Cold Drinks

Lime Soda

Shop soda is mostly sugar and flavouring. The homemade version is three things — sugar syrup, fresh lime juice and sparkling water — and it tastes far cleaner. The syrup is made once; after that the drink is built in the glass in a minute.

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Lime Soda — the finished dish
Prep
10 min
Cook
5 min
Rest
30 min
Total
45 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Per serving
70 kcal

Ingredients

Simple syrup

The soda

Makes: about 1.2 l, 4 glasses

Method

  1. Step 1: Make the syrup

    Warm the sugar and water until dissolved, 2–3 minutes, without letting it caramelise. Cool it completely — warm syrup kills the fizz in the glass.

  2. Step 2: Juice the limes

    Roll each lime on the counter under your palm before cutting: it gives up about a third more juice. Strain out the pips.

  3. Step 3: Mix the base

    Combine the lime juice with the cooled syrup, roughly one to one, then adjust — some like it sharper, some sweeter.

  4. Step 4: Build in the glass

    Add ice, lime wheels and mint bruised in your palm, pour in three or four spoons of the base and top with cold sparkling water down the side.

Tips & variations

  • Tip

    Pour the sparkling water down the side and do not stir with a spoon — every stir knocks out bubbles. Lifting the ice once with a straw is enough.

  • Tip

    Do not chop the mint: cut edges darken and turn bitter. Bruising it in your palm releases plenty of aroma.

  • Variation

    Berry soda: simmer 100 g of raspberries or strawberries in the syrup and strain. Basil, rosemary and lavender work the same way.

  • Storage

    Syrup and lime base keep two weeks in the fridge. The carbonation happens in the glass, every time.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per serving and for the whole dish
1 serving Whole dish 4 servings
Energy70 kcal280 kcal
Protein0 g0 g
Fat0 g0 g
Carbohydrates18 g72 g

Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.

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