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Cheap Way of Making Soda-water

A simple method to produce soda water using carbonate of soda, tartaric acid, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Cheap Way of Making Soda-water

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add 1 teaspoon of carbonate of soda to a soda-water bottle.

  2. Pour in 1¼ cups of water.

  3. Add 1 teaspoon of tartaric acid.

  4. Cork the bottle 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

Carbonate of soda
Reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide, which makes the water fizz.
Tartaric acid
Reacts with the carbonate to release the gas and gives a sharp, tart taste.
Water
Dissolves the two powders so they can react and release the gas.

The step that matters

Cork the bottle immediately. Corking right away traps the carbon dioxide released when the acid meets the carbonate. Gas escapes from an open liquid, so a delay lets fizz leak out before the bottle is sealed.

“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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