Fizzy Limonade

Fizzy Limonade is a fun science experiment that you can do with your kids!

They’ll love watching it fizz up as they make their very own carbonated limonade!

If you’re asking Don’t you mean Lemonade? Why did you say Limonade?? Well, it’s because it’s made with both limes and lemons instead of just lemons. I love the flavor combination, but straight lemonade is great…or you can try a limeade too!

So, How Does it Work?

Baking soda has an alkaline base. Approximately 5 percent of lemon juice is citric acid (which is what makes lemons sour), and when you mix an acid and a base, you get a chemical reaction! This chemical reaction creates Carbon Dioxide (or CO₂), which Carbonates the drink! Science is pretty cool!

Fizzy Limonade

Ingredients:

¼ cup cold water
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp baking soda (or more for more fizz!)

Directions:

Add the water, sugar & lemon juice to a glass and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Add the baking soda and stir…and watch it fizz!
Want to make more than this recipe shows? I recommend using separate glasses for each person so everyone gets to make their own Fizzy Limonade. Especially for kids…it’s just plain fun to make your own bubbles!

Notes:

You can add up to a full teaspoon of baking soda, but the baking soda flavor does get stronger as you add more. My kids liked the flavor with ¼ teaspoon, and it still fizzed plenty (without overflowing). They didn’t like it as much when we tried it with more baking soda.
If you add more than ¼ teaspoon baking soda, the bubbles may spill out of your container! Just keep your glass on a plate or pan or other safe surface if you add more than the quarter teaspoon. It’s really fun for kids to do a super bubbly glass of Fizzy Limonade, so as a parent, I recommend doing one together!
My 9-year-old LOVES to make his own lemonade (and he begs to use all my fresh lemons!), but he commented specifically on how much he liked the flavor of the limonade. So if he’s a convert, then it’s got to be good!