How to Make an Italian Soda or Italian Cream Soda

Italian sodas have become a staple of coffee shops and cafes. But while you can find Italian sodas at most coffee shops, you can also make your own Italian sodas at home with a few simple ingredients. In its most basic form, an Italian soda is simply sparkling water mixed with flavoring syrup. But while Italian sodas are easy to make, they can be made better by following a few simple guidelines.

Sparkling Water

Italian sodas require some sort of sparkling water (carbonated water). While you can use nearly any type of carbonated water, the type of water and the degree of carbonation can affect the flavor and texture of an Italian soda. Too much carbonation will overpower the flavoring syrup, and too little carbonation yields an Italian soda resembling flavored still water.

I have found that the best sparkling water for Italian sodas is Calistoga sparkling mineral water. In addition to being a naturally occurring mineral water from a geothermal spring in Calistoga, CA, the Calistoga sparkling mineral water has the perfect amount of carbonation for making Italian sodas. Although you could also use Perier or other brands of mineral water, Calistoga water yields the best results in an Italian Soda.

Flavor Syrup

To make an Italian Soda, blend between one and two shots of flavoring syrup with approximately 12 ounces of sparkling mineral water. Since the flavor syrup defines the flavor of the Italian soda, you should use quality flavor syrup when making an Italian Soda. I prefer to use Torani syrup in my Italian sodas. Although Torani syrups are not the most expensive flavoring syrups available, I find that Torani syrups have easily recognizable flavors that blend well with the crispness of the Calistoga sparkling mineral water.

You can use nearly any flavor of syrup in an Italian soda. Many people prefer fruit flavors such as cherry, lemon, or raspberry. Other people prefer nuttier flavors such as almond, hazelnut, walnut, and so on. My favorite Italian soda flavor is Irish Cream, which is also a Torani syrup flavor. If you are feeling ambitious, you can experiment with blending two or more flavor syrups together, but usually a single flavor is best in an Italian soda. You may need to experiment with finding the right proportions of syrup and mineral water to suit your own preferences. I prefer Italian sodas to be on the sweet side, but others prefer a higher mineral water to syrup ratio. This is a matter of personal taste and there is no one correct proportion of ingredients for an Italian soda.

Cream

In addition to sparkling mineral water and flavor syrup, you can also add cream or half-and-half to create an Italian cream soda. I prefer to use half-and-half rather than heavy cream because the half-and-half blends well with the mineral water. An Italian cream soda works best with nuttier flavors, such as hazelnut or almond, but an Irish Cream Italian cream soda is my Italian soda variant of choice. The exact amount of cream or half-and-half to add to an Italian soda is also a matter of personal preference. If you prefer a creamier, thicker Italian cream soda, then add more cream. If you prefer a thinner, waterier Italian cream soda, then use less cream and more mineral water. You may need to experiment with the proportions of sparkling mineral water, cream, and flavor syrup to determine the proportions, flavors, and textures that you like best in an Italian soda or an Italian cream soda.