Love and Olive Oil

Fresh Peach & Lemon Verbena Soda

Fresh Peach & Lemon Verbena Soda

It’s clearly peach season, but the end is nigh. While I’m not sure if I’ll make it out picking before the last of the fruits fall from the trees, I am dead set on stuffing my face with as many as humanly possible.

Not only that, but I’m intent on using them in as many unusual ways as possible. Like Monday’s Peach Caramels, this soda is a stellar way to use your end-of-the-season peaches.

Fresh Peach and Lemon Verbena Soda

I was curious if the same yeast-carbonation technique we used to make ginger ale this past spring would work for other soda flavors.

The short answer is: yes.

I think you could ferment sugar water if you really wanted to.

But this peach concoction is so much better.

Fresh Peach and Lemon Verbena Soda

I infused the fresh peach soda with lemon verbena – a gorgeously fragrant herb that I’ve been growing on the balcony but have yet to find a use for.

As it turns out, the verbena turns is the perfect complement for peaches, enhancing the peachiness (if that’s even possible). But since I know it’s not exactly something you can go buy at the grocery store (and surely I don’t want you to miss out on this amazing soda) you could use basil, lavender, thyme, mint, or any herb, really, in its place. And unlike the caramels where the peach was barely distinguishable, here the peach is front and center. Like drinking a ripe peach. A perfectly ripe, perfectly effervescent peach.

Peach & Lemon Verbena Soda

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Ingredients:

  • 2 large peaches, peeled and pitted
  • 2 1/2 cups warm water, divided
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 large), finely strained
  • champagne yeast*

For verbena syrup:

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 handful fresh lemon verbena leaves

*Champagne yeast can be found in beer/winemaking supply stores or online. It has a more refined flavor than bread yeast and makes for a perfectly fizzy soda.

Directions:

  1. Place peeled peaches in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup water and blend on high speed until smooth.
  2. Pour juice through a fine mesh sieve, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard any remaining solids.
  3. To prepare simple syrup, stir sugar and water together in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add lemon verbena. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes, then remove verbena leaves and let cool completely.
  4. Combine peach purée with remaining water, lemon juice, and lemon verbena syrup. Divide among two 16-ounce plastic soda bottles; add roughly 25 granules (a small pinch) of champagne yeast to each bottle. Seal the cap securely, shake well, and store in a warm, dark place for 48 hours or until bottles are hard when squeezed (this might be as little as 24 hours, especially on warmer days). Transfer to refrigerator immediately to halt the fermentation process and chill overnight or up to a week before serving.
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29 Comments

  1. Has anyone tried juicing the peaches rather than using a food processor and straining?  I’m wondering if a little built of pulp is a plus or a minus in this recipe.  Would welcome thoughts.  This looks really delicious!

  2. Oh wow, I can’t wait to make this!! Love peaches :)

  3. This is just so gorgeous and looks so refreshing!!

  4. I’m loving all these peach recipes. I’ve never made home made sodas before. Im going to put this on my list of things to try

  5. This looks so light and summer-y! The color is so gorgeous. <3

  6. This looks absolutely divine!

  7. Yum! I love homemade sodas!

  8. So yummy and refreshing summer beverage! Love the added lemon verbena :)

    Pinned!

  9. ohh this looks delicious for this super hot weather !
    can´t wait to try it

  10. This is so cool! Do you think it would work without the syrup? Or would the yeast need more than the sugars in the peach to ferment?

  11. Oh, you have no idea how badly we need this in the summer heat! This looks wonderful, Lindsay!

  12. I was proud of myself for making my own flavored simple syrup to go with the soda stream, but this is a whole other playing field! The peach soda sounds amazing! I can’t wait to experiment with champagne yeast!

  13. This looks soooo refreshing! I bet they go down so easily!

  14. I love this! Perfect for dorks like me who are just starting to get into fermentation. And those who love peaches. And verbena. Win-win-win.

  15. This sounds SO good! I’m really upset because I didn’t get ANY good peaches this summer! It’s one of my favorites. I got a bunch of great nectarines, but none of my peaches turned out to be as flavorful or juicy as they should’ve been.
    I’ve never had “verbena soda” so I definitely would love to try this! Great job as always Lindsay!

  16. Mmmmmm. I’ve never even thought to make my own soda (sans a water carbonation machine). Will definitely be trying this one!

  17. I really need to get my hands on some champagne vinegar! All these soda experiments sound like so much fun (and delicious fun, at that). :)

  18. How cool is that! I’ve made ginger ale with club soda before, but never even thought of making my own fizzy stuff. I love this!

  19. What a great summer drink that everyone will enjoy. I am hosting a picnic by the beach this weekend and I plan to mix my mother-in-law’s cherry syrup and sparkling water for a light drink!

  20. I have never heard of champagne yeast before and now have become so obsessed with making this soda that I have googled, “where to buy champagne yeast scottsdale.”

  21. As a winemaker myself I am very, very excited about this recipe! Thanks for the idea.

  22. This sounds SO delicious and simple too – I am fascinated by making my owns sodas and haven’t seen one for using champagne yeast before. I’m in the middle of making my first batch of apple cider vinegar and can’t believe how easy it is. Thanks so much for this recipe, the peach lemon verbena combination sounds perfect!

  23. I can’t wait to try this. My lemon verbena has been waiting for this!

  24. We are going to make this soda. We have a peach tree and lemon verbena plant! Thanks for sharing!

  25. How cool! This reminds me of when we made root beer in biology, but we used bread yeast, so you had to be careful not to shake the bottle when taking a sip!

  26. Wow! This is so pretty and the perfect summer drink for the last few weeks!

  27. How perfect for using up all those extra peaches I have around! : )

  28. What a gorgeous drink! Perfect way to start saying goodbye to summer

  29. Oh yum! This is a perfect late summer drink!

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