I shouldn't say that, Italian beverages are fine. Some are an acquired taste, but there's nothing inherently wrong with them. They do run light on the sugar, though. So it's possible that my taste of Mt. Dew that made me think it was a good drink was based on sugar content. I love sugar. When I returned back to the States and acclimated myself to standard US syrupy goodness, Mt. Dew was just kind of *meh*. So this may not be an exact match, but it's a start for anyone looking for a match.
2 cups sugar, inverted in 1 cup water (with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, see recipe below)
Juice from:
2 oranges (about 1/2 cup)
2 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
1 cup water
Peel from:
1/2 orange
1/2 lemon
1/2 lime
Carbonated water up to 1 gallon.
Combine sugar, 1 cup water, and cream of tartar. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Bring the other 1 cup of water to a boil separately. Add the citrus peels, remove from heat and cover. Allow to steep until it has cooled to room temperature. Strain and add to sugar solution, along with the strained juices Ensure it is well blended. Add to carbonated water and mix gently until dissolved.
I'm thinking that this does need some work, but it's at least a start. I know some people online have been looking around for something like this, so here it is!
Update July 2014: Because this is such a popular recipe, I've included it in my book - Making Soda at Home
. The recipe there takes on a slight variation and also includes methods for carbonating via fermentation or force carbonating like pre-mix rather than just making a syrup to add to carbonated water.
Looks like it's worth a try! Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteOne question though... How much cream of tartar do you use?
I used an adaptation of the recipe from Chef Eddy Van Damme, at chefeddy.com. There's a direct link to his recipe in my Harry Potter Butterbeer Recipe v2.0.
ReplyDeleteHis recipe uses 1/4 tsp for 2 lbs of sugar. The recipe above is for 1 lb, so you'll only need about 1/8 tsp.
What does th cream of tarter do? I made a recipe that i thought would be sprite it had 2T lime juice and 1T lemon and 2 cups sugar needless to say it had some twang my broters loved it (probably because of sugar) but it could use some work any ideas
ReplyDeleteThe cream of tartar hydrolyzes the sugar and makes it sweeter. Sweeter taste, same number of calories. I'll have to make a post on this, as I've had others pose the same question.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say it could use some work, what problems are you having? In my opinion, there's 3 basic tastes going on in Sprite/7up: Sweetness, Tartness, and Crispness/Freshness. Sweetness comes from sugar, tartness from citric acid, and crisp/fresh from citrus oil. You have to balance those three things to get it to taste right.
That was my thought but i am not very good with taste i tried balanceing the lime and lemon and it just didn't work it is plenty sweet and it has good crispness but there is to much tart and it gives it a wierd texture.
ReplyDeleteI have just looked through the rest of your recipies and unless I have missed something then I have noticed that you don't use the natural carbonatin method is there a particular reason why?
ReplyDeleteJake.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent question. As a religious preference, I avoid alcohol. For more info, see www.mormon.org. I know that using the right yeast and carefully watching the fermentation won't yield much more alcohol than is naturally found in certain things, but I figure, "why risk it." I also really like having five gallons of club soda on hand in my keg so I can experiment with small batches and know what they taste like right away.
You can use water kefir to make carbination. Look at http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-grains.html
DeleteThanks for the input. Yes water kefir will make carbonation the same as yeast, because kefir grains are cultures of bacteria and yeasts meshed into organic material (the substrate of whatever they've fermented). The principle, however, is the same and so are the fermentation products: carbon dioxide and ethanol.
DeleteI was just wondering why not use just the zest instead of the whole peel since the pith is what is causing the bitterness?
ReplyDeleteZesting is generally the preferred method. I wanted some of the astringency that comes with citrus oil. I apparently got too much.
DeleteI imagine that if you're trying to replicate the flavor of real, caffeinated mountain dew, but you don't actually want to add the caffeine, you might actually want that bitterness, since caffeine itself is very bitter. I've found that I actually prefer the taste of caffeinated mountain dew, because of the bitterness, but I'd prefer not to drink the caffeine, so I'm probably just going to use the entire peel.
DeleteYou're right about caffeine being bitter. Caffeine free mountain dew is much more mellow and almost gives off a going flat taste. The bitterness would make it closer, but you can go mellow if that's what you prefer. I'm gonna try making this with stevia since I can't have much in the way of sugar. I'm not going to add caffeine cause I'm sensitive to it and it's basically poison. Not a fan of making my heart run a marathon everytime I drink pop.
