How Do You Make Seltzer Water?

The ingredients of seltzer water are simple: water and carbon dioxide. Water somewhat absorbs carbon dioxide gas when "pushed" into it with enough pressure. Because it doesn't absorb it well, the carbon dioxide always "fights" to come out as gas which helps produce the bubbly fizz we enjoy so much in our carbonated drinks. The tingly sensation in our mouths and throats is enjoyable and gives flat water a little kick.

There really is no more magic to it than that. One needs a carbon source, a bit of pressure and clean pure water. The seltzer makers on our site give you a way to perform this process in the comfort of your kitchen. Large manufacturers have large scale methods of essentially doing the same.

One can produce the same result, with a little more effort, using a soda-siphon. With these, one fills the specially designed bottle with water, a little spoon of baking soda and carbon dioxide using a screw-in carbon cartridge. If these rather artfully designed bottles suit your fancy, you can find these on our site as well.



Carbonated water can be found in nature. There exist some natural carbonated springs whose waters are made commercially available. For example, Perrier water comes originally from naturally carbonated sources, though now, to meet high manufacturing demand, they've separated out the water extraction and carbon extraction processes from their springs and recombine these elements in their plants.

But by and large, most seltzer water we drink, either by itself or flavored in some way, is manufactured by machines that do on a larger scale what the Seltzer Makers on our site do on a smaller scale. This is the basis for most of the bottled seltzer and soft drinks we find on store shelves.

For centuries, people have taken carbonated water to soothe indigestion and constipation. It's been suggested that that higher-sodium soda water can help reduce cardiovascular risk in some cases (see http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/5/1058.full).

But in the end, we drink it because we like it. It's a livelier drink than water. It gives an extra bit of acidity and bite that enhances flavors. And taken in plain form, it has no calories and hydrates us.

Here at SeltzerMaker.com, our aim is to help you discover the joys of this fizzy drink, and make it easy and affordable for you to enjoy glass after glass. Cheers!