, but I would recommend drinking it first 2 days after refrigeration and within a week after that. Your carbonation will stay better in homemade soda then a store bought soda because of the chemical reactions involved, but the repeated exposure to oxygen will make it spoil more quickly then individual, one use bottles that you open once and consume in once sitting.
Cheers!
First, get all of your ingredients ready. Get your bottle of extract
, your sugar, yeast, and water.Then, make sure you have all of your other supplies readily available. It is of the utmost importance that your bottles and stock pot are both sterile, so clean them thoroughly in hot water and soap-might even be a good idea to give them a quick bath in a sink full of bleach water solution and a good rinse.
Fill your stock pot with a gallon of water, and set the temperature to medium heat. Since you'll be working with an extract today, you won't need to get the water much hotter then what you'd run your bath water at, so you can gauge by your finger. Once the water is warm enough(around 100 degrees), pour in 2 cups of sugar until it is dissolved.
Take your empty measuring cup, dip it into the pot and get out about 2 oz. of the mix. Measure out 1/8 tsp. of yeast and drop it in the measuring cup. Stir it in and let sit uncovered.
Once you have done that, add 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of the extract
and stir in to mix the flavor in.Now, take the yeast water from the measuring cup and pour back into the rest of the mix. Stir in well to make sure the yeast is in the whole mix and not just sitting at the top.
Using your ladle and funnel bottle your brew. If you've chosen to use 2 liter bottles and have steady hands, you may be able to place the funnel in the bottle and slowly pour the brew into the bottle directly from the pot-which will make the process go a lot quicker. If you're using glass bottles(which I recommend), it should take you about 20-30 minutes to bottle and cap.
Find a place where you can set the bottles out of sunlight and undisturbed for the next few days. If you've chosen 2 liter bottles, you can check the carbonation by squeezing the bottle. Once it's rock hard you should put it in the refrigerator to help slow the fermentation process down.
If you have bottled in glass, check the bottles after 48 hours and then again about every 24 hours after that. IF you crack open one bottle and have a good amount of carbonation, place the remaining bottles in the refrigerator to allow to cool. Fair warning, if the bottle is particularly warm or very carbonated, it will explode out of the bottle(as has happened to me) so I would recommend opening over the sink.
Ideally, you want to store the bottles at or around 70 degrees. If you store them somewhere too cold, your yeast will not flourish. If you store it somewhere warmer, check the bottles earlier, as the yeast will work exponentially quicker the hotter it is.
Once in the refrigerator, you're going to want to let them set for a few days to get the best flavor possible. With the glass bottles I've experienced my best flavor after a week, but it should taste good 3 days afterwards. You'll be in for a pleasant surprise, however, as your bottles will get progressively more delicious as the days go on. Bottled soda will keep for about a month(possibly longer), but it's very unlikely they will last that long.
I'm not sure how long it will keep in the 2 liter bottles, but I would recommend drinking it first 2 days after refrigeration and within a week after that. Your carbonation will stay better in homemade soda then a store bought soda because of the chemical reactions involved, but the repeated exposure to oxygen will make it spoil more quickly then individual, one use bottles that you open once and consume in once sitting.
Cheers!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Testing the most recent batch...
Let me start off by accounting for the length of the last post. Since I originally promised pictures, and provided none, I wanted to be as descriptive of the process as possible.
With that being said...
This morning my two apprentice soda-makers accompanied on a car trip to a closed destination. Upon returning home, I was faced with a regular conflict in our household-Biggle had gone inside peacefully, but Middle was insistent upon staying in the car. So insistent, in fact, that she brought her knees to her chest and locked her arms around her legs to prevent me from even unbuckling her from her car seat. I left her door opened and went inside the house, explaining to my wife what was going on. She rolled her eyes and went about her business, and I returned to the vehicle.
I had an ace up my sleeve today(I usually don't-which results in me hanging out around the car out of her view, sporadically checking up on her to see if she's ready to come inside yet).
"Middle, do you want to come inside and test our soda? We'll see if it's ready to go in the fridge yet..."
She looked at me, slowly allowing a smile to creep across her face, and then said "Okay daddy". She dropped her legs and allowed me access to the buckles, freeing her from her self-sentenced, plastic-formed prison. She hops down out of the car and trots inside.
