The Soda Fountain by Gia Giasullo, Peter Freeman, Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain, and Elizabeth Kiem

A collection of 70 recipes celebrating the history and stories of the classic American soda fountain from one of the most-celebrated revival soda fountains in the country, Brooklyn Farmacy.
     A century ago, soda fountains on almost every Main Street in America served as the heart of the community, where folks shared sundaes, sodas, ice cream floats, and the news of the day. A quintessentially American institution, the soda fountain still speaks of a bygone era of innocence and ease. When Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain opened its doors in 2010, it launched a revival of this great American original, capturing the hearts of a new generation.

Photographed by Michael Harlan Turkel and written by Gia Giasullo and Peter Freeman, the Soda Fountain incorporates beautiful pictures, delicious recipes, and an intriguing history of where the American soda fountain orginated from and how it has evolved over the decades. I enjoyed reading about the history of the soda fountain and how it and other sodas were originally created. The book is broken into two parts; the first is the stories surrounding the soda fountain, and the second part is the recipes. The stories discuss how the soda fountain began as a therapy and was actually sold within pharmacies because seltzer was supposed to have healing and therapeutic properties. The second chapter is about the Golden Age of the soda fountain and the process by which the soda fountain recipes changed, grew, and sundaes and floats were created as well. The third chapter discusses the changes that occurred to the soda fountain phenomenon as Prohibition and the Jazz Age changed the ingredients in the fizzy delights in order to combat the banning of alcohol. The fourth and the final chapter in the first part of the book are about how the soda fountain began to decline around World War II and then about its revival in some places, such as the Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain that was founded in 2010.

The second part of the book includes the basics behind making the floats, the  recipes to make the soda fountain syrups, and then how to create the soda fountain drinks themselves. Other recipes include how to make Floats, Egg creams, Sundaes, Milkshakes, Toppings, and even Baked Goods that can be eaten separately or put into some of these concoctions. The pictures and the recipes look delicious, and  the couple of recipes that I have made so far have been great. I made the PB&J cookies (page 184) were excellent, and the Orangenius (page 96) float was great too, though I had to make a few adjustments because I did not have all of the ingredients. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a fascinating history of the soda fountain and some delicious recipes of all types. This book makes a great coffee table topper as well with its beautiful cover and photos of both the recipes and the history of the drink.

I received this novel for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.