Taste tests

I love to compare things, especially in the kitchen.  So taste tests are something I really have fun doing.  Sometimes you try something new, compare it to the old way you used to it, and you are really amazed at the difference.  Then you have to try to decide which way you want to do it from then on.

These past few weeks, I've been experimenting with lemonades with different companion fruits.  I've come up with three great things that will be added to the menu as soon as I get the chance on a day when I don't feel like vegging all day.  I tweaked the balance of flavors and sweetness until I had them just the way I wanted them.  But then I wanted to try one final thing.  So today I made two separate batches of raspberry lemonade, one with regular water and one with carbonated water.

And the winner is ...

Regular water!

I love carbonated water.  Who doesn't, right?  It's fizzy and light and just plain fun.  But in these lemonades, the balance of the fruit and the lemonade was upset just a bit by the presence of carbonated water.  And additionally, after whirling this in my blender for a long time, it seemed that the carbonation wasn't quite a pronounced, which I supposed would be expected considering the nature of carbonation.

So these lemonades will be made with simply plain water.  That doesn't mean I might not deign to make a batch that is carbonated just for fun on a hot summer day when I think that visiting friends and family might enjoy it.  I certainly will.  But I will personally stay with the non-carbonated version for myself, most likely.

I have a couple recipe books on the making of artisanal sodas from past generations, things with names like "purple cow", and other such fun names.  I haven't delved too deeply into the art of specialty sodas, but occasionally I will test out a recipe and tweak it a little bit.  It's the combination of carbonation and really smooth flavors that I find most intriguing.

The other day my wife and I journeyed up to Weston which is about 40 minutes from Kansas City, and we had lunch at a charming and fun restaurant there.  And they had red cream soda which I rarely see.  It was a great soda, not heavy on the carbonation, very smooth flavor, not overly sweet, and it had the most brilliant red color.  There are many places around here where one can find unusual sodas from small artisanal makers, and I always love to try them.    

Well, for today, though, I won't turn my raspberry lemonade into a soda.  Soon you will see it on the menu along with two other lemonade combinations.

I hope you will all give them a try when they appear on an upcoming weekly menu.