SodaStream is capable of making some decent fizzy beverages and some uber-quick sparkling water on the spot, but what else can you do with the carbonation appliance? Find out when we run some adult beverages through it.
The following will come under a “don’t try this at home unless you’re up for cleaning your kitchen,” as that’s exactly what we did following the test.
Two and a half hours later, our kitchen was spotless and the numerous beverage-related mishaps that resulted from our SodaStream experiment were nowhere to be seen or smelled, with that last one obvious when you see what we did.
But now, onto the fun.
For those who have been living without a SodaStream, the principle of the appliance is simple: it’s a machine that takes a CO2 tank and pushes carbonation into a tank of liquid.
With this technology – and it’s been around for years – you can take basic tap water and make sparkling water in about ten seconds.
From there, you can add SodaStream’s cordials or your own concoction and make a bottle of fizzy drink. Apart from avoiding a trip to the local convenience or grocery store for a beverage, SodaStream reduces the build up of plastic bottles in our landfills.
When it comes to mixing up fizzy drinks, SodaStream’s manual instructs you not to run the carbonation process with any syrup in the water, but rather, to add the sweet stuff afterwards.
And so this is the key to a successful soda making it seems: no sugar and no density, as plain water doesn’t have sugar, and lacks body. This means that the carbonation process will work every time, whether you’re making fizzy water with a minimal, a moderate, or a maximum amount of bubbles.
But what if you try carbonating liquids that are a little more adult?
We were curious whether it was possible to take wines, inject them with carbonation, and turn them into something a touch more sparkling.
So we tried, and found that, aside for a mess, you can actually take a white or rose bottle, pour it into the SodaStream canister, and make a nice drop of sparkling alcohol.
As for red wine, the results are reasonably explosive, with the liquid going, well, everywhere.
We haven’t quite nailed exactly what’s going on, but suspect it has to do with the body and density of the drink.
White wines aren’t as heavy as their red counterparts, and as a result, seem to have no problem taking the injection of carbon dioxide. But the shiraz was an absolute failure, working only in that it gave us a sparkling drop of wine, but ruining our kitchen in the process.
Flat Coke was also attempted, and while a first glance suggests you can rejuvenate and bring a dead bottle of the cola back to life, the taste just doesn’t work out.
The almost seven minute video at the top of the page doesn’t mention our tests with carbonating both a sweet sherry and bourbon, but we can tell you neither of them tasted good (and thus weren’t included), with the sherry producing an absolute mess when it foamed up.
Still, it’s an interesting test, though one we don’t suggest you try at home.
Video edited by Adrian Masiello
I remember years ago as a kid trying that with milk. It was as successful and as messy as your shiaz attempt. Not recommended
You can SS just about anything I can do oranage juice; easiest way is 50/50 water and concentrated smooth on; the best fizzy orange ever.
You just have to slowly but surely release the gas; a tiny bit at a time the less water the slower you must be; can take 2mins for 50;50 water and oj/; whilst full on will take a small life time – 10-15mins
Oh white wines are generally fine you just have to relief the gas bit by bit! The fuller the bottle the better.
Your Shiraz experiment truly a pleasure to watch. Not heeding your warning I figured I could find a way to make it work because one of my favorite wines is a sparkling red (http://www.haskells.com/Ca+de+Medici+Reggiano+Lambrusco/details/wine/8252670984978) and I held out hope that it would work.
I used Frontera 2013 Merlot (the magnum size). It would probably work best if the wine is chilled over night.
Filled it to the line and carbonated to the second level of carbonation in my 1 liter SS bottle. To avoid the explosion I let the wine sit in the bottle after still attached to the SS for about 5 minutes. In that time it turns from a regularly purplish color all over and changes in color from the bottom up. Darkening in it’s purple color until it’s the color it started out as.
Then I released some of the air and just before it was able to EXPLODE on me, I push it back down to let it settle again. I did that about 4 times until I was able to remove it without too much fuss. When I was able to remove it, it still fizzed but not so much that it would launch off the SS.
I poured it out of the SS bottle in to another wine bottle that I could close. Please learn from my experiment and pour slowly because if you don’t it will just fizz up just like in the video. I chilled it over night in the fridge. IT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!
Practice this with care and patience.
We also carbonated Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling 2012 and it turned out great and didn’t need the same level of patience.
Ruda
Lesson learned: don’t be impatient. It makes for a costly clean-up job.