I was planning on waiting until after dinner to check the sodas, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
I grab the not quite full bottle, grab the bottle opener and pop the top. Well, I didn't "pop" the top as much as I allowed the pressure inside the bottle enough breathing room to hurtle the cap through the air(I swear it hit the ceiling), along with a fountain of soda to rival the greatest Diet Coke/Mentos youtube videos. Half of the bottle was spent, leaving a trail about 2 feet long across the kitchen floor, foam in Middle's hair, and yeasty-goodness all over my pants. I did manage to minimize the damage by quickly getting it to the sink(next time, open over the sink...), but it was still quite the mess.
Time to sample! The prospect of drinking our own root beer was really what lured Middle out of the car, so it was time to come through on my end of the bargain. I poured the remaining contents into a nearby glass and took a quick swig while she looked away-yeasty, but delicious. It takes a few days in the fridge for the soda to actually taste like soda instead of yeast, so don't get discouraged if/when you make your own at home. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it tastes.
Back on point-Middle enjoyed it, Biggle thought it was ok, and the wife said she felt like she was drinking sweet bread, and wondered if she could use our soda to make her own root beer bread(she's crafty like that).
So, all being satisfied with the level of carbonation attained in 2.5 days, we loaded the sodas into the fridge and continue our wait for homemade awesomeness.
As an aside, my pants still smell like rising yeast, and I keep licking my lips at the prospect of enjoying some of my wife's fantastic homemade bread fresh out of the oven. Unfortunately for me, there will be no oven warm bread unless I throw my unwashed khakis into the dryer and try to take a bite.
Adventures in Soda Making
So, as promised, me and my two oldest girls made some soda Friday night. Originally I thought it was going to just be my oldest and I, but when we were talking about doing it at dinner the middle one decided she wanted to join in on the fun as well. Awesome! I get to share my hobby with my girls, and they get to learn a little bit about old-fashioned soda making!
Anyways, my middle daughter was most excited about the prospect of us making our own "Doggy Soda"(her affectionate term for ALL root beer since discovering that Mug Root Beer is her favorite soda/pop of all time). I explained to her that we wouldn't be able to drink it for at least a week, but she was hearing no part of that statement.
I filled our 12 quart pot up with water, set the heat on and proceeded to clear the dishes from the dinner table. My wife chimed in "Hey honey, are you going to be able to get this all done in a half hour?"-we were getting a late start do to some running around and playing before I we finally got to dinner that night.
"Sure," I said, "we can get the soda mixed up within thirty minutes, and then the bottling will go pretty quickly without them"
"Honey," she said, "you have to bottle up a couple with them."
Oh yeah, of course they'd love to bottle. I'll have some helpers, for the first couple(I thought), and then they can go upstairs, change into pajamas and brush their teeth while I finish up the rest.
Long story short, nothing goes quite as smoothly as planned. Anyone with children also knows what happens when you have two little ones(mine are currently 5 and "still 2" as of this writing), and so there were a few minor conflicts.
Anyways, I bring them in the kitchen, and start setting bottles up on a TV tray positioned underneath the counter top with my new toy on it. The girls immediately start grabbing my old, back-up bottles and bringing them into the kitchen. "No girls, we don't need those in here right now. Put them back, and we'll get them when we need them."
They continue to get them out and play with them without bringing them into the kitchen(because technically, they're not bringing them "in there"(the kitchen) "right now"....and they are "putting them back"). So, after a few minutes of back and forth with them(and some great mom interference), we get them back on task and in the kitchen.
I break out the candy thermometer to confirm temperature(110 degrees F-perfect for our needs) to make sure it's hot enough to dissolve the sugar, but not too hot to kill the flavor in the extract(a lesson I've learned the hard way before, which I'll go over more in another post). Since we're making 3 gallons worth of soda, I get out the big jar of extra sugar, and pour it out into a 2 cup measuring cup-I pour in the first one, and have the girls each take a turn pouring the next two subsequent cupfulls into the pot(for a total of 6 cups of sugar). Now, that might sound like a lot, but the yeast will eat up a bit of that in the carbonation process, and it breaks down to about 40ish grams/12 oz. bottle*(most commercial root beers clock in between 38-46 grams/12 oz...).
