Recipe: Peach honey soda

As we get into the summer season, sodas become a nice addition to a meal - especially when outdoors.  You can take sodas in two directions these days - the more traditional route where you are basically making your own soda pop, and the newer style where you play with the viscosity of the base and the outcome is something closer to a carbonated espuma, which can even in some cases is spooned onto the plate as another garnish.  Somewhere in between there is a nice point where the soda is dispensed out of the siphon a mass of rich foam that settles into a drinkable liquid in a minute or so.  All styles have their uses and there are several ways to work the viscosity to the level you want it.  A thicker base will hold the carbonation's "fizz" longer, but you may want to serve the soda with a spoon, which may increase the interest of the product or complicate things depending on your point of view.  

Going the natural route, you can thicken a base by starting with a puree rather than a juice and sweeten the soda with honey, maple syrup, or invert sugar.  More involved would be to use gelatin, xanthan gum, or another thickening agent.  Remember that however you go, the base needs to be able to pass through the siphon, so be careful not to go too thick, and always pass the base through a fine mesh sieve to make sure it's smooth.  Xanthan gum is easy - using a blender, just add a little at a time and monitor the thickness.  If you are using gelatin, I would recommend 1 sheet (or less) per 500ml, some chefs use 2 or more, but you are definitely using a spoon to eat it at that point.  

For this recipe, we'll keep it fairly simple and just use the puree and honey to thicken the base and you should get a soda that foams up well out of the siphon, then settles down a drinkable liquid.  If you want thinner, run the peaches through a juicer, then sweeten with honey.  If you want thicker, try one of the other ways, gelatin probably being the most accessible.  A standard soda siphon holds about a litre (quart), but I generally avoid filling it right up (I often use 2 charges for maximum carbonation, but it's not necessary). If you expect a lot of guests, you may want to source out another siphon or two since you get the best results if the mix is carbonated for a few hours, but in a pinch, as long as your base is kept very cold, you can refill, recharge and keep serving.

You will need:

1                      ripe peach (a good size)

15ml / 1Tbs     honey (or more if you like)

as needed        water

soda siphon

1 (or more)      CO2 charges

Method:

 - peel, pit and chop the peach up

 - set the chopped peach in a saucepan with a little water and cook till soft enough to puree

 - add the honey till you like the flavour balance

 - transfer to a blender and puree smooth

 - add water while running until your mix is about as thick as coffee cream (hopefully just shy of a litre)

 - if you were using gelatin, you would melt it in here

 - strain the mix through a fine strainer and chill completely

 -  fill the siphon with the soda and screw the cap on tight

 - load the CO2 into the siphon and shake well

 - refrigerate at least a few hours before serving

 - enjoy