CHARLOTTE - Like it or not, soft drinks are big business because of their worldwide popularity.
From Pepsi to Mountain Dew to some of the lesser known brands like Ale-8-1 and Jarrito, pop is thoroughly ingrained in our culture, especially in the South. At the Association of Food Journalists' annual conference in mid-September here, Tom Hanchett, staff historian for the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, gave a tasting session for alternative carbonated sodas.
It began with highly caffeinated Cheerwine (which is non-alcoholic) cherry beverage whose roots go back to 1913 in Salisbury, N.C., when L.D. Peeler and other investors bought a Kentucky company that made a then-popular soft drink called MintCola. In 1917, they changed the name to the Carolina Beverage Corp. A "flavor salesman from St. Louis" sold Mr. Peeler a unique cherry flavor to blend with other flavors, and Cheerwine was formulated.
Back then, soft drinks were named for their appearance, hence the names root beer and ginger ale, according to information from the company. Therefore, the burgundy-red bubbly, cheery concoction was named Cheerwine.
It developed a following in North and South Carolina and the brand continues today. The company offers recipes that use Cheerwine such as Cheerwine Holiday Punch, Cheerwine Ice Cream, Cheerwine Cake, and Cheerwine Barbecue Sauce.
"The South loves soda pop," said Mr. Hanchett as he next passed out samples of Blenheim Ginger Ale made with pure water and sucrose. "Southeast consumers drink more soft drinks than any other part of the country."
Blenheim's ginger ale is brewed in three degrees of hotness, and is now owned by the promoters of South Carolina's famous South of the Border tourist complex on Interstate 95, according to Mr. Hanchett. It continues to be made with water from the Blenheim Artesian Mineral Springs in the village of Blenheim, S.C.
A sip reminded me of Detroit's hometown beverage Vernor's ginger ale. As a child, I always thought when I drank Vernor's the fizz tickled my nose. As I grew older, it didn't bother me and I grew to like the refreshing flavor of Vernor's, especially when I lived in parts of the country that didn't sell the product.
Vernor's ginger ale, which was known as a great mixer for an ice cream float, is also a good product to make a glaze for ham.
In fact, many varieties of pop lend themselves to cooking recipes.
Cheerwine, which can be described as a cherry cola, is not the only pop to be used in barbecue. There's a Memphis Style Cola BBQ ribs, which can be made with any cola from Coke to Pepsi to RC Cola.
Pop can be used to flavor baked beans such as A&W Boston Baked Beans. Note that pinto beans are used in this recipe.
Cheerwine or other cherry-flavored sodas can replace the water in cake mixes. Devil's food cake mix made with pop gives a slightly cherry flavor. You can also use soda to flavor frosting in place of the usual liquid of milk or fruit juice. There are also root beer cakes and Seven-Up Cake.
Mr. Hanchett's tasting included international varieties, the availability of which has increased in Charlotte as immigrant populations have grown.
"The thing that fascinates me is that there's something that you can wrap your taste buds around," says Mr. Hanchett. "We are now the second fastest growing Hispanic population in the United States. People are coming from all over the world."
He has found a Dominican restaurant that offers Country Club fruit drinks; a Middle Eastern deli has Fayrouz lemonade from Egypt and the English fruit drink Vimto, a favorite in former outposts of the British Empire; and a Salvadoran diner sells LaCascada pineapple pop.
Senorial Sangria, a nonalcoholic beverage imported from Mexico, is made with sugar, as is Jarritos in a variety of flavors. There is no high-fructose corn syrup, a rarity around the world with soda pop production. "In Mexican grocery stores, you can get Mexican Coca Cola and Mexican Pepsi, which I have been told are made with sugar and seem more comforting," he said.
He had us try an Asian soft drink that contained tasty globules. The beverage from Wonderfarm is a "dragon fruit" drink with pulps manufactured in Vietnam and made with sugar.
Back in Toledo, I spent several hours last week visiting ethnic specialty stores. I found Jarritos Fruit Punch/Tutifruti made with sugar, Topo Sabores Orange Flavored Soda made with cane sugar, and Senorial Sangria (nonalcoholic) made with sugar at Broadway Food Center at 1503 Broadway.
Sparkling Vimto Fruit Flavor Drink at Tiger Lebanese Bakery, 6710 West Central Ave., was made with high-fructose corn syrup.
Thums Up cola and Limca (lemon-lime beverage), both made in India by the Coca Cola Co., were purchased at Deepam India, 7406 West Central Ave. According to the labels, these are carbonated beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup/sucrose sugar.
DG Sof Drink Pineapple Original Jamaican Flavor made with high-fructose corn syrup and Sarsi made with the artificial sweetner aspartame and from the Philippines were purchased at Asian Grocery, 1801 McCord Rd.
Indeed, soda pop and soft drinks are worldwide phenomena. You could say that the high-fructose corn syrup has also gone around the world.
But, "soda pop is best consumed in moderation," says Mr. Hanchett. And I agree. Sometimes less is best.
Kathie Smith is The Blade's food editor.
Contact her at:
food@theblade.com
or 419-724-6155.
First Published September 26, 2006, 12:10 p.m.