Then, we each take turns using our big spoon to stir the sugar into the pot until it is completely dissolved. You want to make sure that you don't leave any sugar undissolved to get it as evenly distributed as possible, and the best way to tell is to stir until there are no more "gritty" scrapes along the bottom of the pot. Another way to tell is when the water takes on a very light yellowish-brown twinge(much like flat ginger ale) and is obviously "sticky" on the spoon when you lift the spoon out.
We get to that point and add the extract-we put in 2 tbs. and 1 tsp(roughly 35 ml**), and we each take turns stirring that in. I'll also note here that us taking turns has never been as simple as I make it out to be. There is fighting between the two of them as to who gets to stir first, and who gets to stir next after dad stirs again. So we make it through all of the stirring and get to the taste test. I'm the first to go, and it's very sweet, but a liitle light on the root beer flavor. Middle's turn- her verdict? It's good, but this kid spoons sugar, so her opinion is a little biased at this point. Biggle's turn. She arrives at my conclusion, but in her own way-she observes that it tastes like sugar. So, I ask them if we add more flavoring. Agreement all around, so 2 more tsp(or 10 ml) is added, we all take turns stirring. The second tasting proves satisfactory. Time to get the yeast ready.
I scoop a bit of the slog out into a cup, and consult my resident kitchen expert on how much yeast to use. We agree on 1/2 tsp(4 scoops of a 1/8 tsp), mix it into the slog cup and we clear the girls for the transfer from pot to bucket. The slog is still cooler then their bath water usually is, but if I slip and spill there will be a huge sticky mess that I don't want them to be part of. Transfer goes off smoothly(much to my wife's relief), I give the slog a quick stir and it's time to bottle.
"Come on girls, let's start bottling up our soda!"
"Honey, do you know what time it is?"
"No-why? What time is it?"
She announces it's 7 minutes before I need to get ready for work. I still have 3 gallons of soda to bottle up...panic mode sets in. I rush the girls into the kitchen, and start to work filling the bottles as quickly as possible. I love my new toy, the siphon valve fills the bottles at least 3 times more quickly then my old method of ladling the slog into each bottle through a funnel. The biggle starts talking-"Daaaaad!! When do I get a turn?", then middle chimes in and repeats the same phrase in the same tone. Oh crap, I was supposed to be bottling with them...
After getting 5 bottles filled on my own, I show my girls what I'm doing and how to stop the siphon valve so it doesn't over-fill the bottle. We have a few spill overs, they alternate. While biggle is filling her bottle I send middle to go get a towel to help soak up the overflow and set the bottles onto to prevent them from slipping on the linoleum on the kitchen floor.
Then, I decide we need to start capping some bottles before filling all of them. Biggle is on bottle-holding duty while middle dances around us and alternately continues trying to fill bottles. Before my wife has the great idea of giving middle a new job to keep her occupied(placing the bottles back into the box where they will be going through the carbonation process) my middle has sprayed a bit on the floor, and my improper placement of the siphon valve when she sets in on the floor(in addition to forgetting to turn the spigot to the "closed" position), results in a bit of loss on the floor and counter tops. Not drastically much, mind you(about 3 bottles worth), but enough that my panic is turning into madness with the stress of things not going perfectly(I get a little anal sometimes) AND the fact that I'm running out of time to shower and get dressed for work. So I get the rest of the bottles capped and put away, and even spent some of that time convincing my biggle to lean the bucket forward to get the last couple of bottles(as the spigot is roughly at the 1 gallon mark) filled.
After all was said and done we got 27 full bottles and 1 slightly-short bottle(which will be the one me and the girls open later tonight to check for carbonation levels).
It took only 15 minutes from start to finish to bottle everything(where 1 gallon used to take me about 40 minutes), and I got to do a fun experiment with the kids. I had to rush to get through my work prep(shower, shave, getting dressed, etc.) and I had to feel horrible leaving such a sticky mess for the wife, but I managed to make it to work JUST on time. Next time I'll start a little earlier, though-just in case.
I'll be back with updates on how the initial taste/carbonation test goes and back again to report on how well this batch turned out after aging for a few days in the refrigerator. The package says 2 weeks gives the best results, but I(along with my girls), barely have the patience to make it through one whole week, let alone two.
Until next time...
