Celery soda

OK - so I was reading about Celery soda on (somebody's[]) website... always wondered about this stuff. Discovered they still make some by the name of Dr Brown's Cel-Ray. Hmmm... I'm thinking - have to try that some day. Went to Weis's last night, was walking through one of the aisles - noticed Kosher food - hey look - Dr Brown's soda! Nope - only had normal flavors there... But wait! Wegman's has lobsters for $6.99 a pound this weekend - and I'll bet they had Cel-Ray!
The lobster[] was much better than the soda![:'(]

OK - can't quite tell you what I thought of it. I could drink it - I didn't need to spit it out and didn't gag... and I did keep trying it - I was just trying to figure out what it tasted like - and why this was so popular. It's better than most cooked vegetables, I guess.

So how many of you have actually tried this stuff and what did you think of it? Does anyone here like it? Why?! I tried Moxy once too - didn't like it either.

One more question - is there a difference between celery soda and celery cola?

Kate

Hiya, Kate!
Never really liked the 'smilies' they have here, but those two were visually perfect the way you teamed them up with 'lobster' and 'soda'!
A genuine LOL on my part, and I don't do that very often!
As someone born and bred on the lower east side of Manhattan, I'm a little embarassed to say that I never tried Cel-Ray.
I think it continues to exist, especially in areas of multiple-generations going way-back-when, because it's probably our only remaining soda which is still thought of in a slightly 'patent-medicine' kind of way, and that sort of thing gets passed on in families.
Is this the same sort of thinking that makes people 'know' that Listerine 'works' because of the taste? Who knows? Bob ( :

I have over three hundred bottles and advertising items in my Celery Soda collection. There were hundreds of different companies making some variation of Celery Soda from the 1880s to the present. The flavors varied widely.

Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray is a Celery Tonic which was most popular in New York and New England although I have items in my collection from other places like Mississippi and Louisiana. They had a lot of competition especially in New York City area and Boston. Celery Phosphate was a variation popular across the North. Celery Cream was a celery/vanilla combo similar to Cream Soda. Celery=Cola was a caramel-colored drink similar in taste to Coca-Cola. There was even a celery/alfalfa combo called Alfa-Celo sold briefly in California around World War I.

Often I give away sample tastes of Cel-Ray when I exhibit my Celery Soda collection at a bottle show. Some hate it and some like it enough to ask for more.

Here's a partial list.

Alabama
Celery=Cola

Arkansas
Celery=Cola

Arizona
Hulett’s Celery Phosphate
Celery-Vig
Thomas’ Celery Phosphate

California
Alfa-Celo
Celery=Cola
Brown’s Celery & Phosphate
Dr. Carpenter’s Celery Phosphate
Imperial Celery & Phosphate
Pioneer Celery Phosphate
Smith’s Celery & Phosphate
Sarsaparilla & Celery
Osgood’s Celery Phosphate
Murray’s Celery Phosphate
Celery Beer
O-Celery
Malto-Celery
Owl Celery Phosphate
Cel-Pho
Yosemite Celery Phosphate
Cel-Reo
Celery Soda
Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray

Colorado
Celery=Cola

Delaware
Celery=Cola

Florida
Celery=Cola
Celo

Georgia
Celery=Cola
Celery Coca
Celery Pepsin

Iowa
Sedgwick & Smith Celery Tonic
Celo

Idaho
High Ball Chaser

Illinois
Celery=Cola
Olympic Celery
Hot Beef & Celery
Celery & Iron
Celery Tonic
Celery Cream
Celery Phosphate
Richelieu Celery Phosphate
Celery Royal

Indiana
Kolatona
Celery=Cola

Kansas
Celery=Cola

Kentucky
Cel-Tol
Celery Phos
Reed’s Celery Phos
Celo

Louisiana
Celery=Cola
Celery
Celery Tonic
Celery & Iron
Arny’s Dicky Bird Celery
Rose’s Celery Phosphate
Silvertide Celery
Champagne Celery
Cascade Celery

Massachusetts
Celery=Cola
Celerina
Celery Cream
Bernhard Celery Tonic
Goulding Celery Tonic
Celery Phosphate
Blue Seal Celery

Maryland
Celery=Cola

Michigan
Celery Phosphate
Celery=Cola
Celery-Ade
Celerytone
Bee Brand Celery
Kolatona

Minnesota
Bromo Celery

Missouri
Celery=Cola
Orin-Kola
Celery Phosphate

Mississippi
Jarvis’ Celery Tonic
Lake’s Celery
Celery Phosphate
Arny’s Celery
Sumrall Celery
Celery

