The Seltzer Method makes homemade soda-making extremely easy. If you’ve ever poured some seltzer into a cup of orange juice, then you already know what the Seltzer Method entails. Basically, it’s just adding your own flavoring to seltzer. Since plain seltzer is really just carbonated water, you can think of it as a blank slate for your creativity. 

You can make a wide range of sodas using the Seltzer Method, from fruity sodas, to minty sodas, to colas and root beer; since this method is so simple, you can really experiment and get creative. The first soda we’ll talk about is a refreshing fruit soda. 

How to Make A Beautiful Fruity Soda with the Seltzer Method 

A bright, colorful fruity soda is a perfect addition to a picnic or barbecue, and when you tell all your guests that the soda is homemade, they are sure to be surprised. A homemade fruit soda is also a healthy alternative to both store-bought colas and to store-bought fruit drinks. 

Even the so-called ‘healthy’ fruit sodas at the supermarket can contain all sorts of unnatural chemicals and sweeteners. When you choose to make your own soda, you can control the amount of sugar, and the flavor. Plus, making your own sodas costs way less than buying store sodas. 

You Will Need… 

  • Homemade seltzer or a liter of plain seltzer
  • A thin fruit juice (ex. Lemonade, orange juice, watermelon juice, etc.) 
  • An essential oil of your choice (optional) 
  • 2 pints of your fruit of choice (I recommend using berries)
  • Sugar 

Step 1 – Combine your fruit and fruit juice together in a blender or food processor.

Step 2 – Add in a few drops of your essential oil to the fruit and juice mixture. (This step is optional, but adding in an essential oil can heighten the flavor of your soda and can make it a little more original.)

Step 3 – Make your seltzer if you are making it yourself.

Step 4 – Make your sugar syrup. You can use honey if you want, but honey has a specific flavor that you may not want in your soda. If using sugar, pour about ½ – 1 cup into a pot/pan and heat over a low flame on the stove. Stir it continuously until the sugar has completely melted and is a liquid. Pour this into your seltzer. Make sure you taste as you go! You don’t want to end up making it too sweet. 

Step 5 – Fill your serving cups. Pour your seltzer into your fruit and juice mixture. Then, pour this into your serving cups. Put a bit of the chopped up fruit into each cup if desired. You can add a piece of fruit to the cup’s rim for garnish if you’re feeling fancy. 

If you don’t want chunks of fruit in your soda, you can strain it out.

Step 6 – Serve and enjoy! 

This soda is perfect for warm weather and fun in the sun. It can also be a fun way to get kids to eat more fruit. Making soda is a great activity for the whole family, and who knows, maybe these healthy fruit sodas will end up replacing those sugary colas in your fridge. 

How to Make Minty Soda with the Seltzer Method  

To make a minty soda, you’re basically just making a fruit soda (above) but without the fruit. In place of fruit, use blended up mint leaves and some mint extract or essential oil. To give it a more interesting flavor, you can add in some citrus flavors. 

You Will Need… 

Step 1 – Grind/chop your mint leaves. You can do this in a blender, a food processor, or a mortar and pestle. Then, add in your citrus juice. For a liter of seltzer you’ll need about 2 cups of juice.

Step 2 – Make your seltzer if you are making it yourself. Then add in a few drops of your mint extract or essential oil. Stir it well. 

Step 3 – Next, make your sugar syrup. You can use honey, but sugar will work better for this soda. Pour about ½ – 1 cup of sugar into a pot/pan and heat over a low flame on the stove. Stir continuously. Pour this into your seltzer. Make sure you taste it as you go so you don’t make it too sweet. (Pour in a little at a time). 

Step 4 – Combine. Pour the seltzer and sugar mixture into your mint and juice mixture. You can add in some salt and a slice of lemon/lime/orange as a garnish if desired. 

If you don’t want bits of mint floating around in your drink, you can strain the liquid out. Combine your seltzer mixture and your juice mixture and let it sit so that the flavors can mingle. While it sits, make sure to taste it every 10 or so minutes until it’s the right flavor. After doing this, you can strain out the mint leaves and get a straight liquid. 

Step 5 – Serve and enjoy! 

You can also use this recipe to make my favorite soda: raspberry mint soda. Raspberry is my all-time favorite berry. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and sour and it goes amazing with mint-flavored things. Also, bright pink and green look beautiful in a glass together. If you want to make a raspberry mint soda, or an *insert fruit here* mint soda, just chop up some of that fruit along with your mint leaves. 

How to Make Homemade Cola with the Seltzer Method 

By now you can probably tell that the seltzer method is pretty simple. There’s really just one basic step-by-step to making a soda with seltzer, and if you want to make different flavors of soda, all you have to do is change the flavorings that you add. Making a fruity soda means adding in fruit juice and chopped fruit. Making a mint and citrus soda means adding in crushed mint leaves, citrus juice, and mint flavoring. 

So, making a homemade cola with the Seltzer Method means that you have to put cola flavoring in your seltzer. For the sake of not being so repetitive, I won’t write out a whole recipe for this flavor of seltzer soda. 

You Will Need…

  • Homemade seltzer or a liter of plain seltzer
  • About 1 cup of cola flavoring (You can buy this pre-made, or you can make it yourself. You can find in-depth recipes on making cola flavoring online. But I will warn you that it is a long process!).

NOTE: If you are making the seltzer at home, you can buy SodaStream cola flavoring. If you are using a non-homemade seltzer than you’ll need cola syrup.

All you do is add the cola flavoring syrup to your seltzer, and voila! That’s how you make cola using seltzer. It’s super easy, and if you choose to make the cola flavoring yourself, you can control how much sugar you add, which is a plus for those of us watching our diet. 

And that’s the Seltzer Method. Making soda with seltzer is extremely easy and super simple. Unlike the Dry Ice Method, there aren’t any specific safety warnings or regulations that go along with it. Get your kids involved and let them make their favorite sodas. Soda-making is a super fun and easy way to get the whole family doing something together. 

Remember to be creative! There are hundreds of different flavors of sodas that you can make. Maybe you can even discover a new flavor and create the next big thing. You never know. 

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