Ramune soda (ラムネ) is a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage that contains in its container marbles that serve as a lid. Like cider, it is a type of “refrigerant” made in Japan.
Ramune is a drink made by adding flavors of lemon, lime, and sugar to carbonated water. Its name references the English word lemonade, as the drink was originally imported from the United Kingdom.
In this Post we will learn a little more about the history of this drink that has become so popular, we will see how ramune is produced and what the differences are between soda, ramune, and cider.
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The History of Ramune
Around the end of the Xogunato Tokugawa (1603 to 1868), ramune was brought to Nagasaki and Yokohama, and later it was manufactured in Japan. At that first moment, ramune arrived using a cork stopper, just like today’s champagnes and some sparkling wines.
However, as carbonic acid came out easily, a method was created in the United Kingdom in which a ball was placed in contact with the air pressure inlet of carbonic acid, from which it became the common format of the ramune bottle.
Around 1890 both the beverage and the bottle with this format were imported to Japan. After this period, the manufacture of bottles of ramune in the country began, which made its popularization possible.
It is uncertain whose real identity was the first person to have manufactured and marketed the beverage in Japan. As there is not much specific information about it, Katsugoro Chiba is generally considered to be the first to produce and sell ramune on Japanese soil.
Katsugoro's request for a license to open the ramune factory was registered on May 4, 1872 by the Japanese government. The date was later instituted as "Ramune Day" by the Japan Soft Drink Association.
How is Ramune Made?
The ramune bottle is covered with marbles. This manufacturing process is a bit difficult to explain, but we will strive to clarify it in the simplest way possible.
The syrup is first injected into the bottle (the taste of lemonade). Then, carbonated water is blown into it with an exhaust so that the air that was in the bottle comes out.
When the air that was inside is released and the bottle is already filled with carbonated water, the bottle is turned upside down.
Then the marbles fall into the mouth of the bottle and the gasified water under pressure pushes the balls against the mouth of the rubber to form a cork.
There is a narrowing in the ramune bottle that prevents the marbles from falling to the bottom of the bottle, when the bottle is turned upside down, the marbles are thrown into the mouth of the bottle.
What is the Difference Between Water like Gas, Ramune and Cider?
Both the soda, ramune, and the cidra are all carbonated drinks that have as their main characteristic the effervescent sensation caused by carbonic acid. They are drinks with a refreshing taste, which makes them essential in the summer.
But, although they are very similar drinks, they have some differences and let's see some of these differences between these carbonated beverages;
Water with gas
Sparkling water is a drink that generally does not use flavorings so it is tasteless and odorless, and gives a warm feeling when drunk.
It is widely used as a raw material for the manufacture of ramune and cider, but in a broader sense it can refer to all carbonated drinks, including ramune and soda.
As sparkling water generally has no flavors or mixtures, it is often consumed mixed with alcohol or juice. In the past, sparkling water was made from baking soda. Now, the common method is to saturate carbon dioxide with water to make carbonic acid.
Cider
Cidra is a carbonated soft drink with flavors of ライム and レモン, but it was originally a carbonated drink with apple flavor. During the Meiji era, Cidra Mitsuya was launched as an apple-flavored soft drink, and it is known as the first cider in Japan.
As we have seen the flavor of cider and ramune used to be different. &Nbsp; Cider would have originally had the taste of apple and ramune would have distinguished itself by the lemon and lemon flavor.
Despite this, the lemon flavor was born with cider, and has now become indistinguishable from ramune. Today, both ramune and cider have various variations in flavor, and there is no clear difference.
The two drinks also had different bottle sizes. The cider had a long, round bottle with a crown and a stopper that served as a lid. Which serves as a fall buffer.
However, today we have a large variety of bottles and other containers, which makes it difficult to distinguish them. So, the most significant difference between drinks is the presence of marbles in the bottle.