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Ginger Fizz
One gallon of simple syrup, 3 ounces of extract of ginger, 2 ounces of lemon extract, 1 ounce of citric acid solution. In using the above, draw two of citric acid solution. In using the above, draw two ounces in a soda glass and fill with soda; add 1 teaspoonful of icing sugar, and stir with spoon.
This is a fountain formula: a gallon of flavored syrup made up in advance, then dispensed two ounces at a time under carbonated water. Scale the batch down before you make anything.
- Scale it downA gallon of syrup yields about 64 drinks. At one-eighth of the recipe you get 1 pint of syrup, 3/8 oz (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) ginger extract, 1/4 oz (1 1/2 teaspoons) lemon extract, and about 3/4 teaspoon of the acid solution.
- Fountain simple syrup is heavyTrade syrup of this era was generally heavier than the 1:1 syrup most bar books mean now, often approaching two parts sugar to one part water by weight, though manuals vary. A thin syrup will taste watery at a two-ounce pour.
- Extract of gingerThis means the alcoholic fluid extract of ginger root sold by druggists, far stronger than supermarket ginger flavoring and nothing like fresh ginger juice. If you substitute, start with a fraction of the stated amount and taste, since strength varies wildly between products.
- Citric acid solution is ambiguousFountain manuals gave several strengths, commonly around 1 part citric acid to 2 or 4 parts water. The original does not say which, so make up a known solution of your own and add it to taste rather than by the ounce.
- The pourTwo ounces of syrup in the glass, then charged water to fill, roughly 6 to 8 ounces. Draw the water in a coarse stream at first to mix, then finish gently so you keep the gas.
- The icing sugar is not sweeteningThe icing sugar goes in last -- The recipe adds the teaspoon of powdered sugar after the water, not before. Powdered sugar dropped into carbonated water releases gas and raises a head, so the stir should be a single quick lift, not a beating, or the fizz collapses.
- Keeping the syrupBottle the finished syrup and refrigerate. A heavy syrup with citric acid and alcoholic extracts keeps for weeks, but any cloudiness or fermentation means discard it.
Ginger was one of the workhorse flavors of the American soda fountain, sitting alongside lemon, sarsaparilla and vanilla in the syrup rack, and it owed its place as much to the drugstore as to the candy counter: tincture and fluid extract of ginger were stock pharmacy items, valued as a stomach settler, and the fountain was usually the same counter. Books of formulas like this one were written for the dispenser rather than the household, which is why the quantities begin at a gallon and why the flavorings are assumed to come from a supply house rather than a kitchen.