Cooking With Soda Pop

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

A happy accident occurred a few years ago when I was getting ready to cater a team building party for some computer company executives. The plan was for the group from this company to attend a hockey game and then come back to the Manhattan apartment that the company had set up as a technological show house (it displayed all the ways a house could be wired, including connecting the refrigerator to the Internet!). Therefore a hearty meal was in order.

I had provided the order to the meat purveyor, which would be delivered to me so I could prep for the party. But instead of receiving a cured ham, the butcher sent me a fresh ham by mistake. This was something I had never seen or cooked with before, but without time to correct the order, I had to think quickly. I recalled having seen an article in Cook’s Illustrated magazine for fresh ham and quickly went to the bookshelf to look for that issue. I ended up making a pretty standard herb crusted roasted fresh ham (I highly recommend trying this cut of pork, it turned out delicious), but there was a really intriguing recipe for a Coca-Cola braised fresh ham, a traditional dish from the Deep South that I have always meant to try. I remember trying cola cake as a kid but I never had a savory dish cooked with soda. As a die-hard fan of Coca-Cola, (during the Pepsi challenge of the mid-1980s, I chose Coke), this gave me the idea to come back to that recipe and adapt it to the slow cooker.

Because fresh ham has a fairly thick layer of fat on it, I would suggest either cutting the fat off before placing it in the slow cooker, or you can make this dish with another cut of pork, such as a boneless pork roast. You can also use cured ham if you can’t find fresh ham. The glaze made with Coke serves to tenderize the meat, adding a touch of sweetness with a little kick to it. Over long cooking, the Coke becomes more of a flavor accent than the predominant flavor and really makes the ham juicy.

And why stop with Coke when there are many other crockpot recipes featuring soda as an ingredient? Another type of soda that can be used successfully in slow cooking is ginger ale. The sweet and spicy notes can add flavor to recipes from barbecue sauce to homemade applesauce. If you are looking to add an even zestier finish to your recipe, I would suggest trying either non-alcoholic ginger beer or Vernor’s ginger ale. Vernor’s was created in 1858 and is America’s oldest soda. It is commonly found in the Midwestern states where they call it “soda pop.” I remember my first taste of Vernor’s ginger ale while visiting my grandparents in Ohio. It tasted like no other ginger ale (or soda) with a mouth puckering finish that can only be described as invigorating. This would be an excellent addition to the crockpot applesauce recipe below.

So think of soda not only as a delicious and refreshing drink, but also as a surprise ingredient that can enhance many a slow cooked recipe. Cheers!

Serves/Makes: 10

• 3 pounds fresh or fully cooked ham (standard bone in ham)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 3 cups coca-cola
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

Serves/Makes: 6

• 6 apples, peeled, seeded, and cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• brown sugar, optional, to taste
• 1 can (12 ounce size) ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda)