Anyone have a good lemon-lime or citrus soda recipe?

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newell456

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I like to mix sprite with a little squirt and then some bourbon, so I'm thinking of making my own citrus soda as both a straight soda and a mixer, but I don't know where to start. Since squirt has grapefruit juice in it, I know that the recipe will need some fresh squeezed lemon, lime, and grapefruit juices mixed with sugar and water, but when I look for lemon-lime or citrus recipes online, all I get are recipes using sodas. Any tips on ratios for a fresh squeezed lemon-lime soda or citrus soda would be appreciated. Barring any input here, I'll just experiment this weekend by making and carbing 2 liter batches and let you know what I come up with.
 
I like to mix sprite with a little squirt and then some bourbon, so I'm thinking of making my own citrus soda as both a straight soda and a mixer, but I don't know where to start. Since squirt has grapefruit juice in it, I know that the recipe will need some fresh squeezed lemon, lime, and grapefruit juices mixed with sugar and water, but when I look for lemon-lime or citrus recipes online, all I get are recipes using sodas. Any tips on ratios for a fresh squeezed lemon-lime soda or citrus soda would be appreciated. Barring any input here, I'll just experiment this weekend by making and carbing 2 liter batches and let you know what I come up with.


I went through a soda phase last winter. I found that most guys don't make their own, but buy the extracts, add water and carb. Kind of takes the fun out of it, but I went ahead and made some that way with my kids. I'm not sure what will happen if you add in fresh citrus to water and mix. I can't see it staying fresh for very long. :drunk:
 
I found this online and plan to use it as a starting point after I refill my C02 tank this weekL

"200ml fresh lime juice
100ml fresh lemon juice
160g (1 cup, firmly packed) finely chopped palm sugar
1.5L (6 cups) chilled soda water
2 limes, quartered
Ice cubes, to serve
Method
Combine lime and lemon juice in a large jug. Add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill. Add soda water and lime wedges.
Place ice in serving glasses. Pour over citrus soda and serve.
This recipe is best made just before serving."

I'll replace some of the citrus juices with some grapefruit juice to make it more like squirt and replace the palm sugar with cane sugar. I don't think it will keep the fresh citrus taste at keg volumes, so I'll keep it to 2 liter batches with a carbonation cap for 2 liter bottles. I'll let you know how it turns out this weekend.
 
I tried this recipe tonight:

3 ounces of fresh grapefruit juice, strained (1 grapefruit)

2 ounces of fresh lemon juice, strained (1 lemon)

5 ounces of fresh lime juice, strained (6 small limes)

1.25 cups of sugar

7 cups of carbonated water.

Zest from the lemons and limes,

I started by carbonating the 7 cups of water in a 2 liter with a carbonator cap at 30 psi. I shook it disconnected from the gas line twice, recarbing it each time afterword, then put the 2 liter in the freezer while I zested and juiced the citrus, shaking it periodically.

Once I had the citrus juiced and zested, I first emptied the 2 liter because I wanted to make sure that all the suagr and citrus juice fit in there, so if I was off by say half a cup, I could just hold back a half a cuo of water. I steeped the citrus zext in the citrus juices for about a half a minute. then strained, because I wanted to use a light hand with the zest on my first effort. I then added the sugar, and citrus juice, and just a little under 7 cups of water to the 2 liter with a funnel, then shook it to mix and sampled it. I started out with one cup of sugar, but it was too tart, so I added another 1/8 of sugar, and then another 1/8 until it was right. I then carbed it again It was enjoyable on its own, but went very well with bourbon. I'll experiment with the recipe again next weekend.

I think trying to make a batch large enough to keg might defeat the purpose of using fresh fruit. But I could be wrong. I'll carb a bottle sometime and leave it for about a month to see if it keeps well.
 
Wouldn't the two different conditions prevent the fruit juices from spoiling: sugar (which acts as a preservative), and CO2, which would preclude any oxidation?

It would seem that kegging a sugary drink with no oxygen would prevent any spoilage. Make sense, or am I babbling like an idiot?:tank:
 
Wouldn't the two different conditions prevent the fruit juices from spoiling: sugar (which acts as a preservative), and CO2, which would preclude any oxidation?

It would seem that kegging a sugary drink with no oxygen would prevent any spoilage. Make sense, or am I babbling like an idiot?:tank:

It would retard spoiling, but I'm not sure it would have keeep the fresh citrus taste that long, or maybe it would.
 
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