Raw Strawberry Soda Pop

Remember our post about making strawberry syrup? It’s a lovely ingredient, perfect for many delights, but we've discovered that the pectin from cooked strawberries can play havoc with the texture of carbonated drinks. The solution? Macerate the strawberries raw!

What we do is mix the strawberries with sugar, let them sit until they release their juices, and then strain this incredibly fresh and flavorful liquid. The result is an intensely "strawberry" syrup, free from any cooking or processing beyond the raw maceration.

But what’s a syrup without bubbles? We crafted our own heavy-duty DIY "sodastream" for that purpose. It may look like a contraption out of an animated cartoon (with a full tank of CO2 and multiple gauges attached), but it's actually quite safe and allows us to carbonate at a much higher pressure than what’s common in household sodastreams.

With it, we can turn our spring well water into zeltzer that's so fizzy it’ll make your nose tickle!

When combined with our raw strawberry syrup, the result is a bright, intensely fruity soda that's simply delightful. The taste of the fresh, homegrown strawberries shines through, unadulterated by heat or artificial additives.

For acidity, we find that including a few tart, just-barely-ripe berries in the maceration process works perfectly, eliminating the need for additional lemon juice.

So, there you have it - a bottle of fizzy, fresh, literally raw strawberry soda pop made from nothing more than sugar, strawberries, and water. In our eyes, it’s a real winner and a treat our kids just can't get enough of!

P.S. We've added a whimsical twist to our homemade soda-making adventures. We have a hollow stump in our garden, affectionately known by the kids as the "soda tree". Much like in the tales of Pippi Longstocking, our "soda tree" magically produces bottles of soda pop!

Every time we have visitors, the kids excitedly propose, "Let's go look in the soda tree!" Imagine their delight (and that of our guests!) when they discover the fresh bottles of pop we've hidden there for them. It’s a touch of enchantment that adds even more sparkle to our homemade fizzy drinks!