Strawberry Ginger Soda

Restaurants in DC and across the country are crafting their own artisanal sodas in fresh flavors that leave sticky sweet bottled colas a distant memory. Find out where to sample great housemade sodas in this article.

This refreshing soda is a perfect way to use the gorgeous local strawberries overflowing from farmers market stands this time of year.

Strawberry Ginger Soda
makes enough syrup for 12 sodas

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 3-inch piece of ginger, sliced
1 pound of strawberries, stems removed
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
sparkling water
ice

Begin by making a simple syrup. Bring 3/4 cups of water and sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir the sugar to make sure it has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the ginger. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. Strain the syrup, discard the ginger, and let the syrup cool.

In a blender, puree the fresh strawberries and 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.

Add one cup of the cooled ginger simple syrup to the strained strawberry mixture. (You can add more if you want your soda sweeter.)

To make the soda, pour 6-8 ounces of sparkling water into a glass with ice. Add 3 tablespoons of the strawberry syrup (more or less to suit your taste) and stir to combine.

* You can mix up a large pitcher of soda, instead of making each drink individually, but don't do this too far in advance or the bubbles may dissipate.


Watch me demonstrate how to make the soda on Let's Talk Live:

The Housemade Soda Trend from Metrocurean on Vimeo.