Make Your Own Soda: Syrup Recipes for All-Natural Pop, Floats, Cocktails, and More

Make Your Own Soda
Syrup Recipes for All-Natural Pop, 

Floats, Cocktails, and More
by Anton Nocito, founder of P&H Soda Co. 
with Lynn Marie Hulsman
Trade Paperback, 144 pages

A little tired of consuming high fructose corn syrup
/water/chemical solutions?

Over the last few years we have taken back cooking, some even going as far as growing their own produce and preserving the harvest when possible. So why not bring this back to basics, do it yourself approach to soft drinks?

Believe it or not, soft drinks existed before the big giants told us how things should be. Their beginnings were as tonics and dispensed at the local pharmacies. 

Making your own pop might not cure all that ails you, but it is bound to make you feel good! I think it is something you can get the whole family into. And, when the kids are away, you can use the all-natural syrups for the foundations of some excellent cocktails! 

Contents include:

Getting Started

Soda Syrups from the Farm

Soda Syrups from the Pantry

Egg Creams, Egg Shakes, and Ice Cream Sodas

Cocktails

Hot Drinks

In Make Your Own Soda, you’ll find 70 recipes for all-natural syrups with unique, artisanal flavors like pineapple, lemongrass, and hibiscus, as well as old-time favorites like ginger, sarsaparilla, and grape. You’ll also find great ways to use homemade syrups to create soda fountain classics (Chocolate Egg Cream), great cocktails (Lovage Gin Fizz), and hot drinks (Hot Apple Spice Cup), all as delicious as they are distinctive.

Classic Black and White Milkshake
Recipe from Make Your Own Soda by Anton Nocito
as published on Crown Publishing
Makes 1 drink

4 tablespoons Chocolate Syrup (recipe follows)
Seltzer
1 scoop Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe follows)

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the syrup. Add enough seltzer until the glass is two-thirds full, stirring briskly. Add the ice cream, then top with more seltzer, taking care that it doesn’t run over.

ICE CREAM
Makes 1 quart

1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup heavy cream

Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the half-and-half and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add the seeds and pod to the pan. Remove the pan
from the heat and steep for 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Bring the half-and-half back to a steady simmer. While whisking the eggs constantly, slowly pour in the hot half-and-half.
Whisk until well combined, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the liquid has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl, and set it over the bowl of ice to cool. When cool, add the cream. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, process the custard in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for 14 days.

CHOCOLATE SYRUP
Makes 3 cups

2 cups water
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 vanilla bean, halved
2 tablespoons chocolate husks (optional)
3 tablespoons Scharffen Berger or other high-quality cocoa powder

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the water, sugar, and salt to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pan, toss in the pod, and add the chocolate husks (if using). Steep for 10 minutes.

Put the cocoa powder in a large bowl. Strain the steeped liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Strain the mixture again, and then let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

Anton Nocito is the founder of P&H Soda Co., an all-natural soda syrup company located in Brooklyn, New York. Nocito is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and was an executive sous chef within the Union Square Hospitality Group, as well as other restaurants in New York City and Long Island.