DailyDirt: DIY Soda (Pop Or Whatever You Call Carbonated Beverages)

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Making your own carbonated soft drinks has a few benefits -- from knowing where all the ingredients came from (eg. no brominated vegetable oil) to getting the satisfaction of creating your own custom flavoring. It's not quite as simple as punching a button on a vending machine, but it's not exactly rocket science, either. Here are just a few links on being your own soda jerk.

• Sodastream has been around since 1903, but it went public on the Nasdaq in 2010 and started expanding its DIY soda making system to take on the big soft drink makers. But marketing itself as an alternative isn't always easy, and it had to change its 2013 SuperBowl commercial to remove Coke and Pepsi logos. [url]
• The secret recipe for a can of Coca-Cola isn't just getting the mixture of caramel coloring and phosphoric acid right; there are also a zillion other details from packaging and distribution that have been optimized. The top of the aluminum can is actually a different aluminum-magnesium alloy from the rest of the can, engineered so it can have a pop-top and still withstand the pressurized contents. [url]
• When making your own soda, be sure to use 100% essential food oils that are rated food grade. Recipes to make Open Cola and the "original" Coke are available, but there's a bit of set up involved. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: beverage, flavoring, food, open cola, pop, recipes, soda, soft drinks
Companies: coca-cola, pepsi, sodastream

DailyDirt: Beer Googling

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Beer has been around for centuries, and it's arguably responsible for the development of civilization and the prevention of waterborne illnesses. Beer is still evolving and improving as food scientists play around with the yeasts and the ingredients that go into making modern beers. Before you head off to happy hour, check out a few of these beer-related factoids.

• Microbiologists are engineering beer foam that lasts longer by identifying a gene in yeast for producing proteins with better bubble stability. But will nose grease still work to get rid of the foam? [url]
• It looks like beer and tastes like beer, but it's not beer. It's a soft drink. Is there a point to non-alcoholic beverages that taste like their more potent relatives? Has Star Trek trademarked Synthohol yet? [url]
• Drinking some beer (or wine) could enhance creative problem solving. Being too focused on a problem might blind a person to outside-the-box solutions, so alcohol's effects on the brain might provide a certain amount of distraction to allow more free-thinking creativity. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: alcohol, beer, beer foam, creativity, drink, food, non-alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, synthohol
Companies: coca-cola