Grapefruit Soda – All You Need to Know (Is grapefruit soda good for you?)
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Grapefruit is a subtropical fruit growing in evergreen grapefruit trees. It originated from an accidental crossing between sweet orange and pomelo, two other citrus fruits, and hence belongs to the citrus family. Grapefruit soda is one of the popular uses of grapefruit other than making juice or cocktails out of it. Grapefruit sodas are available in shops but can be made at home also with minimum effort and ingredients.
Homemade grapefruit soda can help promote healthy weight management. This recipe doesn’t spike blood sugar levels or cause sugar cravings and is low in carbs.
Grapefruit’s taste ranges from bittersweet to sweet and sometimes sour, depending on the redness of the fruit. Also, the interior of the fruit is segmented and its color can be white, yellow, pink, or red.
Health Benefits of Having Grapefruit
Grapefruit is 92% water of its total weight, making it one of the highest water content fruit. It keeps you stay hydrated and adding one grapefruit to your daily diet will help in improving overall health.
For Weight Loss
Someone interested in losing weight can consider grapefruit due to its very low-calorie content. 100 grams of grapefruit has an average of 42 calories.
Antioxidant Rich
In between the outer layer and the flesh of the grapefruit, there is a white layer known as pith. This pith is often discarded because of its bitter taste but it has high fibre contains and is rich in antioxidants and nutrients.
Lowers Bad Cholesterol
Consuming one grapefruit a day, particularly the red or pink variety can lower bad cholesterol (LDL) by 15.5%.
Pumps Immune System
It also helps in pumping the immune system as it provides vitamin C and vitamin A.
Reduces Hypertension
Grapefruits help in reducing fats, triglycerides to be specific by 27% which is a huge number. It also has high potassium levels which help to reduce hypertension and high blood pressure.
Low Glycemic Index
Another good thing about grapefruit is its low glycemic index (GI), approximately 25 and hence consuming it does not increase blood sugar rapidly. This value is even less than fruits like banana or watermelon.
Vitamin Rich
A 28% of vitamin A available in one-half of grapefruit is good for the eyes, lungs, kidneys, and other organs. The vitamin C present not only helps to boost immunity but also speeds up the recovery of any injury or wound. It also helps in the formation of new tissues and blood vessels.
It is better to have the fruit as a whole rather than juice if you want to get some fibre for your body. It also has some small amounts of calcium and iron.
Choose the Right Grapefruit
The nutrients mentioned above are more or less present in all the varieties of grapefruit. But, the redness of the fruit determines its quality. This means that the redder or pink ones have higher nutritional values than the white ones.
The red fruits get their colour from lycopene, a carotenoid, or pigment. Research says that eating food with good levels of carotenoid lowers the risk of heart diseases and even cancer. They also have high antioxidants especially beta carotene.
So, it is always better to choose the red and pink grapefruits which are filled with more vitamins and nutrients rather than the white ones.
How to Make Grapefruit Soda
Grapefruit soda is a simple and easy-to-make beverage that can be made at home with some regular ingredients. The steps are simple and even beginners can give a shot at making this refreshing drink. Also, it is always better to make things at home rather than buying them as the quality and freshness are maintained.
Ingredients Required
To make grapefruit soda you will need:
- Large Pink Grapefruit- 2 pieces
- Sugar- 9 tablespoons
- Water- 1 cup
- Lemons- 2 pieces
- Seltzer or Carbonated Water
Time Required
Preparation time: 10 – 15 minutes
Waiting Time: 1 hour
Yield
Serves 12
Procedure to make grapefruit soda
- Take out the zest from one fresh grapefruit and make juice from the other one.
- Add the grapefruit juice, the zest, lemon juice, water, and sugar to a saucepan and boil until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Turn off the oven and let it cool down and settle for an hour.
- After that, strain the syrup in a container using a mesh sieve and remove the solid particles.
- To serve grapefruit soda, add the syrup to a glass, add seltzer water, ice and stir.
Nutritional Facts:
- Calories: 45
- Carbohydrate: 10g
- Fat: 0g
- Sugar: 10g
- Calcium: 4mg
- Added Sugars: 9g
*All the values are approximate.
Note:
- You can use honey as an alternative to sugar to make a healthy version of the drink.
- Also, you can use ginger in the syrup to give a bit of a spicy taste to the sweet syrup.
- The syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Add the syrup to your taste. The sweeter you want your drink to be, the more you need the syrup.
- Grapefruit soda tastes best when served cold.
- Another option could be using agave syrup if you don’t want to invest time in making the grapefruit syrup. But agave has got a typical taste to it which many don’t like. So, remember to taste a little amount of it before adding it to your entire drink.
