Summer Recipe: Fresh Peach Soda

Sometimes when we find a nice relaxing and sunny spot to chill out in, all that's needed to make the moment perfect is a nice cool and refreshing drink. How does "Summer Recipe: Fresh Peach Soda" sound? Check out the recipe below, and find a spot to sip it in!

Fresh Peach Soda

Makes about 4 to 6 servings (enough to fill a recycled 1-liter soda bottle)

1 1/2 pound very ripe yellow peaches (about 3 large fruits)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch salt
1 cup water, plus more to fill the bottle
1/2 cup sugar, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon champagne yeast or baker's yeast (See Recipe Note)

Special equipment:
Food processor or blender
Fine-mesh strainer
One clean 1-liter plastic soda bottle with screw-on cap (See Recipe Note)

Peel the peaches with a vegetable peeler (or blanch them for 30 seconds in boiling water and then slip off the skins). Slice the peaches in half, remove the pit, and roughly chop the fruit into a mixing bowl. Toss with the lemon juice and salt.

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve to sugar. Once dissolved, pour the sugar water over the peaches and let this stand for 10 minutes to macerate the peaches.

Working in batches, puree the peaches with the sugar-water in the food processor or blender. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, collecting as much juice as possible without forcing any solids through the strainer. You can also strain the juice through a flour sack towel or cheesecloth to make a soda with less sediment. You should end up with 2 to 2 1/2 cups concentrated fruit syrup. (Reserve the strained solids for topping yogurt or ice cream!)

→ At this point, you can stop, refrigerate the peach juice, and add a few tablespoons of it to a glass of sparkling water to make an easy, instant soda. To naturally carbonate the soda with yeast, proceed on!

Pour the juice into a clean 1-liter plastic soda bottle using a funnel. Top off the bottle with water, leaving about an inch and a half of head room. Give it a taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if desired. The extra sugar will dissolve on its own.

Add the yeast. Screw on the cap and shake the bottle to dissolve and distribute the yeast. Let the bottle sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 12 to 48 hours. Exact fermentation time will depend on the temperature in the room. Check the bottle periodically; when it feels rock-solid with very little give, it's ready.

Refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 weeks. Open very slowly over a sink to release the pressure gradually and avoid bubble-ups.

Recipe Notes:

• Soda with Other Fruit: Feel free to substitute white or yellow nectarines or white peaches for the fruit in this recipe.

• Champagne vs. Baker's Yeast: I recommend using champagne yeast over baker's yeast whenever possible. It has a crisp and clean flavor that lets the fruit shine through, whereas baker's yeast tends to make sodas taste yeasty. Not a terrible thing, and fine in a soda-craving pinch, but get some champagne yeast if you can. It's sold at any homebrew supply store and online at places like Northern Brewer or Amazon.com.

• Bottling Sodas in Glass: Sodas can also be bottled in glass or swing-top bottles, but it’s more difficult to tell when the sodas have fully carbonated. To do this safely, fill one small plastic soda bottle to use as an indicator for when the sodas have finished carbonating and then bottle the rest of the batch in glass bottles. Refrigerate all of the bottles as soon as the plastic bottle is carbonated; never leave the glass bottles at room temperature once carbonated.

• Alcohol Content: A bit of alcohol is always produced when we are using yeast to ferment beverages.  However, the quick fermentation time and small amount of yeast mean that the alcohol content of this soda is well under 1% by volume. It's natural for yeast-carbonated sodas to have a bit of a yeasty flavor; this is not an indication that it has become overly alcoholic.

(Images: Emma Christensen)

Original Article Here: http://bit.ly/14ydFNm