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If I were to ask you how long have you been drinking coke, I’d probably get countless answers that will point to how long the soft drink industry has existed and of course that’ll be based on the respondents’ demographics.
Growing up drinking soda or soft drinks is probably a way of life and it’s something that nobody can take away from me not even when I get older. I’m sure some of you may have the same views as mine but if not that’s perfectly okay as well.
For once, did it ever cross your mind what a soda is made of or you simply consume it and don’t bother reading the label? It’s never too late to learn things or to know facts that matter.
Join me as we explore the world of carbonated drinks once step at a time.
What’s a soda anyway?
Soda or soft drinks does not contain alcohol and more often than not, consumed cold. Of course, you wouldn’t experience the fizz caused by the dissolved carbon dioxide in the drink if it’s not cold although it may still come out of the drink but its soft sensation as it goes into your throat wouldn’t be much satisfying. That’s why there are cold soft as opposed to hard drinks like alcohol.
Soft drinks have different names all over the world so if you’re in Israel, you don’t call it pop but you call it a Tosser and brus if you’re in Norway.
The origin of soft drinks can be traced back in days when mineral waters are fancied by ancient societies as they are found in mineral springs. It was not until the late 18th century when scientists replicated the naturally carbonated mineral waters. That’s why there are countries that call soft drinks as minerals.
It was 1767 when Joseph Priestley first discovered carbonated water or soda water by infusing carbon dioxide in water which became the defining component of most of today’s soft drinks. Years later, artificial mineral waters as what they call it due to inclusion of herbs and chemicals became a trend as pharmacies started selling soda waters on soda fountains. Soda fountains are the same as it was today, they are carbonated drink or soft drink dispensers normally found in restaurants, concession stand and convenient stores.
It was late 1800s when large scale commercialization of the product happened with the creation of crown caps for glass bottles the same with the latter’s production boom.
What’s really in a soda?
Like other food ingredients, those that are found in a soda are completely regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and of similar government agencies in any country.
First off, you wouldn’t get a soda drink if it doesn’t contain water.
Water, as the primary ingredient
Regular soft drinks contain 90% water while diet soft drinks contain up to 99% water. Drinking water or tap water naturally has trace amounts of minerals or substances that affect it’s taste so basically, bottlers or soft drink industry manufacturers utilize sophisticated filtering systems or complex water treatment methods in order to ensure that impurities or foreign substances are removed from the water to create a standard quality that is the same for all plants anywhere in the world. This can only mean that if water is salty in some places, or brackish in another place, that doesn’t affect the soft drinks’ taste.
Carbon Dioxide makes the soft drink bubbly
A colorless and odorless gas it is, carbon dioxide is the essential characterizing ingredient in all carbonated beverages. When dissolved in water, this imparts a unique taste and that’s the reason why in the early days, natural sources of carbonated, or effervescent , mineral waters were prioritized and thus believed to have medicinal effects.
Adding flavors to the carbonated water became the turning point of the soda flavors that we enjoy today. Also, during the early times, carbon dioxide was made from sodium salts that’s why carbonated beverages were called “soda” or “soda water.”
Presently, bottling companies purchase pure carbon dioxide as a compressed gas in high-pressure cylinders. Carbon dioxide gas is absorbed into the flavored soft drink in a carbonator machine just before the container is sealed. While under pressure and chilled of up to negative degrees centigrade, the soft drink may absorb up to four times the beverage volume of carbon dioxide.
Whenever you open a bottle or a can of soft drink, the “pop” you hear and the “fizz” or the spirit that comes out is the carbon dioxide gas escaping from the container is due to the sudden release in pressure.
Caffeine in moderate amounts
Caffeine being a substance that occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts and cacao beans are added to soft drinks in small amounts to enrich taste. Although some people feel the harmful effects of caffeine, scientific research has refuted these claims.
The amount of caffeine in a soft drink is only a fraction of that found in an equal amount of tea or coffee. In fact, the most allowed caffeine in a 12 oz. can is 72 mg or about 6 mg/ounce in carbonated drinks.
More than anything, it’s always best to consume food in moderation be it caffeinated drinks or alcoholic beverages.
Acidulants as preservatives
Like any manufactured food that we consume, it always has preservatives that lengthen the shelf life of these products and for soft drinks, these acidulants not only lengthens the shelf life of the drink but also adds a pleasant tartness. Don’t say fruit juices are always fresh in pouches or tetra pack because they are absolutely not. All these drinks are slightly acidic due to the addition of acidulants in small amounts either any one between phosphoric acid and citric acid or a combination thereof. Malic acid or tartaric acid are occasionally used as well.
Acidity and carbonation lengthens the shelf life of soft drinks meaning they serve as preservatives however storage conditions can still affect its taste and flavor.
Potassium and Sodium presence
Potassium which is a food nutrient found naturally and man-made exists in water therefore soft drinks has it as it was on some flavoring ingredients.
Sodium while falsely believed to be in significant amounts on soft drinks that’s why it’s called soda or soda water is definitely not true. Sodium as a compound serves as an essential mineral nutrient responsible for regulating and transferring body fluids is best for your health when taken in ample amounts but may be tied to high blood pressure when in excess.
Soft drinks are not significant sources of sodium instead local drinking water used in making soft drinks contributes most of the sodium in the drink but it really small amounts.
FDA has even classified soft drinks as “low” or “very low” sodium foods.
What makes soft drinks sweet?
Non-Diet Soft Drinks
Most regular (non-diet) soft drinks are sweetened with either sucrose or high fructose corn syrup or a mixture of any of these. Sucrose or table sugar come from sugar beets. The amount of sugar in soft drinks ranges from 7-14% which was about the same amount as a glass of pineapple or orange juice. Both sweeteners are easily digestible carbohydrates thus an important part of the diet. Calories from these sweeteners are a source of energy for the body.
Sometime thought to be more fattening than other foods, sugar actually contains the same number of calories by weight as protein (4 calories/gram), less than half the calories of fat (9 calories/gram). Sugars also contain far fewer calories than alcohol (7 calories/gram).
Diet Soft Drinks
Diet soft drinks are made possible by intensely sweet substances referred to as “diet” or “low calorie” sweeteners that can be in the form of Aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame K.
Aspartame is a nutritive sweetener approved by the FDA in 1983 for soft drinks and is widely recognized all over the world with a sweetening power so strong that it could sweeten an equal to less than one calorie per 12-ounce can of beverage.
Saccharin and acesulfame K are also among the widely used sweeteners for diet soda. The former is 300 times sweeter than sugar while the latter is 200 times sweeter than sugar not to mention sucralose which was 600 times sweeter than sugar.
So there you have it, for the mean time these are just some of the facts that you might have missed or might have not really known all these years. Should there be any corrections in any of the information above or things you might want to add, please inform me on the comments section. More soda facts as we go along so stay tuned to this blog by subscribing via email or RSS.
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A friend of mine and I have recently started a blog titled Blogivation. The focus of this blog is to showcase bloggers/vloggers from all walks of life asking them once question, “So why do you Blog?”. The goal be find Blogivation is to share the stories of what motivates Bloggers/Vloggers to blog, in the hopes that as readers and bloggers, can also pull ideas or affirmations from each other.
So the reason I am emailing you today is to ask you if you would like to do a guest post for Blogivation.
Thank you for you time and look forward to hear from you.
Hi Jordan,
Your endeavors are pretty interesting and I don’t mind writing a guest post for you or even create a collaborative blog with the rest of the guys in your team. I might was well help with hosting the collaborative blog since I own a web hosting start-up anyway but that’s if you wanted to.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks for dropping by,
M.D.