The perfect hint of sweet from the honey, with a touch of tartness from the tangerine and lime. This citrus soda is a refreshing drink I crave in the hot months of summer. To top it all off, it is naturally sweet from the honey.
This recipe is great for warmer weather in late spring and summer. Tangerines are in season in the winter time so I like to make this when tangerines are in season and the neighbors are giving away the abundance of citrus on their trees. You may not live in a place that has citrus in season so purchasing from the grocery store works just as well.
Growing up as a kid my parents used to buy Hansen’s Natural Soda. A favorite flavor of mine was the mandarin lime. You can’t purchase the product anymore so I decided to try my own spin. Obviously switching out the mandarin for tangerine. This soda reminds me of my childhood and I love drinking it with a big slice of pizza or Mexican inspired food.
Ingredients
- Tangerines-if you live in Florida, Arizona or California, grab some from a neighbors tree. You can find tangerines (or they are called tangelos) at Trader Joe’s if they are out of season.
- Limes-add a great tartness to balance out the sweetness from the honey.
- Filtered water
- Honey-honey adds a sweetness necessary to balance out the tartness from the citrus.
- Club soda-you can’t have a soda without carbonation.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
First, wash all of the citrus and set aside. Next take a vegetable peeler and peel the zest from half of one lime and the zest from one whole tangelo. Ensure your vegetable peeler is sharp. I like to use the vegetable peeler from Ikea because it’s sharp and pulls the tangerine rind off in long strips.
Next, place a small strainer over the glass measuring cup to catch any seeds or extra pulp. Squeeze the juice from 3-4 tangelos with a handheld juicer. The amount of tangelos you will used will depend on the juiciness of the fruit. Pour the juice into the small to medium saucepan.
Next, squeeze the lime juice with the handheld juicer through the strainer into the glass measuring cup. Measure 3 Tablespoons into the small to medium saucepan. Then, add filtered water, honey, and the tangerine and lime zest to the same saucepan.
Then, turn the heat of a small burner to medium low and place the saucepan with ingredients on the burner. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse the flavors of the zest into the syrup.
Once the syrup comes to a simmer, allow it to cool slightly. Use the large strainer and strain the syrup into a glass bowl to cool completely. Squeeze out the strips of lime and tangerine zest pieces to infuse even more citrus flavor into the syrup. Then, pour the syrup in a mason jar and place in the refrigerator until cooled completely.
Lastly, pour cold syrup about ⅓ of the way in a glass and the remaining ⅔ of the glass with club soda or soda water. This is the ratio I prefer but you may prefer more or less of the citrus syrup. Play around with the ratios until you have a preference and flavor you enjoy.
Substitutions
- Honey - instead of honey, sweeten the soda with maple syrup. The use of maple syrup will also make this recipe vegan.
Equipment
- Small fine mesh sieve strainer-this will be used to strain tangerine and lime juice into the glass measuring cup.
- Large fine mesh sieve strainer-this will be used to strain the citrus syrup once it has been simmered.
- Handheld juicer-this will be used to juice the citrus.
- Small to medium saucepan-this will simmer the citrus syrup to infuse the flavors.
- Glass liquid measuring cup-this will be used to measure the tangerine juice and filtered water.
- Teaspoons-this will be used to measure the lime juice.
Storage
Store the citrus syrup in the refrigerator for up to a week.
These ingredients do stand up well to freezing for up to six months. I like to freeze the citrus syrup in glass mason jars.
Print
Citrus Soda
Ingredients
- ½ of a lime rind
- 1 whole tangerine rind
- 1 cup of fresh squeezed tangerine (tangelo) juice (from 3-4)
- 3 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice (from 1-2)
- ½ cup of honey
- 1 cup of filtered water
- Club soda (dependent on ratio of syrup to club soda)
Instructions
- Wash citrus and peel the rind of ½ of a lime and a whole tangelo with a sharp vegetable peeler. Place in a small to medium sauce pan.
- Next, squeeze tangerine juice with a wooden citrus juicer over a small fine mesh sieve that is on top of a glass liquid measuring cup. Pour tangerine juice into the small to medium sauce pan.
- Next, squeeze lime juice with a wooden citrus juicer over a small fine mesh sieve that is on top of a glass liquid measuring cup. Measure 3 tablespoons of lime juice into the small to medium sauce pan.
- Then, add honey and filtered water to the same saucepan. Turn a a small burner to medium low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Turn stove off and set sauce pan aside to cool the syrup slightly.
- Next, place a large fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the citrus syrup. Once the liquid is cool enough, pour it into a large mason jar (1 quart size) and place in a refrigerator to cool completely.
- Once the syrup has cooled completely, add ice to a glass with a ⅓ ratio of the citrus syrup to a glass. Fill the remaining ⅔ of the glass with soda water. Garnish with additional lime and tangerine slices if desired. Enjoy.
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
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