*For all you math geeks out there, it breaks down like this-each cup of sugar contains 201 grams...so 6 cups is 1206 grams of sugar. Divide that by 28 bottles, and you're left with 43g/bottle. As stated, though, the carbonation process eats up a few tablespoons in the process, so it'll end up being 38-41 g/bottle after all is consumed and ready for drinking.
**Another math geek moment. The directions said to use a whole 2 oz. bottle for a 5 gallon batch. 2 oz. equals a bit over 59 ml, so to make 1 gallon you'd need about 11.8 ml-multiply that by 3 and you get 35.4 ml.
Anyways, my middle daughter was most excited about the prospect of us making our own "Doggy Soda"(her affectionate term for ALL root beer since discovering that Mug Root Beer is her favorite soda/pop of all time). I explained to her that we wouldn't be able to drink it for at least a week, but she was hearing no part of that statement.
I filled our 12 quart pot up with water, set the heat on and proceeded to clear the dishes from the dinner table. My wife chimed in "Hey honey, are you going to be able to get this all done in a half hour?"-we were getting a late start do to some running around and playing before I we finally got to dinner that night.
"Sure," I said, "we can get the soda mixed up within thirty minutes, and then the bottling will go pretty quickly without them"
"Honey," she said, "you have to bottle up a couple with them."
Oh yeah, of course they'd love to bottle. I'll have some helpers, for the first couple(I thought), and then they can go upstairs, change into pajamas and brush their teeth while I finish up the rest.
Long story short, nothing goes quite as smoothly as planned. Anyone with children also knows what happens when you have two little ones(mine are currently 5 and "still 2" as of this writing), and so there were a few minor conflicts.
Anyways, I bring them in the kitchen, and start setting bottles up on a TV tray positioned underneath the counter top with my new toy on it. The girls immediately start grabbing my old, back-up bottles and bringing them into the kitchen. "No girls, we don't need those in here right now. Put them back, and we'll get them when we need them."
They continue to get them out and play with them without bringing them into the kitchen(because technically, they're not bringing them "in there"(the kitchen) "right now"....and they are "putting them back"). So, after a few minutes of back and forth with them(and some great mom interference), we get them back on task and in the kitchen.
I break out the candy thermometer to confirm temperature(110 degrees F-perfect for our needs) to make sure it's hot enough to dissolve the sugar, but not too hot to kill the flavor in the extract(a lesson I've learned the hard way before, which I'll go over more in another post). Since we're making 3 gallons worth of soda, I get out the big jar of extra sugar, and pour it out into a 2 cup measuring cup-I pour in the first one, and have the girls each take a turn pouring the next two subsequent cupfulls into the pot(for a total of 6 cups of sugar). Now, that might sound like a lot, but the yeast will eat up a bit of that in the carbonation process, and it breaks down to about 40ish grams/12 oz. bottle*(most commercial root beers clock in between 38-46 grams/12 oz...).
Then, we each take turns using our big spoon to stir the sugar into the pot until it is completely dissolved. You want to make sure that you don't leave any sugar undissolved to get it as evenly distributed as possible, and the best way to tell is to stir until there are no more "gritty" scrapes along the bottom of the pot. Another way to tell is when the water takes on a very light yellowish-brown twinge(much like flat ginger ale) and is obviously "sticky" on the spoon when you lift the spoon out.
We get to that point and add the extract-we put in 2 tbs. and 1 tsp(roughly 35 ml**), and we each take turns stirring that in. I'll also note here that us taking turns has never been as simple as I make it out to be. There is fighting between the two of them as to who gets to stir first, and who gets to stir next after dad stirs again. So we make it through all of the stirring and get to the taste test. I'm the first to go, and it's very sweet, but a liitle light on the root beer flavor. Middle's turn- her verdict? It's good, but this kid spoons sugar, so her opinion is a little biased at this point. Biggle's turn. She arrives at my conclusion, but in her own way-she observes that it tastes like sugar. So, I ask them if we add more flavoring. Agreement all around, so 2 more tsp(or 10 ml) is added, we all take turns stirring. The second tasting proves satisfactory. Time to get the yeast ready.
I scoop a bit of the slog out into a cup, and consult my resident kitchen expert on how much yeast to use. We agree on 1/2 tsp(4 scoops of a 1/8 tsp), mix it into the slog cup and we clear the girls for the transfer from pot to bucket. The slog is still cooler then their bath water usually is, but if I slip and spill there will be a huge sticky mess that I don't want them to be part of. Transfer goes off smoothly(much to my wife's relief), I give the slog a quick stir and it's time to bottle.
