What Is Soda water and How Can I Use It?
Soda water is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 75 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Soda water is carbonated water; club soda has added minerals, seltzer is plain and neutral.
- The dissolved carbon dioxide adds lift, giving crisp tempura and airy pancakes and biscuits.
- Use it cold and add it last, since the fizz escapes fast once the bottle is open.
- Tonic water is sweet and bitter from sugar and quinine, so it is not an even swap.
- An open bottle goes flat within a day or two no matter how you recap it.
What is soda water?
Soda water is plain water charged with carbon dioxide under pressure, which is what gives it the fizz and the faint prickly bite on the tongue. It is sold under several names, most often club soda or seltzer, and in recipes the terms are used more or less interchangeably.
The small differences come down to what else is in the bottle. Club soda has added minerals like sodium bicarbonate and potassium sulfate, which give it a slightly salty, rounded taste. Seltzer is just carbonated water with nothing added, so it tastes cleaner and more neutral.
Tonic water is the odd one out: it carries sugar and quinine, so it is sweet and bitter, not a substitute for the others in cooking.
Cooking and Baking With Soda Water
The most useful trick is lift. The dissolved carbon dioxide expands into bubbles when it hits heat or gets folded into a batter, lightening the texture without any extra leavening. That is what gives you a crisp, lacy tempura coating and lifts pancakes and waffles.
It does the same work in quick breads and biscuits. Swapping soda water for some of the liquid gives a tender, airy crumb, which is the idea behind Alice's Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuits and KFC Buttermilk Biscuits. Boxed cake mixes turn surprisingly light this way too, as in a Pistachio Cake.
Speed matters here. The fizz starts escaping the moment you open the bottle, so use cold soda water straight from the fridge and get the batter into the heat fast, while the bubbles are still trapped.
For drinks, soda water is the backbone of countless punches and fizzes. It lengthens and lightens a Shirley Temple Cocktail, a Blackberry Shrub, and a Sparkling Fall Harvest Punch without adding sweetness of its own.
Pairing and Common Mistakes
Soda water flatters bright, acidic flavors: citrus, berries, ginger, mint, and tart fruit syrups. Because it brings no sugar, it lets the other ingredients set the sweetness, which is why it pairs so cleanly with fruit juices and shrubs.
The biggest mistake is letting it go flat. Stir a fizzy drink hard or pour it in too early and you knock the gas out, leaving a dull, lifeless glass.
Add it last and stir gently.
A second slip is reaching for tonic water by accident. Its sugar and bitter quinine will throw off any recipe that expects neutral fizz, sweetening a savory batter or muddying a delicate punch.
Soda Water Substitutes
In drinks, the easiest swap is another unsweetened sparkling water; seltzer and club soda trade places with no real loss. Sparkling mineral water works too, though its stronger mineral taste comes through in something delicate.
For baking lift, the carbonation is what matters, so any fresh, well-chilled fizzy water will do. In a pinch, a clear lemon-lime soda adds the same bubbles plus sweetness, so cut the recipe's sugar to balance it.
If you only need the liquid and not the fizz, plain water works, but expect a denser, less airy result.
To claw back some lift, add about ¼ teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flat liquid you substitute.
Buying and Storing Soda Water
Buy the freshest bottles you can and check the date, since carbonation slowly leaks out even through a sealed cap. Smaller bottles are smarter than one large one if you only use a splash at a time, because every reopening costs you fizz.
An unopened bottle keeps its bubbles for months at room temperature. Once opened, it goes flat within a day or two no matter how tightly you recap it, so plan to use it up quickly.
Keep it cold. Carbon dioxide stays dissolved better in chilled water, so a fridge bottle holds its fizz longer and performs better in both batter and glass than a warm one.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 fl oz (29g)Quick facts
Where to find soda water: Soda water is usually found in the beverages section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group: Soda water is a member of the Beverages US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 汽水
- British (UK) term
- Soda water
- en français
- eau de seltz
- en español
- soda
How much does soda water weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 fl oz | 29 grams |
| 1 can or bottle (16 fl oz) | 474 grams |
| 1 can or bottle (12 fl oz) | 355 grams |
Related
Beverages
Recipes using soda water
There are 75 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Breakfast Lemon Pancakes
Lemon pancakes lightened with club soda and whipped egg whites. Tiny silver-dollar size, fragrant with fresh lemon zest, fluffy as a cloud.
Easy Kentucky Biscuits
Kentucky biscuits use Bisquick, sour cream, and club soda for tall, fluffy biscuits in under 30 minutes. A 4-ingredient Southern shortcut with tender, pillowy crumb every time.
