The Very Best Lemon Soda

 Commercial drinks are mediocre- we all know that (do we)? However the issue is, that we are all accustomed to their basic character.

Here is a recipe for a lemon soda - which is easily adaptable for grapefruit, orange, lime, lemon/lime etc.

Please ensure that your fruits are well washed - best with bicarbonate and/or a solution of hydrogen peroxide - organic citrus is ideal!

Lemon Soda

Water

120 g sugar

5 washed lemons

2.4 g citric acid (lemon salt)

Add sugar to a vacuum bag (or ziplock freezer bag). Use a Microplane grater and zest all washed lemons over the sugar. Vacuum (or press out as much air as possible.

Let it macerate for several hours (you could also add the mixture into a water bath of 60°C for 2 hours - it speeds up the process).

Add water and citric acid to dissolve the sugar and acid (amount depends on the process - if you are making a soda syrup and post mix, use only 100 ml water. If you have got am Carbonator add as much water that the result becomes 1l).

The syrup doesn’t needs to be pasteurized as the sugar content and pH is too high - however if you make a soda, it doesn’t hurt to add the ready carbonated drink into a water bath at 60°C for 2.5+ hours. 

Due to the low temperature the aromas are not denaturing - but due to the elongated time, the drink is pasteurized and last at least a month!

1. Make a oleo saccharum: add lemon zest to sugar and let macerate
2. Dissolve oleo saccharum in water and add citric acid.
3. Carbonate the solution.
4. Pasteurize

Special shout out to Ghazi, who was interested in this recipe!