I accidentally bought seltzer water instead of club soda. I cannot tell any difference. Is there a difference? What is it?
From the Wiki: “Club soda may be identical to plain carbonated water or it may contain a small amount of table salt, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, or disodium phosphate, depending on the bottler. These additives are included to emulate the slightly salty taste of homemade soda water.”
Google on “seltzer water” “club soda” difference to find several answers, not all of which agree. The difference, should there be one, appears to be minimal.
Minimal, hell. I love seltzer, and getting club soda instead tastes like somebody dripped seawater into my drink. Like I need the extra sodium.
The difference is easiest to detect if you buy a bottle of seltzer and a bottle of club soda from the same company, say Canada Dry.
But it’s true, lots of people treat them as synonymous. I also figure that in a bar, with a dispensing machine, there is one button for both these things, and it dispenses water and gas and no syrup - but not really sure. In different regions, people understand different things by these terms. Some bar workers and waitpeople even include Tonic water in this, though Tonic contains strong flavoring and sugar too.
The only way to be clear and specific is to ask for a solution of carbon dioxide in water. Then, anybody who understands will give you exactly that, and the other 99.9% will give you a fishy look. Which brings us back to the seawater again…
Try asking for “water with gas.”
That it get a fishy look for sure