Food - Drink
French Soda Is Anything You Want It To Be
By RYAN CASHMAN
French soda isn't just soda manufactured in France. It's actually a type of non-alcoholic, infinitely customizable drink that borrows influence from American soda fountains.
Confusingly, French soda is also called Italian cream soda or cremosa. It's a tall, frothy drink flavored with syrup and topped with cream, like an old-fashioned fountain drink.
There is no set recipe for this drink, but rather a set of components that you can use in flavors and proportions you prefer. You just need carbonated water, syrup, and dairy.
Soda water serves as the body of the drink, and your syrup, which will flavor the soda, can be infused with fruit, chocolate, herbs, spices, and more, or even a combination.
For the dairy, half-and-half is a popular choice because it gives just enough creaminess without being too overpowering, but you can use any type of milk or milk alternative.
Constructing the drink is simple, and it's easy to make in batches. In an iced glass, mix together one ounce of dairy to half an ounce of syrup, and top with carbonated water.
Your French soda's flavor can be as out-there as you like. Try pairing fruit with herbs and spices or even vegetables and vinegars, like beet and chocolate or berries and balsamic.
You can also buy pre-made flavored syrups. The brand Monin offers all-natural syrups in flavors as pistachio, mandarin, cucumber, blueberry, hickory smoke, and pumpkin spice.
Leelanau Coffee Co. in Glenn Arbor, Michigan serves French sodas for just a dollar. There's almost no other places where you're guaranteed to find them, so try making them at home.