Homemade Blueberry Vanilla Soda

I love the Sodastream I got for my birthday.  Satisfying my cravings for sparkling water, I can magically turn still water from the tap into some bubbly goodness any time I want.  What I don’t like are the syrups that came with the product.  They’re overly sweet for my tastes and just don’t fit the bill as far as I’m concerned.

The good news is that nature allows for a world of fresh & tasty ingredients that make interesting soda concoctions.  My first attempt at one of these homemade sodas was this homemade blueberry vanilla soda, which I made for a recent barbecue with friends.  To be honest, I suspect you could use any combination of fruit combined with sugar & lemon juice for similar results.  In place of vanilla, you could add maple syrup, honey, or leave it out entirely.

Blueberry Vanilla Soda

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
9 tablespoons lemon juice
Splash of vanilla paste (or extract)

1. Combine all ingredients into a small pot and mix.

2. Heat over medium heat for at least 20 minutes, or until the mixture foams and blueberries collapse.

3. Cool the mixture.  As soon as it’s at a good temperature to stick in the fridge, do it.

4. Once cool, add syrup to sparkling water.  If you don’t have a Sodastream, you could use Perrier, club soda or any other sparkling water you may happen to have on hand.  Add as little or as much as you’d like… I happen to like a lightly flavoured soda, but you may prefer yours on the sweeter side.

A note: Make sure you don’t overdo it on your cooking or sitting time.  I tried to make a variation of this recipe with black currants but made the mistake of leaving it on the stove for too long.  The result was more of a jam than a syrup.