Easy German Beef Strips & Carrots
An easy German style main dish with a creamy sauce. Carrots are braised in white wine until tender-crisp with steak strips and onions with a splash of garlic cream to bring it together.
KFC Buttermilk Biscuits
A favorite has to be the buttermilk biscuits, they are so light and fluffy, they just melt in your mouth. They were made fresh daily in every store. Now due to the popular demand of these biscuits, they come frozen.
Belgian Club Soda Waffles
Belgian club soda waffles use sparkling water in place of milk for ultralight, crisp-edged Bisquick waffles in 20 minutes. Four ingredients, no buttermilk needed.
Pistachio Cake
There are many renditions of pistachio cake, but I believe this one to be the original. Through the years, Mum would always ask what kind of cake I would want for my birthday. My answer would almost always be "pistachio cake." To this day, this is one of my all-time favorites.
Alice's Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuits
Bisquick buttermilk biscuits with a splash of soda water for an extra-tall rise and tender, fluffy crumb. The classic shortcut biscuit recipe that bakes up in 30 minutes with bakery-style results.
Slow Cooked Ribs
Six-hour smoked pork ribs basted with tangy barbecue sauce, vinegar, and sparkling water for tender meat with caramelized edges.
Onion & Cheese Quiche
Onion and Swiss cheese quiche in a flaky homemade soda water crust with a rich egg and cream custard seasoned with nutmeg. Made entirely from scratch.
Little Johnny's Rocker
Creamy frozen peach drink blended with peach ice cream, coconut cream, and soda water, served in a chilled glass with fresh mint. A tropical non-alcoholic treat.
Fluffy Polka-Dot Pancakes
Extra-fluffy buttermilk pancakes dotted with cinnamon-sugar raisins. Whipped egg whites folded into the batter create a light, airy stack that puffs up tall on the griddle.
Orange Juice Fizz:
Sparkling orange juice fizz with frozen concentrate, orange liqueur, and chilled club soda. A bubbly brunch cocktail or mocktail ready in 10 minutes.
Matzoh Ball Soup with Homemade Stock
Classic Jewish penicillin with tender matzoh balls floating in rich chicken stock made from scratch with carrots, celery, leeks, and parsnips. Comfort in a bowl that takes time but rewards with deep, soul-warming flavor.
Chocoberry Splash
A fizzy chocolate strawberry milkshake float made with milk, chocolate syrup, frozen strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and club soda. Ready in 10 minutes with fun fruit swap variations.
Vodka Witch's Brew
Vodka witch's brew is a Halloween punch with apple juice, lime, vodka, and lime sherbet floated in club soda. Eerily green, slushy, and easy to scale up for a crowd of 16.
Cocorama Cake
A rich chocolate coconut layer cake made from scratch with unsweetened baking chocolate, brown sugar, and light cream, topped with a pink cinnamon candy boiled frosting. Retro baking with serious wow factor.
Green Glow Cake
Pistachio pudding cake made with white cake mix and soda water, baked in the microwave and topped with a fluffy pistachio whipped icing. A retro green dessert in 30 minutes.
Ice Cream Sodas
Classic ice cream soda recipes in five variations: Black and White, White and Black, Black Cow, Strawberry Soda, and Hoboken. Seltzer, syrup, ice cream, and whipped cream.
Ice Cream Sodas
Classic ice cream soda recipes in five variations: Black and White, White and Black, Black Cow, Strawberry Soda, and Hoboken. Seltzer, syrup, ice cream, and whipped cream.
Ice Cream Sodas
Classic ice cream soda recipes in five variations: Black and White, White and Black, Black Cow, Strawberry Soda, and Hoboken. Seltzer, syrup, ice cream, and whipped cream.
Ice Cream Sodas
Classic ice cream soda recipes in five variations: Black and White, White and Black, Black Cow, Strawberry Soda, and Hoboken. Seltzer, syrup, ice cream, and whipped cream.
Fresh Fruit Ambrosia
Fresh fruit ambrosia with a blended banana and orange juice dressing, spiced with nutmeg and cardamom, topped with coconut. No mayo, no marshmallows.
Pina Colada Flip (Non-Alcoholic)
Non-alcoholic pina colada flip made with pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and club soda, topped with vanilla ice cream. A fizzy tropical drink ready in 5 minutes.
Kernel Censor's Fried Chix
Crispy fried chicken marinated overnight in an Italian dressing paste, dipped in milk and club soda, dusted with pancake mix, deep-fried, then oven-finished. A two-stage cooking method for shatteringly crisp skin and juicy meat.