DeleteI am currently testing this out using zest instead of the peel. I will post back when everything is cooled down and ready to roll. However I think that if we want to start getting the measurements down right we may want to switch to using something like pre-liquidated fruit (100% oj, lime/lemon juice, etc) so that we may have a greater control over the measurements
ReplyDeleteThanks, I can't wait to see your results. I agree that juice would give you mor control over measurement, but the flavor would probably be a bit different. I expect going the all juice route would be more tart than you need.
DeleteThanks so much for this recipe. I've been looking for a way to make a sundrop clone at home for a while.
ReplyDeleteMade my first batch this weekend - It's a pretty good jumping-off point. I'll be looking for some citric acid for my next batch, and probably going heavier on the OJ and lighter on the other two juices.
Definitely more to follow :-)
Where do u buy the tarter stuff at
ReplyDeleteCream of Tartar (tartaric acid) is available at most supermarkets in the baking aisle near the spices. You could use citric acid or lemon juice with similar effect, but you'd end up with some definite fruity flavor. That's not a problem if you're making a fruity beverage, but otherwise you'll want the cleaner taste you'll get from the cream of tartar.
DeleteHow would this recipe change based on the use of stevia? I would think the bitterness of stevia would clash with the citrus. I am guessing the cream of tartar doesn't have the same effect on stevia as it does on sugar...
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I am going to try this out today as the mountain mist syrup concentrate that I bought from prairie moon doesn't taste anything like Mountain Dew (and usually they are so good!). I love my Mountain Dew, but I don't love the enamel decay and weight gain that comes with it.
Thank you very much!
I haven't used stevia much, so honestly I can't say. Your guess is correct, though that the cream of tartar would not have the same effect on the stevia as it does sugar. I know this is not a dead on match, so I'd be curious to find out if mine is closer than Prairie Moon.
DeleteHi, glad to have located your site. If you are concerned about the tooth problems as a result of using sugar, use xylitol instead. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol and doesn't feed the bacteria responsible for tooth decay. I don't want the sugar or HFCS in my diet, which is why I'm looking for soda recipes. We also have the soda stream (and distilled water) but also plain old carbonated water can be found in the super markets next to the club soda. Thanks for your efforts here! Tom
DeleteThanks for weighing in on the xylitol. I've always liked the flavor of it and other sugar alcohols, but many people experience diarrhea with high levels of sugar alcohol use. And while it is a lower calorie sweetener, it's not a no calorie sweetener.
DeleteAlso, if you have animals in the house, be very cautious with thw xylitol. It is a deadly poison to dogs and cats!
Deleteyou mentioned that adding caffeine was optional...how and/or where would I get said caffeine?
ReplyDeleteSearch for "Food Grade Caffeine Powder" or "Caffeine USP" which is pharmaceutical grade.
DeleteIf you buy caffeine powder online, be extremely careful with it. It can be deadly if you handle it wrong. Its very easy to inhale it and overdose on it.
DeleteWhy would anyone want to add caffeine? It's so harmful to your body! FYI, Mountain Dew has bromenated vegetable oil which stores in fat and an excess of it can cause psychosis. Dr. OZ had a story on it.
ReplyDeleteSome people want to get their caffeine fix, which I must say they do at their own risk. Because I've never been a big fan of doin' the Dew, I always assumed it's popularity was due to the high caffeine content, not the flavor. There are better citrus sodas out there.
DeleteYou have to pick your poison, I guess. Some people get psychosis from brominated vegetable oil, some people die from drinking all-natural, unpasteurized apple juice.
Nah, I love the flavor but wish it didn't have the caffeine! :)
DeleteDr. Oz is a hack who no one should listen to. Bromenated vegetable oil isn't an ideal ingredient. But Dr. Oz is a farce.
DeleteI'm living in Brazil as an American with my wife. The thing I miss the most is Mountain Dew. So, a big thank you for the recipe. My question is, "What are you using to carbonate the water? Do you need a machine or is there another way to carbonate the water? I have made Homemade root beer with yeast and sugar. Can you do the carbonation with the same process???
ReplyDeleteTyler,
DeleteI'm using water carbonated with a cornelius keg. They are the old 5 gallon tanks used for soda fountains before the bag-in-box syrup systems were in wide use. The sodastream machines are becoming increasingly popular, and those would work as well.
I'm not sure what you'll find being in Brazil, but you certainly can go the yeast fermentation route. Increase the sugar in the recipe by about 1/4 cup and that should compensate for it.
Hi, I know this is a fairly old post, but I want to share something. I would like to try this recipe! My Dad has a Sodastream and it'd be cool to make my own Mnt Dew with it.
