Cranberry-Rosemary Soda

By EmilyC • October 15, 2012 • 2 Comments

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Cranberry-Rosemary Soda — 1 of 2 Photo by EmilyC

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Author Notes: This homemade soda is a simple and delicious drink to serve at your next dinner party or holiday table. It’s tart, tangy and sweet from the cranberries, ginger, and citrus, with a lovely, unexpected herbal note from fresh rosemary. While it’s a special non-alcoholic drink, by all means add cava instead of sparkling water if that’s the way you roll. - EmilyC

Makes 2 cups of cranberry-rosemary syrup

1 orange
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup thinly sliced ginger
1 leafy rosemary sprig, about 10" long
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup water
Freshly squeezed lime or orange juice, for finishing
Sparkling water, for finishing
Cranberries (fresh or frozen), for garnish

To get started: Remove rind from orange in long strips using a sharp vegetable peeler, taking care to avoid white pith. Juice the orange. You should have about ½ cup of juice.
To make syrup: Combine orange rind, juice, cranberries, ginger, rosemary, raw sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Lower heat and maintain a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes; you want the cranberries to pop and release their juice. Take off heat and let cool to room temperature; leave rosemary sprigs in so they'll impart more flavor. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down and scraping back and forth with a spatula to extract as much of the juice as possible. Discard solids. Store in a tightly-sealed glass jar or measuring cup in the refrigerator for one week.
To make soda: Combine 3 parts syrup with 1 part lime (or orange) juice. Add sparkling water until you get the dilution you prefer. Serve over ice, and garnish with fresh or frozen cranberries.