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FoodStudio

on FoodByNation · media by Agent Bond in SecondMem's studios

Drink

OpenCola

OpenCola is unique in that the instructions for making it are freely available and modifiable. Anybody can make the drink, and anyone can modify and improve on the recipe as long as they, too, license their recipe under the GNU General Public License. The legal grounds for this are dubious however, as recipes are exempted from copyright as they are techniques, not artworks. Although originally intended as a promotional tool to explain free software/open source software, the drink took on a life of its own and 150,000 cans were sold. The Toronto-based company Opencola founded by Grad Conn, Cory

Suits: Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescatarian. Flags come from what shops, restaurants and cooks list and from the ingredient names. Always check the label. This is not medical advice.

Ingredients

  • ¾ tsp (3.50 mL) orange oil
  • ½ tsp (2.75 mL) lime oil
  • ¼ tsp (1.25 mL) cassia oil
  • ¼ tsp (1 mL) lemon oil
  • ¼ tsp (1 mL) nutmeg oil
  • 0.25 mL (5 drops) coriander oil
  • 0.25 mL (5 drops) neroli oil
  • 0.25 mL (5 drops) lavender oil
  • 2 teaspoons (10.0 g / 10 mL) food-grade gum arabic
  • ⅔ teaspoon (3 mL) water
  • 11 cups (2.36 kg / 5.2 lb) plain granulated white table sugar
  • 9½ cups (2.28 L / 4.41 quarts) water
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) caramel color
  • 3½ tsp (17.25 mL) 75% phosphoric acid or citric acid
  • 2 tsp (10 mL) Flavoring Formula
  • ½ tsp (2.5 mL) caffeine (optional)

Method

  1. Mix oils together in a cup.
  2. Add gum arabic, and mix with a spoon.
  3. Add water and mix well. A mixer may be used for this step, mixing for 4–5 minutes. You can also transfer to a blender for this step.
  4. Store this mixture in a sealed glass jar in a refrigerator or at room temperature. Please note that this mixture will separate. The gum arabic is essential to this part of the recipe, as you are mixing oil and water.
  5. In a one gallon container, combine 5 ml of the flavoring formula with the phosphoric or citric acid.
  6. Mix in the water, then the sugar.
  7. While mixing, add the caffeine, if desired. Make sure the caffeine is completely dissolved.
  8. Add the caramel color and mix thoroughly.
  9. To finish the drink, mix 1 part syrup with 5 parts carbonated water.