Uses of Grapefruit Soda
Grapefruit soda on its own tastes delicious but if you want to add some liquor to your drink then there are some yummy cocktail recipes to look for:
- The Paloma: Tequila mixed with grapefruit soda.
- Flamingo: Made with white rum, fresh lime juice, and grapefruit soda.
- Hemingway Daiquiri: Maraschino liqueur with grapefruit soda or juice.
- Danny Ocean: Mashup of the Paloma and Hemingway daiquiri and made with reposado tequila.
Other Uses of Grapefruit
Not only to make a refreshing drink, but you can also explore and use many other ways to consume grapefruit. Grapefruit in a salad is one such option. Try having grapefruit, kale, and hazelnut salad or grapefruit and avocado salad with baked salmon.
Grapefruit can be consumed on its own as a go-to immediate food when you are in a hurry but if you have time you can make delicious dishes with fish or chicken.
Almond, walnuts, and other dry fruits go well with grapefruit. Smoothies are another tasty option to consider by adding some other fruit like pomegranate to it.
With all these qualities present in a single fruit, grapefruit has made its place in the list of superfoods. The unique taste and the health benefits make it a healthy choice for you to make a refreshing drink like grapefruit soda or a healthy dish like salad or smoothie.
What is a good grapefruit soda?
This list features the world’s best grapefruit soda brands including Jone’s, Hansen’s, Scweppe’s, Citrus Blast, Crush, Fanta, Fresca, Squirt, Jarritos, Surge, Foygo, San Pellegrino, Ting, Vault, Wink, IZZE, Spindrift, Goya, Quatro, and Citra.
Is there a grapefruit soda?
Like the Kiss brand, Fresca is one of the tamer grapefruit sodas available, with a strong citrus/lemony body and grapefruit finish.
Is Squirt soda a grapefruit?
Squirt is a unique grapefruit drink that is refreshing, crisp and has the balanced ‘zip’ from the grapefruit flavor and sweetness of soda. Squeeze in some good times with a fun twist of Ruby Red Squirt.
What is in grapefruit soda?
Like real grapefruits, grapefruit soda comes in pinkish and clear varieties. The color doesn’t matter as much as the flavor, really. To balance out strong flavors, you need a soda with as much fresh, natural grapefruit tang as possible.
Is there grapefruit in Dr Pepper?
Pepper/7-Up),19 – 21 23 beverages were identified that contained grapefruit; of these, 5 did not contain the word “grapefruit” in the product name. … Table 3. Coca Cola products Dr. Pepper/7-Up products Pepsi Cola products Nestea Grapefruit Honey Green Tea Orangina SoBe Energy Citrus Energy
What soft drink is similar to Fresca?
Alternatives during the Fresca shortage Wegmans Diet Wedge. Wegmans makes Wedge Diet soda that comes in plain grapefruit but also combos with grapefruit. It’s normally available in cans but looks like only 2 liter bottles are available.
Diet Squirt. This is probably the closest competitor to Fresca.
Is Ting like lilt?
A soft drink that will go head-to-head with Coca-Cola’s Lilt is being launched into the multiples by Pepsi Americas. Ting is made to a 100% Jamaican recipe using only water, sugar and Jamaican grapefruit juice. … “We spent a lot of time thinking about how much we would position ourselves against Lilt,” said Hinton.
Why grapefruit is bad for you?
So why is grapefruit getting a bad rap? Grapefruit juice inhibits a chemical in the intestine needed to break down many drugs in the body. The absence of this chemical can lead to higher blood levels. In effect, the drug becomes more potent.
Is Dr Pepper Coke or Pepsi?
Dr Pepper Type Soft drink Manufacturer Keurig Dr Pepper (2008–present; United States only) The Coca-Cola Company (Europe and South Korea only) PepsiCo (Canada and Oceania only) Distributor Keurig Dr Pepper Country of origin United States Introduced 1885
What is the flavor of Dr Pepper?
“The 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper are cola, cherry, licorice, amaretto, almond, vanilla, blackberry, apricot, caramel, pepper, anise, sarsaparilla, ginger, molasses, lemon, plum, orange, nutmeg, cardamon, all spice, coriander juniper, birch and prickly ash.”
Does grapefruit soda have grapefruit in it?
The soda is made with real grapefruit juice and comes in tall pretty glass bottles (I’m assuming they still carry it). It’s cheery and refreshing. … I may have a teensy-weensy homemade-fruit-juice-soda-habit forming because of it. All you need is a grapefruit, sugar, water, and club soda or seltzer water.
Why is there no Fresca in the stores?
Then, Fresca was suddenly difficult — or nearly impossible — to find. The coronavirus pandemic made it hard to find a number of foods, including beverages, due to an unexpected aluminum can shortage, and a shortage of CO2. Luckily, those shortages are over, and Fresca is back.