"Come on girls, let's start bottling up our soda!"
"Honey, do you know what time it is?"
"No-why? What time is it?"
She announces it's 7 minutes before I need to get ready for work. I still have 3 gallons of soda to bottle up...panic mode sets in. I rush the girls into the kitchen, and start to work filling the bottles as quickly as possible. I love my new toy, the siphon valve fills the bottles at least 3 times more quickly then my old method of ladling the slog into each bottle through a funnel. The biggle starts talking-"Daaaaad!! When do I get a turn?", then middle chimes in and repeats the same phrase in the same tone. Oh crap, I was supposed to be bottling with them...
After getting 5 bottles filled on my own, I show my girls what I'm doing and how to stop the siphon valve so it doesn't over-fill the bottle. We have a few spill overs, they alternate. While biggle is filling her bottle I send middle to go get a towel to help soak up the overflow and set the bottles onto to prevent them from slipping on the linoleum on the kitchen floor.
Then, I decide we need to start capping some bottles before filling all of them. Biggle is on bottle-holding duty while middle dances around us and alternately continues trying to fill bottles. Before my wife has the great idea of giving middle a new job to keep her occupied(placing the bottles back into the box where they will be going through the carbonation process) my middle has sprayed a bit on the floor, and my improper placement of the siphon valve when she sets in on the floor(in addition to forgetting to turn the spigot to the "closed" position), results in a bit of loss on the floor and counter tops. Not drastically much, mind you(about 3 bottles worth), but enough that my panic is turning into madness with the stress of things not going perfectly(I get a little anal sometimes) AND the fact that I'm running out of time to shower and get dressed for work. So I get the rest of the bottles capped and put away, and even spent some of that time convincing my biggle to lean the bucket forward to get the last couple of bottles(as the spigot is roughly at the 1 gallon mark) filled.
After all was said and done we got 27 full bottles and 1 slightly-short bottle(which will be the one me and the girls open later tonight to check for carbonation levels).
It took only 15 minutes from start to finish to bottle everything(where 1 gallon used to take me about 40 minutes), and I got to do a fun experiment with the kids. I had to rush to get through my work prep(shower, shave, getting dressed, etc.) and I had to feel horrible leaving such a sticky mess for the wife, but I managed to make it to work JUST on time. Next time I'll start a little earlier, though-just in case.
I'll be back with updates on how the initial taste/carbonation test goes and back again to report on how well this batch turned out after aging for a few days in the refrigerator. The package says 2 weeks gives the best results, but I(along with my girls), barely have the patience to make it through one whole week, let alone two.
Until next time...
*For all you math geeks out there, it breaks down like this-each cup of sugar contains 201 grams...so 6 cups is 1206 grams of sugar. Divide that by 28 bottles, and you're left with 43g/bottle. As stated, though, the carbonation process eats up a few tablespoons in the process, so it'll end up being 38-41 g/bottle after all is consumed and ready for drinking.
**Another math geek moment. The directions said to use a whole 2 oz. bottle for a 5 gallon batch. 2 oz. equals a bit over 59 ml, so to make 1 gallon you'd need about 11.8 ml-multiply that by 3 and you get 35.4 ml.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
My first attempt
I would like to relate my first real attempt at making soda with everyone, and so decided to make this post before putting up my next review. Also, stay tuned for the question at the end.
I started off reading about Soda Siphons and different flavor concentrates, but at the time I didn't have the money to purchase the siphon(still haven't bought one). I wasn't going to let that get in the way of me making my own soda, and then it dawned on me-people have been making carbonated beverages for a long time before we had co2 canisters. So how did they do it? So I did a search, and very quickly discovered the mysterious secret-combining yeast, sugar and a closed container in a warm place. Really simple chemistry, and something I thought I should have learned at some point already.
So, I ran to my kitchen, looked for yeast and sugar. baking yeast was there, and we always had sugar. So now I needed a container I could seal- obvious answer! So I drank the rest of the 2 liter in the fridge and rinsed it thoroughly. I was rearing to go, and realized I had no idea what kind of soda I wanted to make.
