Cucumber Soda

[coeceo.livejournal.com]

Has anyone seen this for sale around here?

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

That sounded wicked tasty, so I Googled it. There's a company that makes it, DRY Soda Company. They apparently sell their products at Kick-Ass Cupcakes, according to their website. Don't know if the cucumber flavor is one of those stocked, but the lavender, lemongrass, rhubarb, juniper berry, and kumquat all sound good too!

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

I would try any of the larger Asian markets in the area as well.

White cucumber tea only.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

...

Probably WAY more work than you're looking for, but...

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

I have never heard of cucumber soda before but now I'm busy imagining a recipe. I think I could make it, now that I've thought of it....

Here's what I'd try if I was going to make it:

Take lots of cucumbers. Grate them into large shreds. toss, liberally, with sugar. Put the cucumbers and sugar into a colander over a bowl and put a large Ziploc bag full of water on top (for weight) and let the cucumbers drain for several hours. You will now have a bowl full of sweet cucumber water. I'd strive to get about four cups -- I have no idea how many cucumbers that would take.

Pour this into a (clean!) 2-liter soda bottle. Add a large pinch of instant yeast and put the cap on and leave it on a counter top (out of the sun) for 48 hours. Open and taste. If you want it to be more fizzy, put the cap back on. If it's good, put it in the fridge and open it once a day to let out the extra carbonation.

(If you forget to open it once a day, the bottle will explode and then your mother in law will think that you're trying to sabotage her Christmas dinner with your wacky homemade ginger beer. Not that that's ever happened to me...)

I think I may try this!

Re: Probably WAY more work than you're looking for, but...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I had no idea the bottle would explode... What if you put less instant yeast?

Re: Probably WAY more work than you're looking for, but...

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

Sadly, if the yeast is alive enough to carbonate the water (by metabolizing the sugar into energy and putting out CO2 which is then dissolved into the liquid) then it's ... well... metabolizing the sugar into energy and putting out CO2 ... which fills the bottle with compressed air which, sadly, could explode.

Home brewers may correct me but I BELIEVE that the 2-liter bottle has those four divots in the bottom precisely to help dissipate the pressure (like a champagne bottle's big divot in the bottom). I suggest (again, not at ALL from exploding one on my fridge!) that you don't put it in a flat-bottom glass bottle.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

If I have, the memory has been repressed. *shudder*

I know I went looking at Kickass Cupcakes for some of the Dry sodas, but all I can remember is they did not have the juniper flavor I wanted. :(

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

Hmm, reminds me of a cocktail a bartender fried of mine made for me once when I asked for something that tasted dry and refreshing, "like fresh cucumbers". It consisted of ginger ale, gin, Chambord, vodka, and *magic*, because it did taste exactly like fresh cucumbers.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Was it Hendricks gin?

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Elephant Walk makes something with cucumber...um, cucumber-flavored vodka?...and I think St. Germain and something else, which I cannot remember because there is an awful lot of alcohol involved, but man is it good.

Also, JP Licks cucumber ice cream (available only in summer): highly memorable.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

There's also a cucumber soda called "Mr. Q. Cumber" which comes in little bottles similar in shape to the Yoo-Hoo bottles.