Soda Water Made Simple
Soda water, or carbonated water, is plain water to which carbon dioxide gas has been added; it is also referred to as sparkling water. It is the most dominant ingredient of most “soft drinks.”. This process — carbonation — produces carbonic acid, better known as soda pop.
soda water
Soda water is also known as club soda; it can be produced at home by using a seltzer bottle filled with water and then “charged” with carbon dioxide. Club soda is often just the same as plain carbonated water; however, in some instances, it can have a small amount of table salts, as well as sodium trace minerals. Such additives sometimes make the taste of home made soda water somewhat salty. In some areas the process occurs very naturally and issues in carbonated mineral water.
A little dental decay might sometimes be caused by sparkling mineral water. Potential dental problems with sparkling water are admittedly greater than normal water, but not dramatically so. Sparkling water does not cause nearly as much tooth decay as regular soft drinks. The rate is so low it suggests that carbonation may not be a factor in causing dental decay.
Ground water – usually from artesian wells – can be filtered among layers of minerals containing forms of carbonates and absorb the carbon dioxide gas released by those carbonates. Natural sparkling water is the resulting substance. If the water also picks up enough different minerals to become flavored, it becomes sparkling mineral water.
Basically, soda water equals water plus carbon dioxide. Sparkling mineral water is a carbonation which is naturally-occurring. In 1794, a jeweler made a device to produce an artificial carbonated mineral water.
A taste test was conducted on several carbonated drinks; Perrier, a sparkling natural mineral water, was judged to keep its fizz the longest.
The gentle fizz of club soda may be a welcome alternative for consumers who feel seltzer to be a bit harsh. As part of the taste test, club soda seemed to be milder, and a little sweeter tasting, than standard carbonated water.
With zero calories, club soda, sparkling mineral water, seltzer, and carbonated water are usually preferred by dieters over soda pop and tonic water. Not even if flavored at home with flavor for carbonated water.
Tonic water is a carbonate drink containing water, sugar, carbon dioxide and quinine. Quinine’s first use in tonic water was medicinal — as an additive to help cure or prevent malaria. Today it is commonly mixed with gin and lemon or lime for an alcoholic drink.
These facts and names are just a few of the ways we refer to soda water.