When I was a child, I used to love it when my mom made traditional Finnish recipes for the family. And one of my favourites in the summertime was Sima, an easy Finnish homemade soda made with lemons, sugar and hops.
So, when I stumbled on the recipe for Sima in my beloved handwritten cookbook of family recipes, I decided it was time to introduce my boys to the homemade soda that I’d loved when I was their age.
Sima is quite easy to make. Simply boil the ingredients, let them cool to room temperature and then add a pinch of yeast. About a day later, the soda is ready to be put into bottles.
Like all homemade soda pop, Sima is very, very slightly alcoholic. The yeast converts sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is what gives the drink its carbonation. But don’t worry, the alcohol content is incredibly miniscule (less than 1%).
To know when Sima is ready to move into the fridge, a few raisins are dropped into each bottle. When they float to the top, the lemony homemade soda is ready to drink. And the raisins are a tasty treat after since they’re so juicy!
To my delight, both my boys loved their first taste of Finnish soda, and I was so happy that I decided to give them a taste of this childhood treat. Neither liked the raisins as much as we had as children though! If you want to try a unique and refreshing summertime beverage, give Sima a try and see what you think!
Sima
An easy homemade soda pop recipe that's a traditional Finnish summer beverage.
Ingredients
- 45 cups water
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup hops
- 2 lemons
- 1 pinch baking yeast about 25 grains
- raisins
Instructions
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Boil water. Skin peel off lemons, slice off pith (white part). Slice lemons thinly, discarding seeds.
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Add sugar, lemon peel, lemon slices and hops to boiling water. Boil for 1-2 minutes.
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Cool mixture to room temperature and add yeast. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for about 24 hours (until lemon slices and hops have risen to the top of the mixture).
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Pour through strainer or cheesecloth. Put into bottles, adding two or three raisins to each bottle.
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Store in cool room until raisins rise to the top of the bottles (3-4 days). Move to fridge and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Original recipe calls for seven cups of sugar, but I prefer using a little less. Use a blend of white, yellow and brown sugars to suit your taste.
HEIDI C. says
This sounds so unique. I will have to make some for our next party!
Chani says
Sounds yummy! is the water amount right? i’m not sure how to boil that much… 🙂
Kathryn says
Hi Chani! Sorry for my delayed response! I use my big canning pot to boil the water; I believe it holds about 5 gallons. If the biggest pot you have is a dutch-oven style pot, you can just boil a smaller amount of water along with all the other ingredients, pour it into a bigger plastic bucket (the big ice cream pails from restaurants work great!) and top it up with room temperature water to the correct amount. Hope this helps!
Paul says
Looks So delicious! Should it really be boiled? Thanks for sharing
Elena says
Sounds delicious and refreshing
kathy downey says
Interesting recipe,would love to try this over the Summer,thanks so much for sharing !
DebH says
Interesting; need to try this one!
Shirley OFlynn says
Wow, this is so unique. I have not heard of homemade soda before. I will have to give this a try.
micheline says
Very unique drink, will be great as summer is creeping up.
Twingle Mommy says
Sounds tasty! I will have to give it a try. Just gotta find a large enough pot!
Tannis W says
I have never heard of sima but it sounds like a refreshing treat for hot summer days!
Krista M says
What an interesting beverage! I would love to taste this. Never heard of it before!
Janet M says
I hadn’t heard of this recipe before. I will try it.
Elizabeth Matthiesen says
Sima sounds like a delicious refreshing drink, thanks for sharing.
nicky says
This looks perfect for hanging out on the patio in the summertime!
Nate says
I would like to try this one out, looks like a nice drink
Jenny Wilson says
I’m trying to think of how to drink more water and I definitely enjoy soda water! I would like to try this with a bit less sugar and see how it tastes! Thanks for the recipe!
Lynda Cook says
This is something so very different, it would be nice to try
AD says
I love Scandinavian “stuff”… So very few people know about Sima, so I get excited when others mention it!
Kathryn says
Haha I’m exactly the same way!
Kam says
This sounds and looks really yummy!
nicky says
Yum! This looks so refreshing!
Mary Gardner says
This looks and sounds so delicious. I am excited to give it a try.