Coffee Soda
Coffee soda built with chilled double-strength coffee, half and half, coffee ice cream, and a top-up of fizzy soda water. The grown-up float you'd find at a 1950s soda fountain counter.
Halloween Witch's Brew
Halloween witch's brew, a kid-friendly non-alcoholic Halloween punch made with grape juice and soda water, garnished with halved grapes that look like floating eyeballs. Ready in 10 minutes.
Blackberry Shrub
Old-fashioned blackberry shrub, a sweet-tart fruit syrup mixed with lemon juice. Serve over ice, top with club soda, or float a scoop of sherbet for a colonial-era refreshing drink.
Rainbow Holiday Cup
Rainbow Holiday Cup cocktail with rum, cinnamon schnapps, orange juice, bitters, and grenadine over ice. A festive mixed drink served cold or heated as a warm holiday toddy.
Shirley Temple Cocktail
Classic Shirley Temple mocktail with soda water, grenadine syrup, an orange slice, and a maraschino cherry. The original non-alcoholic party drink for all ages.
Tea Punch
Sparkling tea punch with strong brewed tea, fresh citrus juices, crushed pineapple, and grenadine, topped with fizzy club soda. This crowd-sized party punch serves 20 and comes together in 10 minutes flat.
Flap Happies
Sour cream pancakes folded around sweetened strawberries with powdered sugar and toasted almonds. A brunch-style stuffed pancake with three dairy components for richness and an airy egg-foam lift.
Punch
Tea and fruit nectar punch with simple syrup and soda water. Use peach, mango, pear, or apricot nectar for a fizzy, refreshing party drink. Chill before serving.
Sulfuric Acid Swig
Sulfuric Acid Swig is a fizzy Halloween drink with lemonade, grapefruit juice, lemon sherbet, and club soda. Topped with powdered drink mix for a toxic-looking, bubbling effect kids love.
Mint Julep Syrup
Mint julep syrup concentrate made with creme de menthe, lemonade, and lime juice. Mix 1 part syrup to 5 parts water for a refreshing Southern-style drink.
Strawberry Yogurt Cooler
Strawberry yogurt cooler blended with fresh strawberries, nonfat yogurt, and fizzy club soda. A light, no-sugar-added smoothie that's diabetic-friendly and refreshing.
Strawberry Lemonade Ala Scott
Homemade strawberry lemonade with pureed fresh strawberries, lemon juice, and a splash of club soda for fizz. Bright pink, naturally fruity, and refreshing over ice.
Mohren Mit Geschnetzeltern (Beef Strips & Ca
German beef strips with carrots simmered in white wine and soda water, finished with heavy cream. A classic Geschnetzeltes with tender sirloin and sweet braised carrots.
Sewer Soda
Sewer soda is a Halloween-themed chocolate ice cream float with chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate syrup, and club soda. A 3-ingredient gross-out kids' party drink with serious appeal.
Tutti-Frutti Punch
Blended strawberry punch with pineapple, apple, and orange juice topped with bubbly seltzer. A low-calorie, no-alcohol party punch that's fruity, fizzy, and refreshing for any gathering.
Sangria Punch
Sangria punch built on rich port wine, frozen orange, lime, and lemonade, topped with club soda for sparkle. A fizzy, citrus-packed red punch that comes together in minutes for any party or potluck.
Carnatzlach
Carnatzlach are garlicky Romanian-Jewish skinless sausages made from seasoned ground beef and club soda for a light, springy texture. Broiled until crispy and browned, they're a crowd-pleasing appetizer or main.
Malinnik
Malinnik is a chilled Russian raspberry soup blended with claret wine and sugar, lifted with a fizz of soda water, and finished with a dollop of sour cream. A bright, boozy summer dessert soup.
Homemade Ginger Ale
Homemade ginger ale from fresh grated ginger, lemon rind, and honey steeped in hot water then mixed with seltzer. A natural soda with real ginger heat and no artificial ingredients.
Pineapple Cooler
Fizzy pineapple cooler punch with unsweetened pineapple juice, frozen orange juice concentrate, and lemon juice topped with club soda. A refreshing non-alcoholic party drink.
Favourite Morning Coffee Cake
Favourite morning coffee cake: a buttermilk-rich, brown sugar batter topped with cinnamon-walnut crumble and baked in a single pan. The kind of breakfast cake that vanishes by lunch.
Strawberry Lemonade
Fresh strawberry lemonade made with pureed strawberries, real lemon juice, and club soda for fizz. A 10-minute from-scratch summer drink with adjustable sweetness.
Omelette with Zucchini Tomato & Basil
Don't let your eggs look lonely, use this recipe to add a variety of vegetables to make your breakfast enjoyable!
