How to Copy the Great Mineral Waters of Europe At Home
Mineral Waters Wikimedia CommonsYou've built your own carbonator; now start mineralizing The mineral composition of water varies subtly, almost imperceptibly, from place to place. Variation in bedrock makes the effervescent springs at Vergeze, France, where Hannibal allegedly found a refreshing drink after crossing the Alps, different from the sulfuric liquid bubbling up out of the ground at Saratoga Springs, New York. Sulfates near Burton, England impart a distinctive minerality to the region's pale ales. And connoisseurs pay top dollar for these differences. If you're serious about drinking water, you probably want to add CO2 to it-the bubbles of the gas add a sensory perk and light up some of the same receptors in our brains as mustard oil and wasabi. That done, move on to blowing everyone's mind by simulating the finest effervescent mineral waters in the confines of your own home, just as chemists have been doing for as long...