The Citrus-Soda Synergy: Why Lemon & Lime Work Wonders with Soda
Whether topped on your mixed drink as a flavourful, citrussy garnish (as wedges or wheels) or blended in your cocktails as juices, lemon and lime work as versatile ingredients for mixologists, both novice and those experienced. In addition to sour and bitter flavours, both members of the citrus group perform different functions in your drinks. They add either a tinted clear green colour (in the case of limes) or a clear yellow colour if lemons are added.
Many classic cocktails also make use of these basic citrus ingredients because of the fizz and herbal flavours they add. When used to that effect, a mixer like soda slowly enters the picture with its high levels of fizz and carbonation alongside its citrus companions. If you’re also wondering why your favourite lemon and lime-based sodas are such a staple, read on to find out about their compositions, acidic balances and pairing tips.
Why Do Lemon and Lime Work With Soda?
What makes lemons and limes perfect in your sodas and drinks? Lemon and lime are most reputed for their acidic properties, being added in juices, mixed drinks, sauces and even desserts. Lemons and limes have very similar citric acid content, making them acidic, although lemons may have slightly more on average. Due to their sour and citrus flavours, they are used as ingredients in many dishes and drinks in the form of already-made or squeezed fruit juice, or slices and wedges of the fruit. Typically, lemon juice has a pH value between 2 and 3 which also makes it a lot more acidic than regular still water.
That being said, lemon and lime will slightly differ when it comes to their immediate taste on the palate and the kind of drink you’ll want to use them in. For a more sour mouthfeel, lemons are your go-to while shorter and greener limes are slightly more bitter, hence better suited if you want a tangy and bitter note to your mixed drink. To appease your sweet palate, lemons are clearly the better option between the two because they inherently contain a higher sugar content and less tartness, thus also making them ideal for coatings on salads and desserts.
Soda, on the other hand, contains carbonic acid (largely made up of carbon dioxide) imparts bubbles and fiz. Simply put, lemon-lime and soda are a classic combination when it comes to crafting the right mixers and choosing tarty ingredients as garnishes for your drinks. Lemon and lime’s acidity cuts through the fizz in the soda, providing an equally tarty and saccharine flavour profile to your lemon and lime-based sodas. Further, lemon and lime adds citric acid to the beverage, enhancing the fizzy mouthfeel. Besides acidity and flavour, lemon (usually, its peels) also contains aromatic oils like limonene that might lead to a sweet-smelling drink too!
Also Read: Use Raspberry Soda In Cocktails By Making These 4 Easy Recipes
Lemon-Lime Sodas and Related Beverages
Lemon-lime and soda pair extremely well across many different parts of the world, and some favourite combinations include the quintessential lemon-lime soda, fresh lime soda, or even a desi nimbu soda. Since lemon-lime and soda’s combination primarily works because of the balance both ingredients provide in the resulting drink – sweetness/bitterness through the citrus fruit and fizz through the bubbles in the soda, they are popularly used in varying quantities to make the drinks mentioned previously.
Whether it be Smirnoff Lemon Pop, a non-alcoholic beverage under the purview of Smirnoff, or a classic desi nimbu soda, the carbonated soda’s bubbles add just the right amount of fizz and bubbles to the mixture, and the lime and lemons add the end flavour. Depending on how much sugar you’d like in your drink, you can add sugar in addition to the natural citrus ingredient or leave it just as is.
What’s more? You can go beyond just lemon/lime and soda by pairing other ingredients with this classic combination. Sweet lime soda, masala lemon soda, or even mint lemon/lime soda are some creative pairings to get you started with!
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
