DIY Orange Soda Recipe (2024)

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This easy syrup + seltzer combo proves that giving up artificial flavors doesn't mean giving up the sharp, fizzy satisfaction of citrus-flavored soda.

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DIY Orange Soda Recipe (1)

In This Recipe

  • What's Available to Buy?

  • Why DIY?

  • Use It!

Why It Works

  • Using both orange juice and zest imparts a stronger, more complex fresh orange flavor to the syrup.
  • The addition of citric acid powder provides the sharp, 'prickly joy' of commercial sodas while also acting as a preservative.
  • Oranges can be swapped out for (or added to) any other types of citrus or fruit, meaning there's potential for endless flavor combinations.

Most orange soda has more in common with orange the color than the fruit, but that doesn't stop me from craving it. The reason I drink soda isn't because I think it's full of vitamins and minerals. I drink it because it tastes good. My idea of the perfect orange soda is the fast-food fountain Orange Crush and Sunkist that I grew up with, even though as an adult I know it's just a bunch of corn syrup and artificial flavoring. Luckily, DIY orange soda delivers the same satisfying combination of sweet and tart you get from the commercial version, without the questionable ingredients. And mixed in with the familiar sharpness and prickly joy of orange soda is a new and exciting flavor I wasn't used to tasting in my soda—real oranges.

What's Available to Buy?

My longtime favorites, Sunkist and Crush are also the most ubiquitous. Fanta and Faygo are also fairly easy to find and pretty delicious. If you can find them where you live, seek out Nesbitt's and Capt'n Eli's, too. Boylan is tasty, but it has more of a light tangerine flavor and doesn't quite have the same kick I expect from orange soda.

Why DIY?

As loyal as I was to the corn syrup and chemicals of my childhood orange soda, DIY orange soda won me over with its bright and crisp flavor. It has the fresh taste of actual oranges while still delivering the nostalgic pleasure of a fountain soda. Big-brand soda is pretty cheap, so you'll pay a little more to skip the artificial flavors. But compared to the commercial sodas made with cane sugar and natural ingredients, DIY is a fraction of the cost.

There's a lot of room to have fun with this very basic recipe. If you're not such a stickler for matching the flavor of the well-known brands, you can try using different types of citrus like blood orange or mandarin...maybe even mixing in some lemon or grapefruit. While you're playing around, maybe add some orange blossoms or other fruits like cranberries or mango.

I stuck with sugar as the sweetener for a more traditional soda flavor, but honey or agave could make for a delightful twist. Citric acid gives the soda that familiar pop and tartness, as well as extending the shelf life. However, you can skip it if you want to taste fruit and sugar and nothing else. For the truly adventurous, you could carbonate with champagne yeast like in thisDIY grape sodarecipe for a more dry and sophisticated flavor.

Use It!

The best way to enjoy this homemade treat is by itself over ice. But I also like to spike it with gin, squeeze in a little lemon and top it off with a few dashes ofrhubarb bitters. Next on my list is a drinkable creamsicle—mix your homemade soda with a little ice cream and half-and-half.

April 2013

Recipe Details

DIY Orange Soda Recipe

Prep5 mins

Cook20 mins

Active20 mins

Total25 mins

Serves6to 8 servings

Makes1 3/4 cups of syrup

Ingredients

  • Zest of 2 navel oranges

  • 1/2 cup fresh juice from about 1 navel orange

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 cup water

  • 1/4 teaspoon citric acid

  • Seltzer

Directions

  1. Zest the oranges, making sure not to get any of the white pith. Juice one of the oranges to make 1/2 cup juice, then strain out the pulp.

  2. Add zest and juice to a saucepan along with sugar, water, and citric acid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

  3. Bottle and refrigerate the cooled syrup. For each serving, mix 1 part syrup with 3 parts seltzer, adjusting to your personal taste.

Special Equipment

Zester or peeler, fine-mesh strainer

Notes

Citric acid powder, also known as sour salt, is easy to find at many markets, but you can order it online from Amazon, too.

Read More

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  • Non-Alcoholic Drinks
  • Orange
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
107Calories
0g Fat
27g Carbs
0g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6to 8
Amount per serving
Calories107
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 2mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 27g10%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 26g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 12mg59%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 38mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

DIY Orange Soda Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make orange flavoured soda? ›

Instructions
  1. Place the orange juice, orange zest, lime zest, and the honey/sugar into a small saucepan and stir to combine. ...
  2. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. ...
  3. To enjoy orange soda, mix 1 part orange syrup with approximately 3 parts sparkling water or club soda depending on personal preference.
Jun 19, 2013

What makes orange soda? ›

Orange soft drinks (especially those without orange juice) often contain very high levels of sodium benzoate, and this often imparts a slight metallic taste to the beverage. Other additives commonly found in orange soft drinks include glycerol ester of wood rosin, brominated vegetable oil, and sodium hexametaphosphate.

What are the ingredients in Fanta orange soda? ›

Ingredients: INGREDIENTS: CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE (TO PROTECT TASTE), NATURAL FLAVORS, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATES, GLYCEROL ESTER OF ROSIN, YELLOW 6, RED 40.

What happens if you mix orange juice and baking soda? ›

When you mix acids and bases together, they create carbon dioxide bubbles. Carbon dioxide is the name of the gas that you exhale. Therefore, when you mix the orange with the baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles in your mouth that feel like fizz!

Can orange juice becomes carbonated? ›

So, returning to your orange juice, once it has been opened, it is exposed to yeasts in the atmosphere. These start to ferment the sugar in the juice, forming alcohol and CO2 and thus making the juice fizzy.

What is the original orange soda? ›

The World's First Orange Soda

The “original orange soda” –Orange Crush–was created in 1906 by Chicago's J.M. Thompson ; however, the commercial formula wouldn't take off until 1911, when California-born beverage chemist Neil C.

What was the orange soda in the 80s? ›

In 1980, Sunkist Orange Soda became the #1 orange soda in the US and the tenth-best-selling soft drink. Unlike many other competing orange sodas, Sunkist contains caffeine (19 mg per 12 fl oz).

Is there orange juice in orange soda? ›

Historically, Orange Sodas were made with real Orange Juice. We see below the progression of #1 U.S. brand, Fanta Orange. Similar to Fanta, Orange Crush was originally made using real fruit juice . . . not anymore.

What was old Fanta made of? ›

Using apple fiber leftover from lollipops and whey, from cheesemakers, Fanta was created and became quite popular. The original German Fanta had a red-orange color from beets and tasted different from today's Fanta Orange; the flavor would change during the war, depending on what ingredients could be found.

Do they use real oranges in Fanta? ›

The Orange flavor recipe outside the US contains orange juice, while the American version does not. In Mexico, Fanta is made with sugar whereas the US version uses high fructose corn syrup.

What does Fanta mean in German? ›

The story behind the name is also very interesting. Die Presse reports that Fanta originated from the German word Fantastisch, meaning fantastic. The name was chosen in collaboration with Coca Cola HQ in the US, who weren't impressed by the product and thought it needed an exciting word to sell it.

How do they make orange flavor? ›

In food and beverage manufacturing, limonene is used to lend an orange flavouring, and is also used to mask the bitter taste of alkaloids. Limonene is obtained by pressing the rind of citrus fruits. The oil is extracted then distilled to have a more intense aroma, and is then sold commercially as orange oil.

How do you add orange flavor? ›

Those include (in order of increasing strength of flavor) dried zest (dehydrated grated zest packaged with a preservative), extract (a mixture of alcohol, water, and orange oil), or oil (cold pressed from orange rind).

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