FermenteaWhere food goes to change
Modern adaptation
sparkling shrub · sparkling cordial · carbonated juice
A cold finished drink charged with carbon dioxide in a home carbonator that accepts liquids other than water. Carbonating is not fermentation and does not preserve the drink.
Home carbonators are built for water, and two makers' published answers show how the same machines can charge a juice or a wine. SodaStream's guidance describes the MIX model as the one that permits other liquids. Its other models, including the TERRA, E-TERRA, ART, ENSO and DUO, are water-only. Drinkmate's guidance describes the Fizz Infuser route, and advises against pulpy juice.
The routine is the same in principle: the drink is chilled, poured into the bottle, charged with bursts of gas, and released slowly. Carbonating is not fermentation, and it does not preserve the drink. The carbonated drink keeps no differently from the cordial, shrub or juice before it was charged.
On the SodaStream MIX, the bottle is filled to the first line and the locking dial is turned fully right before the bursts. The bottle is fizzed two or three times for the mini size, or three to five times for the large one. The dial is released slowly to the left, one step at a time, and turned back if the drink rises. If the drink has fizzed up, the overflow tank of the nozzle is emptied and rinsed.
On the Drinkmate, cold liquid is used. Foamy drinks are filled only halfway and charged in short bursts. Sugary drinks may need one or two extra bursts, according to the maker. The bottle is shaken and left for about 10 seconds before the chrome tab is lifted for a slow release. The blue button is pressed only to clear the remaining pressure before the Fizz Infuser is removed. After anything other than water, the Fizz Infuser is rinsed in room-temperature or warm water and never put in a dishwasher.
Neither maker names shrubs or cordials. Applying the carbonating procedure to a shrub or a cordial is an adaptation, and it is untested here. The sources disagree on sugar: Drinkmate warns that sugary drinks may need extra bursts, and the sources give no sugar limit. Drinkmate also advises against pulp, so the sources point to a strained drink rather than a pulpy one.
For the drink itself, see the separate record on botanical cordial syrups. This record covers only the carbonating step.
The procedure is a modern appliance routine published by the two makers. No dated history was researched.
Scaling: source batch only
Sugar makes gas foam on release, and non-MIX SodaStream models overflow and can be damaged.
Hazard sourceThe Fizz Infuser must not be forced off a pressurised bottle.
Hazard sourceUse only a machine that permits non-water liquids, and release the pressure slowly.
Control sourceCarbonating is not fermenting and is not a preservation step.
SodaStream's other models are water-only.
No source in this record establishes a place.
Drinkmate’s Fizz Infuser lets its countertop carbonators add carbon dioxide to cold drinks directly, with a controlled release valve for foamy liquids. Models and bottle systems vary; a 2025 recall applies to specific one-litre bottles.
The SodaStream MIX is a CO₂-powered bottle carbonator designed for drinks beyond water, with a locking release dial and overflow collection. This page covers the MIX model, not the broader water-focused SodaStream range.
Fruit becomes juice, butter, paste or syrup in two moves: get the liquid out, then drive the water off. Steam juicers, slow cookers, microwaves and freezers each do one of those moves well, and none does both.
Fresh herbs and citrus peel infused into spirit in about a minute in a cream whipper charged with nitrous oxide. This is extraction only: it is not ageing and not preservation.
A chilled Korean dessert punch of cinnamon and ginger boiled in water, sweetened and poured over dried persimmons.
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SodaStream UKMethod · Equipment · Safety
Can I fizz liquids other than water in my SodaStream?MIX procedure; the locking dial and fill line; release by steps; water-only models
Cited in: Carbonating a drink that is not water; The two routes
Drinkmate USA (iDrink Products)Method · Equipment · Safety
Drinkmate FAQsDrinkmate procedure; sugar; pulp; cleaning of the Fizz Infuser
Cited in: Carbonating a drink that is not water; The two routes; Shrubs and cordials