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Using soda pop straight from the can as an ingredient

2K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  mike9 
#1 ·
This may sound silly, but I was a city boy most of my life. Does anybody here crack open, say a Mountain Dew, and use it in their baking or sauces. From what I've read online Karo syrup isn't quite as sweet as High Fructose Corn Syrup and I'd like that super sweet and syrupy taste in my dishes. I may end up going with the Karo syrup in the end, but I wanted to see if anyone here has used soda pop in their cooking with positive results...
 
#5 ·
Just want that tangy bite in certain dishes, sort of a treat when added, maybe chicken wings, maybe a sweet bread. I guess it will taste like the respective pop that you use, which could be a little strange. It's probably best to stick with Karo, Though adding pop to BBQ sauce or onion ring batter sounds good.
 
#6 ·
My Carnita thing is I get a pork shoulder and have the store butcher saw it into 1-1/2" thick slices.  I braise that in a sheet pan with root beer, covered with foil till almost done then remove foil and let caramelize.  Let rest, shred and you have the best taco meat money can buy - works great with goat too.
 
#8 ·
The "dump cake" cobbler.  Canned sliced peaches, juice and all, box of yellow or spice cake mix, can  of lemon-lime or ginger ale soda. Dump the ingredients into the baking dish in that order. Bake at 350 until done, 25 minutes or so. Also popular to use cherry pie filling, devils chocolate cake mix and dr. Pepper. 
 
#9 ·
I make a smoky root beer BBQ sauce. Place hickory chips in the smoker. Combine chopped carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, lemon zest, ginger, sassafras, and sarsaparilla and place it on a screen in the smoker. In a pan beneath it, I combine lemon juice, orange juice, ketchup, root beer (my preference being Henry Weinhards), worchestershire, and nam pla. Smoke it for 15 minutes. Combine the vegie mix with the liquid mix and let it simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until tender. Put it in the blender and let it rip. Return it to low heat and let simmer until thickened.

On a side note, during the Viet Nam war, 7-UP and/or sprite found their way into many a Nuoc Mam Cham.
 
#11 ·
I like Dr Pepper in BBQ sauce.
 
#13 ·
The "dump cake" cobbler. Canned sliced peaches, juice and all, box of yellow or spice cake mix, can of lemon-lime or ginger ale soda. Dump the ingredients into the baking dish in that order. Bake at 350 until done, 25 minutes or so. Also popular to use cherry pie filling, devils chocolate cake mix and dr. Pepper.
The dump cake twist sounds interesting.... what does it bring to the table?

Flavor?

Leavening?

Thanks @phatch...will have to try it for comparison's sake.

mimi
 
#14 ·
FF, that's probably more credit than the concept is due. I think it's just a high point of unskilled off-the-shelf convenience cooking. Lowers the fat, pumps the sugar. Mostly I use it in a cast iron dutch oven for camping. Nothing needs refrigeration, no prep, little to clean afterwards. 

There's a version that just dots the cake mix with butter, but I find that  leaves these salt bomb pockets from unused leavening in the cake mix. Getting as much as you can damp to wet from the peach heavy syrup or the soda, that's important.
 
#15 ·
ya, like @phatch says,

Dump cake is a staple here. Mimi, cake believe you've not heard of it. I'd be rich if I had a dime for every time someone asked us for dump cake or red velvet cake for a shower.

We don'r use any pop though. You just dump a couple of cans of prepared pie filling, then dump a box of white cake mix on top of that. Spread it out a little and just put dabs of butter all over the top.

and bake it. I say, It is a DUMP cake.

My pastry chef has a recipe for Mexican Chocolate Cake from su madre when he was small. It's made with dr. pepper. Quite good, even better when she uses just the syrup.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I must have confused yall...

Dump cake is a favorite here as well.

I mix cherry pie filling and drained crushed pineapple then spread out a yellow cake mix (DH is a pantry staple /img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif what can I say it is quick and versatile lol) then dab a stick of butter on top.

Really good with ice cream plus can be made in a crock pot.

Never seen it with soda pop but will def try it next time.

mimi

Speaking of cake mix.... http://www.food.com/recipe/ooey-gooey-butter-cake-32933 ...

I like this one cold from fridge when friends have stopped by for a /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smoking.gif small get together lol.

m.
 
#18 ·
HFCS comes in many varieties. Regular table sugar is 50%fructose and 50%glucose. The most common HFCS used in beverages and such is HFCS 55. 55% fructose. Not so different from table sugar. What is different is that fructose is sweeter than glucose so you can use less product thereby saving money.  The downside is that the human body only metabolizes fructose in the liver leading to dangerous fatty deposits in the liver and some related glycemic issues.

Interestingly HFCS 55 is the same ratio of sugars as honey.  HFCS42 and HFCS90 are also common. hfcs42 is used in beverages too as well as baked goods and such.  Usually hfcs90 is blended with hfcs42 to make hfcs55

So why is fruit good for us since it's high in fructose? Because the sugars come packed in fiber, even in non fruit like sugar cane or corn. When we eat food, we're not just consuming calories and all calories aren't equal. Digesting fiber hinders the uptake of some of the sugar. Whole fruit is healthy. Fruit juice is little better than soda. The exception? Grapes. High sugar and low fiber. The other low fiber fruits like berrries are also the lowest sugar content. 
 
#19 ·
Definately beer right out of the can and or bottle. I can honestly say i have never used soda though. Not opposed to it and will try it sometime. Especially as an addition to bbq sauce. Good stuff here. Also as an aside, although thw description sounds like it could be tasty when i first saw the term dump cake just now (is it a southern thing?) it inatantly made me cringe. The name does not sound as appetizing as the actual description. You want a dump cake. I might pass on that one.
 
#20 ·
Definately beer right out of the can and or bottle. I can honestly say i have never used soda though. Not opposed to it and will try it sometime. Especially as an addition to bbq sauce. Good stuff here. Also as an aside, although thw description sounds like it could be tasty when i first saw the term dump cake just now (is it a southern thing?) it inatantly made me cringe. The name does not sound as appetizing as the actual description. You want a dump cake. I might pass on that one.
Say it.

Dump cake.

Duummpp cake.

It is a generations old dish invented by our southern belle debutant gmas (who would never ever use the word to describe a bodily function BTW).

So set yourself free!

Gather cans and boxes from the "baking aisle" at your nearest WM and dump them!

I can guarantee you will not be disappointed !

mimi
 
#21 ·
For the record "dump cake" doesn't sound as appetizing as "Red Velvet" or "Yellow Cake."

BBQ sauce would probably benefit from a Dr. Pepper, cause there are so many ingredients that go in there already...what's 23 more?

I would like to add a touch of pop to certain stovetop dishes. I'm a sweets guy, so I think it adds. Maybe a 1/2 cup of Mtn Dew to a given recipe. What do you think of the quantity? It's fall here and a little pop in the Taco Soup goes a long way, I imagine.
 
#25 ·
I have not used Karo syrup or soda in cooking. I think one can achieve similar results w club soda or seltzer (i.e. tempura batter) or a combination of fresh citrus, depending on what one is cooking. I have a 2-year-old gifted bottle of Andre in the back of the pantry I don't know how to get rid of. Maybe Chicken au cheapo champagne.
 
#26 ·
Ok, so maybe not "Taco Soup a la Corn Syrup" then maybe a stir fry with pork and veggies with a splash of Coca Cola??? I'm just thinking of those dishes you want to spice up without using garlic, or herbs, or cream, etc... Or even something as mundane as adding Karo syrup to a microwaved vegetable side.

For example, steam the green beans, mix 1 tbsp. butter or margarine with 1/4 tsp. of Karo syrup, then mix with beans.

I don't have a clue how this might be received by fine diners of the world. Any suggestions for my stir fry or green beans before I try them?
 
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