ReplyDeleteNow, something that I have noticed. Maybe it is just me, I dunno. I have not been able to dig up ANY information to back up this theory, but sometimes when I drink a Mnt Dew, I can taste what I believe to be a hint of white grape juice. Like I said, if its in there, they are keeping it a secret (it is listed on the Mnt Dew Kick Start citrus however). But maybe adding a little bit of that could get even closer. I'd probably use Welches 100% from concentrate. Just something I wanted to share. Perhaps I will try it sometime soon and see how it goes!
TurtleDude,
DeleteThanks for your insight. I personally have not noticed a white grape juice flavor, but I'll admit, I'm not much of a Dew drinker.
If it was in there as a juice concentrate, it would have to be declared on the ingredients, but that doesn't mean the flavor is not in there under "natural flavors". Let me know how it turns out!
I just found your site. I guess I'm lucky to live in Northeast Pa. We have Sundrop and we have Diet Mt Dew. I understand the alcohol situation and the caffeine. A soda delivery man said a soda company makes diet based on how well it sells with sugar as sugar is cheaper. For serious Mt Dew drinkers there are cake recipes with it in. Thanks for the site.
ReplyDeleteI made this with slightly more sugar and half the fruit [I upped it from 400g to 1lb of sugar per gallon], no pith, only zest and 8tbsp of lemon juice. I found that boiling the zests seperately really gave it that 'Mountain Dew yellow/green' colour. It has slightly more bite than Mountain Dew has and is a bit less syrupy, but it's still really pleasant to drink, and no caffeine!!! I really hate the taste and mouthfeel of artificial sweeteners, and it's impossible now to buy squash without it, so the fact that I can boil my own cane sugar only squash is all the more pleasing than the result of my Mountain Dew trial.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I heard anyone use the term "squash" in reference to a drink mix. I haven't seen that since I was in Malta, but glad to hear it worked out well for you. Great tip on the color! It's kind of a challenge to get that neon green without artificial colors.
DeletePersonally, I'm working to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners and sugar (for dietary reasons). I'm completely off artificial sweeteners and working on the sugars. However, I still LOVE Mt Dew taste. (Heaven will for sure have a good-for-you recipe of Mt. Dew on tap, right???) I could live with a lot less sugar down here though. I was hoping to make a mt. dew sparkling water version that had the flavor but less or no sugar. Then I could add it to the SodaStream when I get the urge.
ReplyDeleteAlso wondering if I can make it up in large quantities, freeze, and use in smaller doses when I'd like.
Just thoughts.
You could try picking up some natural orange, lemon, and lime oils from Lorann Oils. If you had the ratio right you could mix those up (no need to freeze) and really all you would have to do is add a drop to your soda stream for a sort of Mt. Dew version of La Croix. No sweeteners, just flavored sparkling water.
DeleteI have all three of those on hand from a cola recipe, so maybe I'll give it a go and see what happens.
Tied this. It’s OK, however tastes more like Fanta Orange then Mountain Dew.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to simmer the sugar/water for 20 min. You can actually do get away with boiling for about 3 - 4 min then letting it cool down. The longer it 'cooks' the thicker it gets.
Add Mio Lemon Lime for color
ReplyDeleteHi, your recipe doesn't state how much cream of tartar to add to the cup of water. Could you tell us how much? A teaspoon, half a cup?
ReplyDeleteNice catch. About 1/4 tsp should do it. I have updated the above to be more helpful.
DeleteI am happy to have found this site. I love diet mountain dew, but I have developed allergies to it and a bunch of other foods that I have not figured out yet. I imagine that it is the propylene glycol. The outcome of drinking it is hives and the EPIpen. I will start making this as low to no calories as I can. Big order using no chemicals. And I don't like carbonation so I will be leaving that out.
ReplyDeleteSounds like no fun. Typically an allergic reaction requiring an EPIpen is an IgE mediated response to a protein, so I wouldn't expect it to be the propylene glycol, but I'm not allergist, so I could be wrong. If you just use the flavoring components (lemon and lime zest along with orange juice) with no sugar or sugar substitute, you could end up with a flavored water version of this without many calories and nothing artificial.
DeleteHope this is still open. Curious to know how close to mtn dew does this taste i need a a healthier alternative
ReplyDeleteYou would probably notice the difference tasting them side by side, but it's not a bad substitute. What route of "healthier" do you want to take. Less sugar? No caffeine? No preservatives?
DeleteThe no preservatives route is not a problem, just keep it refrigerated. No caffeine isn't a problem either, as there's none in this recipe. The less sugar option you can take this recipe and substitute stevia or sucralose, but they have a different sweetness than sugar or corn syrup. You'll still get the citrus quite heavily, though.
