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Drink

Effervescing Soda

A fizzy drink made by mixing flavored syrup, bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid with cold water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Effervescing Soda

Ingredients

Directions

Make the soda

  1. Mix half a teaspoonful of powdered bicarbonate of soda thoroughly with two tablespoonfuls of syrup of any flavor to suit the taste.

  2. Add six or eight times as much cold water.

  3. While stirring, mix in half a teaspoonful of powdered tartaric acid.

  4. Drink at once, as this is for immediate consumption.

Bottle for later

  1. For bottling, mix the syrup, flavor and water in the usual proportions and fill into bottles.

  2. Put half a drachm each of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa and crystallized tartaric acid into each bottle and cork immediately.

  3. For wine bottles, use double the quantity.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

118Calories
2 gProtein
1 gFat
28 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 6 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Orange Flower1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Syrupnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Rosenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,125 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Orange + rosetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together876 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bicarbonate of soda
Reacts with tartaric acid to release carbon dioxide, creating the effervescence.
Tartaric acid
Acid that reacts with the bicarbonate to produce the fizz and a sharp, tart taste.
Syrup
Adds sweetness and flavor to the drink and carries the bicarbonate evenly through the water.

The step that matters

Mixing the acid while stirring. The bicarbonate and tartaric acid react as soon as they meet, releasing carbon dioxide gas. Stirring the acid in spreads the reaction evenly so the gas stays dissolved and the drink fizzes well, and the drink should be consumed at once before the gas escapes.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (syrup, almond, rose, sugar):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits about as well
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against syrup, almond, rose, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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