We’re suckers for making things at home, partly to save money, but mostly just to prove that we can. We’ve brewed our own beer. Baked our own dog biscuits. And made our own snow cones. Hell, we’ve even whipped together a little Crystal Meth. (Don’t worry, she’s just our drag-queen alter ego.)
As kids, when our Mom wouldn’t buy us soda, that wouldn’t stop us. We’d grab an empty bottle, read the ingredients and immediately tear apart the spice cabinet looking for the ingredients. And we would’ve succeeded except apparently we’d just run out of Phosphoric Acid. (Though Mom always kept plenty of caramel color and high fructose corn syrup on hand.)
Well now, a couple decades later, making our own soda doesn’t require a chemistry set. Or an industrial-size carton of sodium benzoate. Thanks to SodaStream, it’s easy to make sodas and sparkling water at home.
The countertop device requires no electricity (we dug through the box trying to find a cord, so learn from us). Simply insert the carbonator, attach a SodaStream bottle filled with cold water, push the button two to three times and voilà! Instant carbonated water. Add a capful of your favorite flavor (like cola, lemon-lime, tonic, root beer or Red Bull-style energy flavor) and you’ve got freshly made soda ready to enjoy.
No more cans to recycle. No more 2-liter bottles of soda going flat before you can finish them. The price is great, too. (A $4.99 bottle of flavor concentrate makes a whopping 12 liters of soda.)
But our favorite part is the ability to customize our sodas. More fizz? No problem. Less flavoring? You got it! Half-Cola, half-Ginger Ale? Fizzle, fo shizzle!
There are dozens of regular and diet flavors, all of which contain Splenda just so you know, or a line of natural sodas sweetened with pure cane sugar. The Orange-Pineapple makes an awesome vodka cocktail, by the way!
Of course, our desire to experiment (just ask our high-school girlfriend) has led us to carbonate everything from milk to orange juice. And in a pinch, a little carbonated Chardonnay will fool anyone into thinking you’re serving an expensive Champagne.
So check one out and create your own liquid masterpiece. As for us, we’ve got to get back to our SodaStream and see what happens with cottage cheese and salsa.
Soda Makers Start at $79.95
www.sodastreamusa.com
