This book was a fun bit of nostalgia even though soda fountains were before my time. (I'm old enough that I remember seeing a few soda counters, but I have no idea if they actually mixed sodas anymore at that time -- I received a free copy from Blogging for Books for review purposes). Interestingly enough, The Soda Fountain by Gia Giasullo and Peter Freeman of the Brookly Farmancy and Soda Fountain starts out with about 50 pages of history on soda fountains, which enjoyed a heyday during Prohibition. They explain the origins of the term "soda jerk" (the guy behind the counter mixing your soda), give a few historical accounts of the dangers of working with carbonated water, and even offer a little history on the Brooklyn Farmacy itself. The recipes start out with the syrups, and some (like the cola syrup) are complex and involved. Several of them call for such exotic ingredients as "orange flower water" and "dried hibiscus flowers," but those are almost always listed as "optional." I went for the simpler recipes, and several are actually very easy - and tasty! - and finding plain carbonated water at the grocery store turned out to be much easier than I thought it might be.

Although you can mix a simple soda with the syrup, subsequent sections use them in floats and egg creams (something I'd never heard of). And the book is extremely well organized, with each recipe giving the page numbers for the syrup and the syrup recipe references where else it's used. (There are also a number of options for mixing the syrups for someone who's "not in a temperance mood.") They explain the proper techniques for making egg cremes and advocate artfully hanging the ice cream on the edge of the "float glass" for your floats. Several of the syrups also produce a "compote" which can be used as toppings for ice cream and other treats. In fact, the book seems to have recipes for everything you can order at the Brooklyn Farmacy, even the ice cream sundaes and splits plus the toppings to go with them, as well as the milkshakes, cookies, and other baked goodies that look delicious (maybe sometime I'll get a chance to visit and find out).

And while I find the recipes very good and a lot of fun to make, the real popularity of the book in my house hit me when the kids were having a bunch of friends over and my wife went ahead and bought all the ingredients and asked me to make raspberry sodas for them. She didn't realize that it took almost an hour to make plus time to cool, so only the kids who stayed late got some, but that only meant I was mixing raspberry sodas for her for several days afterwards! I think I'd better plan ahead for when she wants a pineapple soda - that one takes 24 hours to make - and I'm looking forward to it already!

(Modified from the review posted on my blog - http://bookworm-dad.blogspot.com/2014/10/who-you-calling-jerk.html) ( )

Every story, every recipe, every page of wonderful history makes this book one that anyone and everyone will enjoy!


If you have ever wanted to know how to make classic soda fountain floats, sodas or sundaes – this is the book for you!

And along with it, you get pages and pages of exquisite history!


It’s absolutely wonderful!

I didn’t even know there was a BONUS history at the beginning of the book when I requested it but I really enjoyed reading about how Soda Fountains got their start, how they changed and grew with the times and sadly… how they slowly disappeared from our cities and neighborhoods. It’s wonderful to discover so much I never knew about such a fun subject!


It is also quite exciting to see that people like Gia Giasullo and Peter Freeman are doing what they can to bring back this fabulous icon of American history!

And in case all of that isn’t enough… the recipes are absolutely wonderful!

Chapter 7 contains recipes for 17 different syrups. And they are ALL made with the finest ingredients – which is something I have looked high and low for. My children have allergies and it is very difficult for us to enjoy things like snow cones or flavored sodas because of the ingredients found in the syrups you find in stores… even the expensive ones. But now I have a resource that allows me to make these syrups for our own personal use with no fear of allergic reactions.

Chapter 10 gives us recipes AND ideas for more than 20 tempting sundaes and Chapter 13 includes twenty-one delectable recipes for baked goods! Who would expect baked goods in a book about ice cream! Oh these are recipes you’ll find at the Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain! And do they know how to tease your taste buds! YUM!

There are also wonderful little tips and hints sprinkled throughout the book, along with step by step instructions for making the delicious deserts and sodas – who would have known you have to brine a maraschino cherry? Gia and Peter knew! And they’ve shared so many of their secrets with us!

This is NOT just a recipe book! It is an instructional guide – right down to giving us a list of things we will need for the recipes – not just ingredients but equipment too!

WOW! What a well thought-out book!


Granted there are no recipes for ice cream, and that was a bit of a surprise to me but I suppose they have to keep something under their hat for another book… :-)

The recipes in this book are beyond worth the sticker price – in my own personal opinion. If I had not received a free review copy, I would certainly purchase this book! In fact, it would make a great birthday gift for several of my friends!



I’m off to purchase some ingredients so we can enjoy a new recipe or two… although I think my waistline is going to insist we stick to only 1 or 2 new recipes a week.

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review! ( )