Topo Chico Style mineral water

Tonic Syrup:
1 lemon
1 lime
2 cups water
2 teaspoons cut cinchona bark (see notes)
1 1/4 teaspoons citric acid powder (see notes)
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced (about 2/3 cup)


Add bark to water and Bring to a boil on high heat.
Reduce to simmer.
Add citrus skins, citrus juice, lemongrass and citric acid
SImmer on low for 45 minutes
Let stand for 20 minutes
strain through strainer and then through cheese cloth
Reheat and add sugar until disolved.



Super juice:
LIME Super Juice
●8 lime s
●Citric Acid - 0.66 × weight of lime peels
●Malic Acid - 0.33 × weight of lime peels
● Water - 16.66 × weight of lime peels

LEMON Super Juice
● 6 lemons
● Citric Acid - the equal weight of lemon peels
● Water - 16.66x weight of lemon peels

ORANGE Super Juice (acid-adjusted)
● 3 Oranges
● Citric Acid - 0.9 × weight of orange peels
● Malic Acid - 0.1 × weight of orange peels
● Water - 16.66 × weight of orange peels

Make Oleo Citrate
Peel the fruit with a vegetable peeler in strips until you have at least 100 grams. Set the peeled fruit aside. Put the peels into a large lidded container. Add the acid powders and shake or tumble to completely coat the peels in acid. Set aside for about an hour. A liquid extract will begin to accumulate as the acid powder dissolves. Shake occasionally to completely coat the peels and extract the maximum amount of oil.

Add the water and mix to rinse the container and completely dissolve the acid.

Using an immersion blender with a cutting blade (or transfer into a traditional blender), blend the mixture to chop up the peels somewhat. It is not necessary to puree the solid material. The goal is to break down the peels a little to give the mixture some body. It will also become cloudy.

Strain out the solids using cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. At this stage, the liquid “oleo citrate” is a shelf-stable juice that can be used immediately in cocktails, or stored in the refrigerator.

Make Super Juice
While you can use the oleo citrate alone to maximize shelf life, in high volume situations where you can benefit from stability but will still use the juice within a few days, it makes sense to top it up with the actual squeezed juice. Slice open the reserved peeled fruit, squeeze the juice and add this to the oleo citrate.

Bottle and store in the refrigerator. Give it a shake before using.