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'''Root beer''', also known as [[sarsaparilla]], is a carbonated [[beverage]] originally created from [[sassafras]]. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: [[fermentation (food)|alcoholic]] and [[soft drink]].
'''Root beer''', also known as [[sarsaparilla]], is a carbonated [[beverage]] originally created from [[sassafras]]. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: [[fermentation (food)|alcoholic]] and [[soft drink]].


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==Ingredients==
[[Image:barqsrootbeer.JPG|thumb|200px|right|A can of [[Barq's]] root beer.]]
The soft drink version of root beer is generally made using extracts or flavored syrups diluted into [[carbonated water]]. It is not as widely popular as other soft drinks, such as [[cola]], and constitutes only 3% of the U.S. [[soft drink]] market.<ref> Quarantiello, Laura E. ''The Root Beer Book''. 96 pages. Limelight Books: 1997. ISBN 0-936653-78-7. </ref>

The [[fermentation (food)|alcoholic]] version is made by fermenting a solution of extract and sugar with yeast. Typically this will yield a beverage with about 0.4% alcohol, compared to more than 4% for most regular [[beer]]s.<ref>[http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm Root Beer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Root beer flavor may contain a variety of flavors, coming from the wide range of ingredients. Bark from the roots of the [[sassafras]] tree was the typical flavor in root beer historically, and is the primary flavor most individuals associate with the beverage. It is slightly red at times. Sassafras bark was banned by the [[FDA]] in 1960 because of the [[carcinogenic]] properties of its constituent chemical [[safrole]]. A safrole-free variety is now used, with some claiming that it has a weaker flavor than the pre-1960 variety.<ref>[http://www.foodreference.com/html/artsassafras.html Sassafras - Food Facts - Food Reference<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Acacia#Food uses|Acacia]] is also used.

There are hundreds of root beer brands in the [[United States]], produced in every [[U.S. state]],<ref>[http://www.root-beer.org/modules.php?name=Brands RootBeerWorld.com - Yellow Froth Pages<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and there is no standardized recipe. The primary ingredient, artificial sassafras flavoring, is complemented with other flavors, common ones being [[vanilla]], [[wintergreen]], [[cherry]] tree bark, [[liquorice|liquorice root]], [[sarsaparilla|sarsaparilla root]], [[nutmeg]], [[anise]], [[molasses]], [[cinnamon]] and [[clove]].

Homemade root beer is usually made from concentrate,<ref>[http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm Root Beer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> though it can also be made from actual herbs and roots. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic root beers have a thick and foamy head when poured, often enhanced through the addition of [[yucca]] extract.

At least one brand of root beer, [[Barq's]], also contains [[caffeine]] although they also produce a caffeine free variety which is sold in Utah.


==Traditional use==
==Traditional use==

Revision as of 21:51, 12 November 2008

A glass of root beer with foam

Root beer, also known as sarsaparilla, is a carbonated beverage originally created from sassafras. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink.

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Traditional use

Antique root beer dispenser. The barrel would hold a block of ice which would cool carbonation coils at the base in the days before refrigeration.

Root beer was a traditional beverage and herbal medicine. Throughout history, the beverage was often mildly alcoholic mixed with ginger. As a medicine it was used for treating cough and mouth sores.

Commercial root beer was developed by Charles Elmer Hires, in 1866. Hires presented root tea powder at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition, and in 1893 he began selling bottled, carbonated root beer. His choice of a name seemed unfortunate at the time, as the word "beer" drew the wrath of the temperance movement. However, Hires had his product tested by a laboratory and trumpeted their conclusion that root beer contained less alcohol than bread.[1] Hires' root beer became the "Temperance drink"—among other slogans.

There was an upsurge in the popularity of root beer in the United States during the period of Prohibition as local breweries resorted to brewing non-alcoholic beverages.[2] Root beer was at its most popular in the period during and after prohibition, and has since declined in popularity as the soft drink market has been taken over by brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Dr Pepper. Today, root beer is often mixed with ice cream as a root beer float.

File:Dorosh 0004.jpg
Canadian root beer containers of a variety of brands.
File:Dorosh 0005.jpg
U.S. root beer brands in Canadian containers.

Partial list of brands

See also

References

  1. ^ Eat Your History: Invention of Root Beer
  2. ^ Kim Severson,Real Men Drink Root Beer, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 1999


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