I spent the rest of the night reading up on cola recipes, already knowing that cinnamon and vanilla was the "generic" cola flavor we associate with most store-brands. I knew we had those two ingredients, but I had to find out what the rest of the ingredients were. Most formulas call for lemon/lime/orange oil and some various spices. So, I collected what we had(I'll go into an ingredient list in a moment), and prepared myself for the task at hand.
I got out a stock pot, dumped a two liter bottle full of water into it(and added a little extra for boil off), and turned on the heat. I got it up to below boiling and turned the heat down, and proceeded to put in about a cup of sugar. Stirred in the sugar until it dissolved(creating an off-brown colored watery syrup), and sparingly added cinnamon and vanilla until I could taste them along with the sugar. I was just pinching and dropping, so I don't have any accurate measurements(nor would they be relevant by the end of this), but future recipes will include amounts so you can try it out yourself if you'd like.
After getting a satisfactory amount, I proceeded to add my other ingredients. A 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, a pinch of cardamom, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of lime. The lemon and lime juices provided me my citrus bouqet and slight acid bite(as I was working from my wife's spice rack instead of a grocery list specifically for my purposes), and overall the mixture turned out smelling and tasting quite flavorful.
So I grabbed a ladle and funnel and filled my two liter bottle with my concoction. I then took 1/4 teaspoon of the baker's yeast, dropped it in a coffee cup with a little bit of warm water in it, and let it proof with a paper towel covering it for about 5-10 minutes while the 2-liter cooled in the fridge. It's very important to allow your pre-soda to cool a little before putting in the yeast, as letting it stay too hot will kill the yeast, but letting it cool too much won't allow the yeast to activate or continue to culture. 98-105 f is the recommended temperature.
My pre-soda was cooled and my yeast was ready. What could I do to make my cola stand out? I put a drop of green food coloring in the bottle to make it look fun and made sure it didn't alter the taste any(it didn't).
So I capped the bottle(having left about an inch of head space to allow a little gas buildup from the carbonation process), and set it on the counter.
Then, one of the longest waits of my life started. For three days I continued to return to my bottle(a few times a day) to squeeze and check for levels of carbonation. It started off very squishy and continued to get more firm. After the third day I decided it had gotten firm enough and placed the bottle(very, very carefully) into the refrigerator so it could cool and arrest the yeast.
It is of note to bring up the fact that yeast will create a kind of dirty-looking sediment at the bottom of your mixture, and it is very unappetizing to look at, so try to avoid doing that and focus on how delicious your soda is going to be.
After what felt like another eternity(which was about 2 days), I cracked open by bottle, received a very satisfying "pop" and fizz. I was super excited, until I caught a whiff of the odor that emanated from the bottle. It was something akin to risen bread before going into the oven to be cooked(as to be expected from the yeast), and a faint chemically smell. Uh-oh. I soldiered on.
I poured a small glass of my concoction to try it out. I took a sip. Very sweet, amazing carbonation. Those are the only good things I can say about my first batch of homemade soda. The mixture seemed to have taken on a bit of the plastic as part of it's flavor, but more pressing then that was the huge clumps of yeast floating around the glass...it wouldn't have been too bad, but it left a hairy feeling in your mouth. Bleh! My attempted cola ended up tasting like non-alcoholic, stale beer that someone had spilled sugar into. I really want to equate the taste to formaldehyde, but outside of passing puffs of it on a cigarette, I honestly had no reason to believe I actually knew what the stuff tasted or smelled like. In short, it was awful.
I then began to wonder if it was the added food coloring that gave it the awful chemical-like taste and smell. So I recreated the experiment without green food coloring and less yeast(to cut down on the floating hairy strings of yeast). It took slightly longer to carbonate, but produced an almost identical flavor with the same carbonation.
I decided to not get too discouraged and just shelved the cola idea for the time being and looked up other ideas and recipes. My next experiment, and first successful soda, will be the subject of an upcoming blog post.
What was your favorite off-brand or generic soda growing up?
I started off reading about Soda Siphons
and different flavor concentrates, but at the time I didn't have the money to purchase the siphon(still haven't bought one). I wasn't going to let that get in the way of me making my own soda, and then it dawned on me-people have been making carbonated beverages for a long time before we had co2 canisters. So how did they do it? So I did a search, and very quickly discovered the mysterious secret-combining yeast, sugar and a closed container in a warm place. Really simple chemistry, and something I thought I should have learned at some point already.So, I ran to my kitchen, looked for yeast and sugar. baking yeast was there, and we always had sugar. So now I needed a container I could seal- obvious answer! So I drank the rest of the 2 liter in the fridge and rinsed it thoroughly. I was rearing to go, and realized I had no idea what kind of soda I wanted to make.
