- 1 Pint Native Strawberries-cut into quarters or smaller
- 4 Stalks Rhubarb-1/2” diced
- 3 Cups Sugar
- 1 Lemon-halved and juiced
- 1 Liter Seltzer Water-chilled very well
- 4 Large Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream
Combine the strawberries and rhubarb in a bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice, mix very well, coating all of the ingredients. Let the bowl sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the juices to come out of the fruits.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer to extract more juices and flavor from the fruit. Place the mixture into a strainer set over a bowl and gently press down to squeeze the juices out of the fruit. Apply weight over the fruit and let drip for 30 minutes. Strain this syrup through a very fine strainer for the clearest syrup. Chill this syrup before making the soda. The leftover mashed fruit can be saved and used as a spread or great served with grilled/roasted meats.
When ready to make the floats, pour the seltzer water into a pitcher. Add about 1/3 of the syrup mixture and stir in. Taste. Add more syrup to your taste. You should have leftover syrup to make more soda. Store the extra syrup in the refrigerator.
Transfer the soda into 4 chilled glasses. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve. Makes 4 floats.