Montana
Brown’s Celery & Phosphate

Nebraska
Celo

Nevada
Brown’s Celery & Phospahte
Smith’s Celery & Phosphate

New Hampshire
Mar-Vo

New Jersey
Singer’s Celery Beverage
Brown’s Celery & Phosphate
Brookdale Celery
Williams Celery
Celery=Cola
Celery Tonic
Zimmerman Celery Tonic

New York
Celery=Cola
Celery Fizz
Celery Flavor
Celery Soda
Celery Tonic
LaGrassa & Rosenfeld Celery Tonic
LaGrassa Celery Tonic
LaGrassa Celery
DeLisser’s Celery Tonic
Dr. Stein’s Celery
Celery Phosphate
Celery
House’s Cream of Celery
Gordon & Levine Celery Tonic
Hammer’s Celery Soda
Dr. Reiss’ Celery
Myer 1890 Celery
Jacob’s Celery Tonic
IXL Celery
Cross Bay Celery
Kirsch Celery Soda
True Fruit Celery Tonic
Kola Cella
Seely’s Cream Celery
Wannamaker Celery Phosphate
Ferro-Celerine
Dr. Brown’s Celery Tonic
Dr Brown’s Cel-Ray
Briarcliff Celery Beverage

North Carolina
Celery=Cola
Cel-I-Ko
Celery Tonic
Celery Phosphate
Celio Cola

North Dakota
Kolatona

Ohio
Kolatona
Celery=Cola
Celery Nerve Tonic
Celo

Oklahoma
Celerazone

Oregon
Celro-Kola


Pennsylvania
Celery=Cola
Bikola
Blue Anchor Celery
Power Celery
Celery Phos
Celery

South Carolina
Celery=Cola
Phos-Pho-Celery

South Dakota
Celery=Cola

Tennessee
Celery=Cola
Celery-Ade
Cel-Cel-Cer
Co-Ko-Celery

Texas
Celery=Cola
Celery Champagne
Celery Koke
Celery Tonic
Union Celery & Iron
Star Celery & Iron

Utah
Brown’s Celery & Phosphate

Virginia
Celery=Cola

Washington
Celery
Celery Punch
Hot Celery Phosphate

Wisconsin
Konga Kola
Celery Cream
Celo
Osce Kola

West Virginia
Celery=Cola

AUSTRALIA
Celery=Cola

CUBA
Celery=Cola

CANADA
Celery=Cola
Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray
Drewry’s Celery-Kola

Good greef that stuff was popular. Never realized celery soda was so popular. You can still get it??? Where???

I would like to try some.

No you wouldn't!

But look in a large grocery store that has lots of specialized foods. I found it in the Kosher section at Wegman's.

There is also a recipe on-line that I found:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/celery-soda-recipe/index.html

I might try that too. Why not, huh?!

I can be a glutton for punishment. But at least the recipe calls for REAL SUGAR! So many different types of celery sodas - I don't want to assume they're all bad.

Kate

Amazing. It could be a lifetime study in itself! Thanks for the great celery info!
I've always enjoyed the "Good Eats" show, but don't remember this one.
Since I've never actually tried to prepare anything from there, this might be fun. ( :

I can't call it a lifetime study since I'm still alive (life work in progress, maybe?)

I've been researching Soda in general and Celery Soda in particular for forty years. I have thousands of pages of research on the Celery=Cola brand alone.

I've published several books on soda topics I sell at shows and occasionally on ebay. Now that I understand the 'fine print' about accepting checks on ebay I will be listing again this month.

RE: Celery soda UPDATE homebrew taste test

Celerycola - stop wasting your money on Cel-Ray and make a batch with that recipe!
OK - I admit when I smelled the celery seeds, I thought I was going to hate it (smelled like Cel-Ray) so, since I have fresh ginger in the fridge that I'm probably going to do nothing with (good to chew on for stomach troubles - really - it works!) I put 3 strips of that in. I can't actually taste the ginger, I don't think. But anyway - it's pretty good!
I'm giving it a thumbs up. I may have put more syrup in than I should have - wasn't all into measuring 1 cup of soda to be acurate, but that's what's nice about making it yourself.. flavor to taste!

RE: Celery soda UPDATE homebrew taste test

Thumbs up, but not way up... Definitely better than the store stuff.

Would like to hear from anyone else daring to try it! It was really easy to make.