I spent the rest of the night reading up on cola recipes, already knowing that cinnamon and vanilla was the "generic" cola flavor we associate with most store-brands. I knew we had those two ingredients, but I had to find out what the rest of the ingredients were. Most formulas call for lemon/lime/orange oil and some various spices. So, I collected what we had(I'll go into an ingredient list in a moment), and prepared myself for the task at hand.
I got out a stock pot, dumped a two liter bottle full of water into it(and added a little extra for boil off), and turned on the heat. I got it up to below boiling and turned the heat down, and proceeded to put in about a cup of sugar. Stirred in the sugar until it dissolved(creating an off-brown colored watery syrup), and sparingly added cinnamon and vanilla until I could taste them along with the sugar. I was just pinching and dropping, so I don't have any accurate measurements(nor would they be relevant by the end of this), but future recipes will include amounts so you can try it out yourself if you'd like.
After getting a satisfactory amount, I proceeded to add my other ingredients. A 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, a pinch of cardamom, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of lime. The lemon and lime juices provided me my citrus bouqet and slight acid bite(as I was working from my wife's spice rack instead of a grocery list specifically for my purposes), and overall the mixture turned out smelling and tasting quite flavorful.
So I grabbed a ladle and funnel and filled my two liter bottle with my concoction. I then took 1/4 teaspoon of the baker's yeast, dropped it in a coffee cup with a little bit of warm water in it, and let it proof with a paper towel covering it for about 5-10 minutes while the 2-liter cooled in the fridge. It's very important to allow your pre-soda to cool a little before putting in the yeast, as letting it stay too hot will kill the yeast, but letting it cool too much won't allow the yeast to activate or continue to culture. 98-105 f is the recommended temperature.
My pre-soda was cooled and my yeast was ready. What could I do to make my cola stand out? I put a drop of green food coloring in the bottle to make it look fun and made sure it didn't alter the taste any(it didn't).
So I capped the bottle(having left about an inch of head space to allow a little gas buildup from the carbonation process), and set it on the counter.
Then, one of the longest waits of my life started. For three days I continued to return to my bottle(a few times a day) to squeeze and check for levels of carbonation. It started off very squishy and continued to get more firm. After the third day I decided it had gotten firm enough and placed the bottle(very, very carefully) into the refrigerator so it could cool and arrest the yeast.
It is of note to bring up the fact that yeast will create a kind of dirty-looking sediment at the bottom of your mixture, and it is very unappetizing to look at, so try to avoid doing that and focus on how delicious your soda is going to be.
After what felt like another eternity(which was about 2 days), I cracked open by bottle, received a very satisfying "pop" and fizz. I was super excited, until I caught a whiff of the odor that emanated from the bottle. It was something akin to risen bread before going into the oven to be cooked(as to be expected from the yeast), and a faint chemically smell. Uh-oh. I soldiered on.
I poured a small glass of my concoction to try it out. I took a sip. Very sweet, amazing carbonation. Those are the only good things I can say about my first batch of homemade soda. The mixture seemed to have taken on a bit of the plastic as part of it's flavor, but more pressing then that was the huge clumps of yeast floating around the glass...it wouldn't have been too bad, but it left a hairy feeling in your mouth. Bleh! My attempted cola ended up tasting like non-alcoholic, stale beer that someone had spilled sugar into. I really want to equate the taste to formaldehyde, but outside of passing puffs of it on a cigarette, I honestly had no reason to believe I actually knew what the stuff tasted or smelled like. In short, it was awful.
I then began to wonder if it was the added food coloring that gave it the awful chemical-like taste and smell. So I recreated the experiment without green food coloring and less yeast(to cut down on the floating hairy strings of yeast). It took slightly longer to carbonate, but produced an almost identical flavor with the same carbonation.
I decided to not get too discouraged and just shelved the cola idea for the time being and looked up other ideas and recipes. My next experiment, and first successful soda, will be the subject of an upcoming blog post.
What was your favorite off-brand or generic soda growing up?
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