Thanks for this blog. I think I am going to try this out.
ReplyDeleteI am curious if you have stored the resulting syrup from any length of time? I am just wondering how long it would store for.
I have not stored this syrup in particular, but some of my other syrups that I've made are good in the refrigerator anywhere between 6 weeks and 4 months.
Deletejust made and carbonated some of this syrup recipe, I have to say that it's not really a mountain dew, but it is a good citrus soda to the point I can't clearly say which I like better. I'll definitely be saving this one, refining it (smooth out the "first attempt" bumps and all) and enjoying it again. if I had to rate the recipe I'd give it full marks, very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment! I'm glad you enjoyed it even thought it's not a dead-on match.
DeleteCould I make this with dry ice to carbonate it?
ReplyDeleteYes, it's doable. I've never had much luck getting good carbonation out of dry ice, but that's not to say that no one else can.
DeleteDo you have a recipe for Diet Mt. Dew? For example how much Splenda would you use to substitute for sugar?
ReplyDeleteYou can pick up Splenda or stevia in the baking aisle at most supermarkets that is on a maltodextrin carrier that are supposed to measure cup for cup the same as sugar. I've substituted that in to my recipes with success and use about 2 cups per gallon. Though in my opinion stevia tastes better at a little lower level, so I've done about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup of Stevia per gallon instead of the 2 cups and it came out tasting pretty good.
DeleteKan you do diz wit out regular sugar.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can substitute stevia, sucralose, agave syrup, or any other sweetener. Most sweeteners will have a conversion ratio somewhere that you can use to substitute in. When doing so, you don't have to boil it with the Cream of Tartar. Just skip to the next step.
DeleteI've always assumed there was grapefruit flavor in Dew, which is what separates it from other citrus sodas (Squirt has always been my "backup" drink when Dew isn't available, with Fresca as a far back third). Has anyone tried grapefruit instead of or in addition to the orange? What about a bit of pineapple? There's *something* different about Dew, and I haven't seen anyone really identify it.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get away from caffeine for migraine management, but artificial sweeteners are also problematic for me. So I'm looking to make caffeine-free Dew without going the "diet" route.
No, there's no grapefruit that I am aware of.
DeleteYou can, however, get regular caffeine free mountain dew. It's probably hard to find, but it exists. Check with your local Pepsi distributor to see if you can get your hands on some.
Not the other guy, but also scratching my head a bit. I always had the subjective perception of at least a little grapefruit or perhaps pomelo flavor in Mountain Dew.
Delete...also, it may or may not amuse you that I found your page searching for information about Mountain Dew's citrus flavor with a half-baked (no pun intended) idea for a Mountain Dew flavored cheesecake, or perhaps a Mountain Dew analogue of Key Lime Pie, bubbling in my head.
I researched a bit, and found one article (regarding the history of MD)... it said “musk melon” was once, used in the ingredients.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts?
Also, agree with comment above regarding white grape juice, possibly being an ingredient - I taste a hint of it, as well
ReplyDeleteHas anyone come up with a recipe for Ski Citrus Soda?
ReplyDeleteAnyone have success making this with stevia or xylitol? Would love to get the details. Trying to ween myself off of diet mountain dew....
ReplyDeleteOK. I tried this, and I tried using equal parts extracts, and didn't come close to Mountain Dew flavor. Let me add that all my tests used no-sugar zero carb sweeteners, as I am diabetic.
ReplyDeleteI doubt the sweeteners are the culprit because I get the same effect using sugar. I've tried varying the ratios of orange, lemon, and lime, and adding ingredients like citric acid and calcium citrate ("sour salt" used in old fashioned soda fountain drinks). I think I have the ratios wrong and/or there are other ingredients I am missing. Does anyone else have any ideas? Thanks!
My quick and easy recipe for Diet Mt. Dew is 4 oz pulp free orange juice, 1/2 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime juice and 4 of the .035 oz packets of Splenda, then add water to make 14 oz total. Use a Drinkmate carbonizing machine to carbonate. This is not a perfect recipe, but is quick and easy, so adjust yo your likes.
ReplyDeleteBack around 2005, there were home soda experimenters everywhere online and near-identical recipies for all popular soft drinks, including Mountain Dew. The Internet is literally being erased. The recent generations will never know how much information used to be on the internet, nor will they know how much of the Internet is deliberately omitted from search results produced by popular search engines like Google.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recipe. I'll try it this weekend.