This healthy orange soda recipe is super simple to make! You need just 2-3 ingredients, a bottle, a minute or two of effort, then a few days for the cultures to work. If you love orange juice, you will love this (relatively) healthy soda alternative.
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If you miss carbonated beverages, here is a treat for you!
Whether you call it pop, soda, bubbly, or whatever, sometimes it is fun to serve a special, fizzy drink. Growing up in California, some people I knew called it “Coke” if it was sweet with bubbles from a can. No matter the flavor or the company that produced it, it was Coke. Even if it was orange…
I have lived on the West coast, in the Midwest, and now in the South, and I have heard plenty of terms for those commercial carbonated beverages. I still haven’t settled on a “correct” term and probably won’t. Especially since I don’t drink the commercial versions.
Since we have to call it something, let’s just say soda. You can fill in your preferred word if you must.
Pin for later.
Why Make “Soda” at Home?
You don’t need this. Carbonated beverages are strictly a luxury.
You might enjoy a luxury here and there, though! And when you do, you could make your own. You can make it affordably, with ingredients you are comfortable with, and the flavor you like.
You can also make your soda with a starter culture, so that the bubbles come from the fermentation process and the drink is laden with probiotics, those microbes that are good for our health. They are “for life”! Good for our bodies, and good for our lives.
If you aren’t accustomed to culturing (fermenting) foods and drinks, it may seem a little weird. Well, maybe it is weird in a way, to intentionally grow a bunch of little things you can’t see in your food.
Even though fermentation fell away with the ease of refrigeration and other food preservation methods, people around the world have benefited from culturing all sorts of food and drink for-(just about)-ever. They might have done it to extend the life of their food, but they also extended their own lives and health. No wonder fermenting is making a comeback!
We are actually familiar with ferments. We just don’t all do the culturing ourselves. Cheese, yogurt, wine, beer, pickles… Well, most pickles aren’t fermented anymore, but they used to be.
The good news? Fermenting stuff is easy. It doesn’t take much skill or equipment, you don’t need a lot by way of special ingredients, and it doesn’t often go wrong. Most of the work is done by the microbes while you go about your life.
How to Make Orange Soda
This is hardly a recipe! You need orange juice and a starter culture. If you like, you could add a little vanilla. That’s it. The sugar needed to feed the cultures is abundant in orange juice, so you don’t even need to add sugar!
Orange Juice
I used store bought orange juice. It may go without saying, but fresh-squeezed would be even better!
Starter culture
I used whey for my culture. I always save the whey left over from making yogurt or any other cultured dairy that I strain, so there is always some on hand. You could use other starters, which could affect the flavor.
For example, sauerkraut juice would work. It is hard to say what that would taste like, though! Kombucha or water kefir would work, and a ginger bug would not only work but add extra zing to the taste! I haven’t tried these, though.
A Bottle
You need a bottle with a tight top. I look for swing top bottles like these at thrift shops. For this project, I use one that is about 1 liter. You can do larger or smaller and adjust the amounts. It doesn’t need to be exact!
Pour a quarter cup or so of whey into the bottle. Fill to an inch or two below the top with orange juice. Close the bottle and let it sit at room temperature for a few days, until it is as fizzy as you like.
The exact time will depend not only on your fizziness preference, but the sugar content of the juice, the cultures in the whey, the temperature of your room, etc.
Open the bottles each day to release pressure! I do it twice a day, just in case. As the fermentation takes place, pressure can build up and even explode the bottle.
Yes, this happened to me. In the middle of the night. Sticky liquid all over– let’s just say the kitchen got a good cleaning in the wee small hours, and my husband and I got an undesired adrenaline rush. From the explosion. Not from the cleaning.
Open your bottles daily to burp them.
When your orange soda is fizzy, stick it in the refrigerator. The bubbles will settle down in there, so if you are worried about the bottle overflowing when you open it, chill it first. You can open them outside toward the end of the culturing time, or at least over the sink.
Vanilla
I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract once my orange soda is happily cultured. It isn’t necessary at all, but it adds a bit of extra interest to the flavor.
Fizzy Orange Soda Pop
Equipment
- 1 bottle with tight lid
Ingredients
- 1/4 C whey (or other liquid starter culture)
- 4 C orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Pour whey into bottle.
- Fill bottle the rest of the way with orange juice to about an inch below the top. Close the top tightly.
- Let the bottle sit at room temperature for 2-5 days (or longer), opening the top once or twice a day to release pressure.
- When the orange soda is as bubbly as you like, put the bottle in the refrigerator to chill. Serve cold.
Notes
Questions and Answers
How long will it take for my orange soda to be ready?
It depends! There are different factors, one of which is your taste. It will be fizzier the longer it ferments, so if you like a lot of bubbles, give it longer. Warmer rooms will speed up the fermenting, and more active cultures make it go faster, too. You won’t necessarily be able to predict exactly how long it will take.
Does this taste like commercial orange drinks?
Not at all. It tastes a lot like orange juice… The orange soda isn’t very sweet, and it has a strong orange flavor. Unlike the artificially flavored ones!
It also doesn’t taste like Orangina, which is much more real. Orangina has a thinner taste, and is much sweeter. This is robust and not so sweet.
Can I speed it up?
You can add extra whey (and a little less juice). You can make sure you keep the bottle in a warm spot, even moving it near the oven or a slow cooker to encourage rapid growth. Don’t let it get hot, though, or the cultures may die and not be active at all.
Is this orange soda healthy?
Sort of. The probiotics are good for us, and the orange juice has some nutrients. The big drawback is that orange juice is packed with sugar! Some of the sugar will be consumed by the cultures, but not all. There will be sugar in the final product. With so many factors affecting the outcome, it is impossible to precisely predict the amount of sugar per serving.
Is this GAPS compliant?
No, because of the orange juice. Fruit juices aren’t really GAPS friendly, especially in such large amounts. Save this one for your post-GAPS life!
Interested in other probiotic, naturally bubbly drinks? Try these:
Perfect for a special breakfast or brunch!