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Original Coca Cola
Published competitors say it contains sugar, caramel, caffeine,
phosphoric acid, coca leaf and kola nut extract, lime extract,
flavoring mixture, vanilla and glycerin. Alleged syrup recipes vary
greatly, and Coca-Cola reluctantly admits the formula has changed
over the decades. The basic “cola” taste from Coca-Cola and
competing cola drinks comes mainly from vanilla and cinnamon;
distinctive tastes among various brands are the result of trace
flavorings such as orange, lime and lemon and spices such as nutmeg.
To this day, Coca-Cola uses an ingredient from coca leaf extract
prepared by a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey, using a
process monitored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Because
cocaine is naturally present in coca leaves, today's Coca-Cola uses
"spent", or treated, coca leaves, those that have been through a
cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. Some contend
that this process cannot extract all of the cocaine alkaloids at a
molecular level, and so the drink still contains trace amounts of
the stimulant. The Coca-Cola Company currently refuses to comment on
the continued presence of coca leaf in Coca-Cola.
Purported secret recipes
Pemberton Recipe
This recipe is attributed to a sheet of paper found in an old
formulary book owned by Coca-Cola inventor, John S. Pemberton, just
before his death (U.S. measures). Makes 10 gallons of Soda
* Ingredients:
o 1 oz caffeine citrate
o 3 oz citric acid
o 1 fl oz extract vanilla
o 1 qt lime juice
o 2˝ oz flavoring
o 30 lb (14 kg) sugar
o 4 fl oz fluid extract of coca (decocainized flavor essence of the
coca leaf)
o 2˝ gal water
o Caramel sufficient
* Flavoring:
o 80 Oil orange
o 40 Oil cinnamon
o 120 Oil lemon
o 20 Oil coriander
o 40 Oil nutmeg
o 40 Oil neroli
o "Mix caffeine acid and lime juice in 1 quart boiling water add
vanilla and flavoring when cool. Let stand for 24 hours."
This recipe does not specify when sugar, coca, caramel or the rest
of the water are added, or the flavoring oil quantity units of
measure.
Reed Recipe
This recipe is attributed to pharmacist John Reed
* 30 pounds (14.2 kg) of sugar
* 2 US gallons of water
* 1 quart of lime juice
* 4 ounces of citrate of caffeine
* 2 US ounces of citric acid
* 1 ounce of extract of vanilla
* 6 drams(3/4 US fluid ounce) of fluid extract of cola
* 6 drams fluid extract of coca
Merory Recipe
Recipe is from Food Flavorings: Composition, Manufacture and Use.
Makes one U.S. gallon (3.8 L) of syrup. Yield (used to flavor
carbonated water at 1 fl oz per bottle): 128 bottles, 6.5 fl oz (192
ml).
* Mix 2,400 grams of sugar with just enough water to dissolve the
sugar fully. High-fructose corn syrup may be substituted for half
the sugar).
* Add 37 grams of caramel, 3.1 grams of caffine, and 11 grams of
phosphoric acid.
* Extract the cocaine from 1.1 grams of coca leaf (Truxillo growth
of coca preferred) with toluol;dry the cocaine extract.
* Soak the coca leaves and kola nuts (both finely powdered; 0.37
gram of kola nuts) in 22 grams of 20 percent alcohol.
* California white wine fortified to 20 percent strength was used as
the soaking solution circa 1909, but Coca-Cola may have switched to
a simple water/alcohol mixture.
* After soaking, discard the coca and kola and add the liquid to the
syrup.
* Add 30 grams of lime juice (a former ingredient, evidently, that
Coca-Cola now denies) or a substitute such as a water solution of
citric acid and sodium citrate at lime-juice strength.
* Mix together 0.88 gram of lemon oil, 0.47 gram of orange oil, 0.20
gram of cassia (Chinese cinnamon) oil. 0.07 gram of nutmeg oil, and,
if desired, traces of coriander, lavender, and neroli oils, and add
to 4.9 grams of 95 percent alcohol.
* Shake.
* Add 2.7 grams of water to the oil mixture and let stand for
twenty-four hours at about 60 °F (15.5 °C). A cloudy layer will
separate.
* Take off the clear part of the liquid only and add the syrup.
* Add 19 grams of glycerine (from vegetable source, not hog fat, so
the drink can be sold to Jews and Muslims who observe their
respective religion's dietary restrictions) and 1.5 grams of vanilla
extract.
* Add water (treated with chlorine) to make 1 gallon of syrup.
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