Haaave you ever… tried Cream Soda?
Cream Soda might exist in many countries, but in Japan you can experience something unique.
In Japan, “Cream Soda” (クリームソーダ) is a term used for an ice cream float made with melon-flavored soda topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The neon green colour of this drink looks artificial and unhealthy, and sure it might be. But the cool, fresh sweet taste of the carbonated drink is just super delicious!
Somehow Japanese people are crazy about melons. One reason might be that melons are super expensive in Japan. You can even find melons for $270 a piece! That’s why there are a lot of melon flavored foods, drinks and even cartoon characters!
The most famous example might be the melon bread “melon pan” (メロンパン), which is sold in every super market, convenience store, or even special bakeries just for melon bread. If there is one thing in common of melon bread and melon soda, is that they don’t really taste like melon! But they are still very delicious.
Melon soda is a Japanese only thing. You hardly find it in USA or Europe. You can find Cream Soda at Japanese cafes called “kissaten” (喫茶店). Cream Soda became popular in the 70s in Japan. The idea probably came from the US, because there are similarities to an American root beer or cola ice cream float. But it’s not clear why or who came up with the melon flavored soda instead of root beer. And it is extremely easy to make this drink at home, if you can find melon syrup. Outside from Japan, you can look for it at Japanese import shops or Amazon. Besides melon soda, melon syrup is also used for shaved ice in Japan, called kakigori (かき氷).
The best thing is it can be easily made at home, it takes only 3 minutes. Here is the recipe for you:
Ingredients
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3 Tbsp. melon syrup
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Ice cubes
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¾ cup club soda (¾ cup = 180 ml)
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Vanilla ice creama
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Maraschino cherries (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Put ice cubes into the glass and add 3 Tbsp. of melon syrup.
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Add ¾ cup (180 ml) soda.
- Mix well with a spoon.
- Top with vanilla ice cream.
- Garnish with a cherry.
Words used in this article:
クリームソーダ くりーむそーだ kuriimusoda (cream soda)
メロンパン めろんぱん meron pan (melon bread)
喫茶店 きっさてん kissaten (coffee shop)
かき氷 かきごおり kakigori (shaved ice)
