Homemade Strawberry Soda ⋆ SomeTyme Place ⋆ Cottage Kitchen

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to look like you went to a lot of effort, and many times it’s the little touches that make an event or party special. One of my favorites “little touches” tricks is a special drink. Additionally, one of my personal rules is that it must be easy to make because I do not have time to fuss over a difficult recipe. Today’s post gives you an easy special drink for your own gathering because it also draws on one of my other favorite tricks- syrups. Syrups are easy and customizable not to mention that they are made ahead of time. Since the syrup lasts 3-6 months there is no need to make this at the last minute. I decided to pull out my syrup recipe for a homemade strawberry soda for our July 4th BBQ.

We stopped buying soda a few years ago. It’s not that we don’t occasionally have it; our family just collectively decided it was too much sugar and no one wanted the extra calories. However, we do love fizzy drinks, so we buy sparkling waters and club sodas. And if we do want a sweet drink then we make our own soda with club soda and homemade syrup. This is a great way to keep the chemicals out of your drink and monitor the sugar in it. Homemade syrups are so easy to make and store, so I usually keep a couple of them in the fridge at a time. We rarely buy soda for our gatherings, but we do have special drinks. So, for our annual BBQ I decided to put homemade strawberry soda on the menu for fun and it is a cinch to make.

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Fresh strawberries are plentiful right now making it the perfect time to make this fun drink. Plus, this drink is festive and tastes yummy! Kids will love making their “own” pretty red soda. For fun add fresh strawberry slices and blueberries for a garnish on the drink. Furthermore, the whole effect will impress your guests and make them feel special. It will also be an extra festive touch for your day.

2 lbs of fresh strawberries

2 cups of organic cane sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cups of water.

Method:

Start by cutting the tops off the strawberries then rinse well and quarter. Next, put the strawberries, sugar and water into a large pot. Make sure to use a large pot or you will have a messy boil over. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the strawberries out of the liquid, reserving the liquid. After straining add the lemon juice and mix. Compost strawberries or use elsewhere. Use strained syrup in club soda or other drinks. Store the strawberry syrup in fridge.