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Drink

Effervescing Soda

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Effervescing Soda

Ingredients

Directions

Make and drink

  1. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the syrup thoroughly.

  2. Add 6 to 8 cups of cold water while stirring.

  3. Mix in the powdered tartaric acid and drink immediately.

Bottle

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

  2. Fill bottles and add ½ drachm each of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa and tartaric acid, then cork immediately.

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Bicarbonate of soda
Reacts with the tartaric acid to release carbon dioxide, which makes the soda fizz.
Tartaric acid
Acid that reacts with the bicarbonate to produce the bubbles and gives a tart edge.
Syrup
Adds sweetness and flavor to balance the sharpness of the acid.

The step that matters

Drink immediately after adding the tartaric acid. The reaction between the acid and bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide quickly, so the gas escapes from the liquid within minutes and the fizz fades if the drink is left standing.

“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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