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Pineapple Phosphate Syrup
Solution of acid phosphate, 8 fluid ounces; orange syrup, 16 fluid ounces; vanilla syrup, 8 fluid ounces; pineapple syrup sufficient to make 1 gallon; mix.
A bulk fountain formula: four components blended to a gallon, then drawn an ounce or so at a time under carbonated water. The proportions matter more than the volumes, so it scales down cleanly.
- Do the arithmetic firstA US gallon is 128 fluid ounces. The three named quantities total 32 fl ounces, so "sufficient to make 1 gallon" means roughly 96 fl ounces of pineapple syrup. In ratio terms: 1 part acid phosphate, 2 parts orange, 1 part vanilla, 12 parts pineapple.
- A workable small batchDivide by eight and you get 1 fl oz acid phosphate, 2 fl oz orange syrup, 1 fl oz vanilla syrup and about 12 fl oz pineapple syrup, for a pint. That is enough for a dozen or more drinks.
- Acid phosphateA dilute solution of phosphoric acid with calcium, magnesium and potassium salts, sold to druggists as a souring agent. It is still manufactured for bartenders and is not interchangeable with citric acid or lemon juice: it gives tartness with almost no flavour of its own, which is the whole point in a fruit syrup.
- The syrups are fountain syrups, not cordialsPeriod fountain syrup is a heavy sugar syrup, near saturation, flavoured and coloured. Modern coffee-bar syrups are close enough; thin homemade fruit syrups will dilute the batch and shorten its life.
- Vanilla is a rounder, not a flavourAt one part in sixteen the vanilla is there to soften the acid edge and give the pineapple some body. Leaving it out makes a noticeably sharper, thinner drink.
- How it was servedDraw 1 to 1½ fl ounces of the finished syrup into a glass, fill with cold carbonated water, and stir once. A pint of syrup makes roughly 11 to 16 drinks, depending on the pour.
- Keeping itThe sugar concentration and the added acid do most of the preserving, but a mixed batch of this size was meant to move quickly across a busy counter. A home batch is better kept refrigerated and used within a few weeks.
Phosphates were among the sour drinks of the American soda fountain, alongside the less common lactart, and both existed because plain sweet syrup and carbonated water cloy fast. Acid phosphate reached the trade through Horsford's preparation, marketed from the later nineteenth century as a tonic as much as a flavouring, and druggists who already stocked it for prescriptions found it did excellent work behind the counter. Because the soda fountain sat inside the drugstore, formularies like this one read like pharmacy: quantities in fluid ounces, a batch made to the gallon, compounding rather than cooking. Pineapple was a favourite fountain flavour of the period, cheap and vivid once canned fruit and manufactured syrups became widely available, and the orange and vanilla here seem to be giving that single fruit note top and bottom so it does not taste flat under carbonation.