These days, there's all sorts of talk about the environment, about eating fresh and local. However, there's not a lot of talk about what we drink. Cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles -- we go through these at a huge rate. But we don't need to -- at least, not totally. We might not be able to quickly whip up our own beer or wine at home, but we can make all of those tasty carbonated beverages. As soon as I heard about the Soda Club over at The Kitchn in February, I wanted one. Sparkling water at my finger tips? Without having to pay a buck a bottle? It seemed to good to be true. Then, a good friend of mine got me one for my birthday last month. I don't know how I ever went without it, and I really don't know why everyone isn't doing this.
It requires no electricity -- just a CO2 carbonator. You attach a bottle of water, push the magic button a few times, and there's some fizzy seltzer. You can also put in flavoring for flavored water, or a number of other syrups to make your own soda/pop. I've tried the root beer and lemon lime varieties so far, and I was completely happy with them. There's no walking to the store. I just walk over to my kitchen, pop on a bottle of cold water, and seconds later, I have the perfectly fizzed drink.
Unfortunately, my plastic bottles for the fountain jet need to be replaced every few years, but that's already a lot less bottles. (You can, however, spend more and get the Penguin, which uses glass carafes.) The basic jet, that I have, costs about $100, and the penguin -- $250. Yes, you have to send in your carbonators for replacements, but it's a heck of a lot less effort than running out for soda water when the urge hits, storing it somewhere, and dealing with all the empties.
It's quickly become one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, although I have to refrain from carbonating everything I drink. Do any of you have one? Any tips for newbies?
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