Andrea Lynn

Summary: Enjoy refreshing beverages without chemical additives by creating your own sodas at home. Step-by-step instructions for 70 different recipes show how syrup concentrates are created and then added to seltzer water to make refreshing, flavorful, fizzy sensations.

Review: I found the concept of the book refreshing. I have been trying to cut back on my sodas. The articles that I read about artificial sweetners used in diet drinks scare me. But drinking only water can be boring at times. I have a few recipes copied down, however, I'm having trouble finding seltzer water at the grocery stores in my area. I searched the internet for the definition of "seltzer water". It is similar to club soda. However, club soda is higher in sodium and may have added minerals (check labels carefully). The next place to try is the liquor store which uses seltzer water for mixed drinks to make them bubbly.

Format: Features 70 recipes in six categories with scattered photos. No nutritional information provided for recipes. Introduction gives an overview of sodas and some of the terms used throughout the book. The book is small in size and may get lost among larger books on the shelf.

Favorite Part: The simplicity of the recipes. The author says she uses the new gadget "SODA STREAM" to create her drinks. However, the recipes list simple seltzer water as the ingredient to mix with your homemade concentrated syrups.

Library Happenings: This would make an interesting event during the hot summer months. Have several syrups made up in advance and mix with seltzer water as requests are made. Invite patrons to submit their own recipes. Could also be used as a teen event.… (mere)

This is another book that's been sitting on my shelves for 5 years.

It's an excellent collection of soda syrup recipes. The book is sectioned off into different types of syrups. It is well laid out with very nice photography to accompany the recipes.

I appreciated that the author provided some of the history of soda, as well as some alternative uses for recipe ingredients/the soda syrup, if you don't actually want to use it to make soda. I'm surprised that the only tea recipe was for a green tea syrup. I'd be interested in using these in alcoholic beverages to give them interesting twists.… (mere)

I was privileged to receive this as part of the First Reads program. I enjoyed reading this book, and I'm going to be making good use of it. I made two of the recipes (albeit two of the easier ones) already this weekend, and I have several more marked to make later. I also plan to visit a couple of the restaurants before the end of the month.

While this book is probably most useful for those who live in the NY metro area, tourists looking for activities that are off the beaten path might want to check it out as well. There is a culinary walking tour included for each featured neighborhood, and there are ideas for parks, museums, etc. to visit in each neighborhood too.

Some observations:

For convenience, I would have liked a page listing the types of cuisine featured and where to find them in this book. Like I said, for convenience, and it's just my preference. There is a regular index in the back.

There were a couple of restaurants featured that I wouldn't call ethnic. They do seem like places I'd like to eat, though, and I can see why the author doesn't want anyone to miss them.


Overall I really enjoyed this book.

… (mere)