OpenCola
A proper vegan built around citric acid and caramel color β roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 6 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and pan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- In a small bowl, combine all of the citrus and spice oils with the citric acid to make the flavoring concentrate, stirring well so the oils disperse evenly.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar into the 2 cups of water until fully dissolved, then bring to a gentle simmer to make a clear syrup.
- Remove the syrup from the heat, stir in the caramel color for the signature cola hue, and let it cool to room temperature.
- Whisk the flavoring concentrate thoroughly into the cooled syrup until well blended, then cover and refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors meld.
- To serve, fill four glasses with ice and add roughly 1/4 cup of the cola syrup to each glass.
- Top each glass with 1 cup of chilled carbonated water and stir gently to combine, adjusting the syrup-to-soda ratio to taste before serving.
You'll use: Saucepan Β· Pan Β· Blender Β· Whisk
Ingredient substitutions
- Lime
- lemon
- Lemon
- lime Β· 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
Tips & common questions
How long does OpenCola take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 6 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lime?
Try lemon. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is OpenCola vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
OpenCola is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Opencola.jpg by Unukorno, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.