Jellybean Orange Cream Soda

At one time, any European aristocrat with so much as an ache went to a fashionable spa whose most salient feature was the “waters,” the bubblier, the more mineral, the better. There they drank, soaked, and inhaled these waters, walked the grounds, ate greens and whole grains, then drank, soaked, and inhaled again. In the United States, the first spa to open was in Berkeley Springs, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1776. By the mid-1800s, spas were bubbling up all over, hosted by such health enthusiasts as Harvey Kellogg. The popularity of spas fueled many a pharmacist to investigate ways to re-create the esteemed spa bubbles in ordinary water. Yes, they could duplicate the tingling sensation of bubbles by adding sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid to water, but the result tasted like an ultra-salty glass of Alka-Seltzer. So, they added artificial flavorings, fruit juice, and sweeteners to make it more appealing. And there, in those bubbles, conjured in apothecaries, came the modern soda pop. Orange Cream soda – in innumerable iterations- was one of them. From Susan's newest Book "Fun Foods of America."