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Drink

Sarsaparilla Mead

A sweetened sarsaparilla beverage made by boiling, straining, and mixing with sugar, tartaric acid, bicarbonate, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Sarsaparilla Mead

Sarsaparilla Mead

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sarsaparilla base

  1. Boil the sarsaparilla in water for 5 hours, ensuring enough water remains to yield 1 quart after straining.

  2. Strain the liquid and add the sugar and tartaric acid, stirring until dissolved.

Serve

  1. Mix 1 ounce of the preparation with ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and ½ pint of water.

  2. Serve chilled.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Spanish sarsaparilla
Provides the main flavour and aroma of the drink.
Granulated sugar
Adds sweetness and body, and helps preserve the liquid.
Tartaric acid
Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness.
Bicarbonate of soda
Reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide, creating fizz when mixed.

The step that matters

Mixing with bicarbonate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda reacts with tartaric acid to release carbon dioxide gas, which makes the drink fizz. Adding it too early, or letting the mixture stand before serving, lets the gas escape and leaves the drink flat.

“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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