Recipe

Double Lemon-Lime Soda

by Dan Souza

Certain brand-name soda companies make a big deal about their secret, highly guarded recipes. Want to know the real secret? You can easily make your own soda at home—with loads more flavor and nuance than anything you can buy at the store. Citrus-flavored sodas were one of the earliest to be served at soda fountains, and they are still incredibly popular today. I wanted to riff on the classic lemon-lime combination but really up the ante by incorporating superaromatic fresh makrut (also known as kaffir) lime leaves and lemon grass. By cutting all of the ingredients nice and small (to get more surface area and better extraction) and heating them gently (to avoid damaging or driving off precious volatile aromas) with sugar and water, I make an intensely flavored soda syrup that keeps for weeks. And going from syrup to soda couldn’t be easier: Fill a glass with ice-cold club soda (or your own homemade seltzer!) and pour in the syrup to taste. Get smart about soda science by checking out our feature story “Fizz Ed: The Sweet Science of Soda”.

Photography by Steve Klise

Yield
2½ cups (650 grams) syrup, enough for 3 quarts soda
Double Lemon-Lime Soda
Ingredients
450 g water
225 g sugar
160 g (4 stalks) lemon grass, trimmed to bottom 6 inches, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
28 g makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, sliced thin
8 g grated lemon zest (from 3 lemons)
8 g grated lime zest (from 4 limes)
1 g kosher salt
6 g citric acid
  club soda
2 cups water
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (8 ounces) sugar
4 stalks lemon grass, trimmed to bottom 6 inches, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
1 ounce makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, sliced thin
¼ ounce grated lemon zest (from 3 lemons)
¼ ounce grated lime zest (from 4 limes)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ⅛ teaspoons citric acid
  club soda
Essential Equipment
Instructions
    • 450 g water 
    • 225 g sugar
    • 160 g lemon grass (4 stalks), trimmed to bottom 6 inches, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin 
    • 28 g makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, sliced thin 
    • 8 g grated lemon zest (from 3 lemons) 
    • 8 g grated lime zest (from 4 limes) 
    • 1 g kosher salt 

    Combine water, sugar, lemon grass, lime leaves, lemon zest, lime zest, and salt in small saucepan and bring to gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, cover, and let steep at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.   

    • 6 g citric acid
    Line fine-mesh strainer with 4 layers of cheesecloth and set strainer over liquid measuring cup or bowl. Strain syrup through cheesecloth into bowl. Gather edges of cheesecloth and join in middle to form ball; using your hands, squeeze ball to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in cheesecloth. Whisk citric acid into syrup until dissolved. (Syrup can be transferred to airtight container and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.)   
    • club soda
    To make 1 glass of soda, pour cold club soda (and ice, if desired) into glass and add chilled syrup to taste.

    Alternatively, you can carbonate this soda in a cream whipper. Transfer cream whipper base to freezer and chill until very cold, at least 15 minutes. Pour 227 g (1 cup) cold water and 60 grams cold syrup into cream whipper and add 30 grams (about 3 cubes) ice. Stir until ice is dissolved. Screw cap on cream whipper and charge with 1 CO₂ cartridge. Shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. With nozzle facing up, cover nozzle with paper towel (to catch any small amount of spray), and very slowly vent the cream whipper completely. Charge with 1 more CO₂ cartridge and shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. Let cream whipper sit for 5 minutes. With nozzle facing up, cover nozzle with paper towel (to catch any small amount of spray), and very slowly vent cream whipper completely. Unscrew cap, pour soda gently down side of serving glass, and serve (with ice, if desired).
Instructions
    • 2 cups water 
    • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (8 ounces) sugar
    • 4 lemon grass stalks, trimmed to bottom 6 inches, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin 
    • 1 ounce makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, sliced thin 
    • ¼ ounce grated lemon zest (from 3 lemons) 
    • ¼ ounce grated lime zest (from 4 limes) 
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 

    Combine water, sugar, lemon grass, lime leaves, lemon zest, lime zest, and salt in small saucepan and bring to gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, cover, and let steep at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.   

    • 1 ⅛ teaspoons citric acid
    Line fine-mesh strainer with 4 layers of cheesecloth and set strainer over liquid measuring cup or bowl. Strain syrup through cheesecloth into bowl. Gather edges of cheesecloth and join in middle to form ball; using your hands, squeeze ball to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in cheesecloth. Whisk citric acid into syrup until dissolved. (Syrup can be transferred to airtight container and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.)   
    • club soda
    To make 1 glass of soda, pour cold club soda (and ice, if desired) into glass and add chilled syrup to taste.

    Alternatively, you can carbonate this soda in a cream whipper. Transfer cream whipper base to freezer and chill until very cold, at least 15 minutes. Pour 1 cup ice-cold water and ¼ cup chilled syrup into cream whipper and add 1 ounce (about 3 cubes) ice. Stir until ice is dissolved. Screw cap on cream whipper and charge with 1 CO₂ cartridge. Shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. With nozzle facing up, cover nozzle with paper towel (to catch any small amount of spray), and very slowly vent the cream whipper completely. Charge with 1 more CO₂ cartridge and shake cream whipper for 20 seconds. Let cream whipper sit for 5 minutes. With nozzle facing up, cover nozzle with paper towel (to catch any small amount of spray), and very slowly vent cream whipper completely. Unscrew cap, pour soda gently down side of serving glass, and serve (with ice, if desired).
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