Homemade Soda

This is a truly excellent book for anyone who enjoys fizzy drinks, food history, or is a closet Mad Scientist to pick up. I've had the book for several weeks and between it and the SodaStream my husband and I received as a Christmas gift from my parents (we've seriously and completely voided it's warranty - but with it, about $100 in various extra scrounged parts, and quite a bit of brilliance from my husband we now have the ability to carbonate just about anything without a siphon) we will never need to pick up another case of soda on the way home from work again. The variety of options is simply staggering - with almost every recipe giving you options again in how you want your soda to achieve "Fizzy". You can mix the concentrated syrups with a splash of seltzer water, fizz it up with either a siphon (or other gadget - I have found you can use a SodaStream AS a siphon, it just takes a bit of fiddling around and a few loads of towels used to wipe up the overfoam until you get the mix right!), or go old school and brew your treat at home. I simply love this book - I'm a serious food nerd, so I love all the history and science the author peppers the books with. The recipes are vastly varied - from simple and lightly flavored water (for me, it's a tossup between the Lychee Water, the Slightly Salted Caramel Seltzer, or the Barely Sweet White Grape Water when I want to reach for something on a hot afternoon) through the sweeter sodas, and on to the hearty ever so slightly fermented beers. The author covers sport drinks, fruit and veggie blends, teas, and even ventures into hard-core mixology. Almost every recipe has What's even better is you are also given recipes and suggestions of what to do with all the various bottles of elixirs and syrups you will end up littering your refrigerator with. From rib sauces to breads, from curry to cupcakes, dozens of recipes are there to entice you into stepping out of your 12-case box and exploring the wonderful world of Do-It-Yourself drinks. It's a chance to take back control over what you and your family drink - and it's a delicious way to go about it!

I don't buy books much, but after seeing this online and reading the preview I just had to get it. I learned some valuable soda information such as using *almond* extract to make *cherry* cola. I never would have guessed that one. Cardamom + Apricot nectar (I used apricot nectar flavored Stevia) makes a sweet and delicious aromatic soda. I have been using stevia in all of the recipes (all recipes in this book use sugar, honey, molasses, or other natural sweeteners). If you want to use stevia, I recommend using the powdered pure stevia extract that comes with the scoopula. It has no aftertase. Of course you'll have to use the natural sugary sweeteners if you are going to brew your soda with yeast. This book is great for anyone with a soda stream carbonation machine. The author gives a great variety of recipes and vivid descriptions to the taste effect. There is something in here for everyone.

I saw this book at Surfas in Culver City. After three pages I knew I had to buy it. You get: Recipes, History, Technique, and Photos (gorgeous photos). I have a lot of books, it doesn't really get better than this. The layout is all very easy to follow. If you're interested in making carbonated beverages (either brewed or with a siphon/seltzer water), this is an indispensable foray into the subject. As someone interested in making-my-own-everything... I know how to make sodas now and damn good ones. But, by far, the most valuable lesson of this book is the resplendent creativity. I never would have thought to include vinegar and a host of other random ingredients in my beverages -- or that brewing an ale could be so easy. This book is a gem in my culinary library. If you're interested in making anything described in the title. Buy it -- you could just buy a soda siphon and experiment, however I really do think you'll get some great ideas from this book that you wouldn't have imagined otherwise. Plus, I never would have guessed the recipe for Root Beer. My only complaint is that there isn't a companion book about how to brew wines, beers, and spirits. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I found some great-sounding recipes that I plan to make. They seem well thought-out and are easy to follow.

I've made about 11 of the recipes in this book so far and have noticed that the recipes fit better when used to brew up syrups to add to carbonated water rather than brewing with yeast to carbonate. Some recipes I do not care for at all while some of the other recipes are ok but need to be tweeked a little to make up for better sugar to yeast consumption, fermentation, overpowering spices/ingredients, etc. I realize that everyone's taste and expectations are different so be prepared to do some trial & error experimenting if considering purchasing this book. It's a great intro to soda recipes book if you can find all of the ingredients.

I've only made one recipe from Schloss' book so far, but I can already tell it's a good read. The book does not contain one recipe and a bunch of variations on it. There are even recipes for syrups to combine with alcohol! The natural soda recipe we cooked up last night was tasty, sweet and contained oranges, lemons, limes, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and other natural flavors. If I had to add one criticism to my review it would be the recommended portion of syrup to seltzer. A silly detail, really, as part of the joy of making your own and our reason for purchasing the book in the first place was to have a jumping-off point for making our own flavors. I should add that I bought a soda syphon with the hopes of making some delicious seltzers, found this book (which has seltzer recipes as well), and now I'm thinking about brewing soda with yeast. The book's got me hooked! The next soda on our list to try is Anise Licorice Root Beer, and then Ginger Beer. but in the meantime, we'll probably try some of the easier seltzer recipes. PS- You do not need a Sodastream or similar soda-making product to produce the recipes in this book. A soda siphon of any kind or champagne yeast and an empty 1 liter plastic bottle will do the trick.

This book has a breadth of recopies unmatched in any other book of this type that I own. Good solid basic recipes (sometimes too much sugar to my taste though). Is a good place to start for making my own sods syrups for my soda stream. I do not eat alot of additional sugar, and do not use artificial sweeteners (which are perceived as sweeter) as I am allergic to artificial sweeteners. I cannot say anything about stevia because I...of course...am one of the 12-20% who taste it is bitter rather than sweet. I find the recipes fun and a good place to start with clear explanations and ingredients lists, and options drawn from old through modern recipes and styles.

Recipes for sodas

The recipes in this book are good but it's quite boring as there are no photos throughout the book. It's actually quite misleading when you read the preview as there are a few pictures at the front of book, when you move on to the actual recipes its just page after page of writing with nothing to break it up.

Used many great recipes

This book is awesome, i haven't tried any of the recipes but it offers so many different options that you can pick and choose which one you want to try. From classic drink to new exotic ones. Perfect combination to go with a Sodastream machine

Well thought out and excellent recipes. I felt that a bit more research and perhaps some warnings concerning some of the herbs and roots used in the book are warranted.

I am so enjoying this book, I have a Sodastream and have been experimenting with making my own sodas for a while. This book has given me so many ideas, such as drinking shrubs and switchels - drinks made with vinegar, which sounds odd but taste amazing. The book also gives some history and details about types of drinks that I really enjoyed reading.