The Artisan Soda Workshop Book Review

Title: The Artisan Soda Workshop
Author: Andrea Lynn
ISBN: 978-1-61243-067-6
Released July 2012 from Ulysses Press
6×6 softcover 128 pages
Suggested Retail: $14.95
Available at Amazon.com

I enjoy a little soda now and then and was excited to see Andrea Lynn’s book, The Artisan Soda Workshop. I was concerned this book would have me searching for exotic ingredients or needing to buy special devices, but not so.

The Artisan Soda Workshop contains 70 tasty recipes. They range from syrups to make your own Fresca or root beer to pineapple-basil syrup and rhubarb-grapefruit syrup, plus many more. These homemade sodas are made with real fruit and you can adjust the amount and type of sweetener used in the recipe to your own personal preference.

I thought the equipment needed to make homemade soda were pretty basic: Potato masher, fine-mesh strainer, silicone spatula, citrus reamer (not absolutely essential), and a SodaStream or seltzer for carbonated water and creating the “fizz” of the soda/pop. I live in the Upper Midwest so “pop” is more of a common term for me than “soda”.

The soda syrup recipes provided in this book are not just for sodas. You can use them on pancakes, over ice cream, served with alcohol, and more.

Let me share the first two recipes I have tried. (Permission has been granted to share the following two recipes)

Cream Soda Syrup

This recipe yields about 1 cup of syrup. All you need are the following:

1 1/2 vanilla beans

1 cup water

1 1/14 cup granulated sugar

Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise, and use a knife to scrape the seeds from the bean. Place the vanilla beans and seeds in a medium pot, along with the water and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Transfer to a covered container and keep the vanilla bean immersed in the syrup so it continues to add flavor. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

To make Cream Soda: Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons Cream Soda Syrup, or to taste into a 10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) seltzer. You can dry the used vanilla beans and use them to flavor your granulated sugar when you are done.

Here is a picture of the Cream Soda I created. I didn’t mind the vanilla bean seeds floating on the top. The taste was great! For my personal preference, I did add more than 1 1/2 tablespoons of syrup. I used a SodaStream for the carbonated water.

Peach Syrup

We were canning peaches and had some leftover so this was perfect timing. All you need is:

2 cups sliced peaches or 1 ( 16-oz) bag frozen peaches, thawed

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup raw cane sugar

In a medium pot, combine the peaches, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, and simmer until the peaches are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and smash the peach slices with a masher. When cool, use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the fruit from the liquid, making sure to press the fruit against the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Refrigerate the syrup in a covered container for up to 5 days.

To make Peach Soda: Stir 2 to 3 tablespoons Peach Syrup, or to taste, into a 10 oz ( 1 1/4 cups) seltzer.

This drink was refreshing with some of the hot days we had been experiencing. This recipe was also easy to prepare and delicious. My husband likes to add the peach syrup to his beer. I’m not a fan of it, but he is quite keen on the idea. I kept the remnants of the sweetened mashed peaches and used them to top vanilla ice cream the other day with my family. Yummy!

I have been very impressed by the simplicity of ingredients and instructions in The Artisan Soda Workshop. The root beer syrup had a few ingredients I will have to purchase before trying – sassafras extract and burdock root extract. These items sound better to me than just “natural and artificial flavors” that I have seen in commercially produced root beer and no high fructose corn syrup to sweeten or sodium benzoate to preserve its shelf life. I am excited to experiment soon with more of Andrea Lynn’s recipes and share creations with friends and neighbors.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. No other compensation was received. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.

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