Root Beer Commercial Brands Sassafras Controversy

Other ingredients may include allspice, birch bark, coriander, juniper, ginger, wintergreenWintergreen Gaultheria procumbens Ericaceae) is a woodland plant with red berries, white flowers and evergreen leaves. Its leaves contain methyl salicylate, an ester related to aspirin, with a characteristic medicinal smell and painkilling properties., hops, burdockArctium lappa A. minus A. minus nemorosum A. pubens A. tomentosum Burdock refers any of a group of perennial flowering plants in the Genus Arctium thistles in the Daisy family Asteraceae. Burdock grows wild throughout most of Europe and Asia, where it is root, dandelionTaraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum japonicum ''Taraxacum albidum and a few others. The Dandelion ( genus Taraxacum of the family Asteraceae) is a tap-rooted annual or biennial plant, found in most temperate zones. Distribution and Etymology Dandelions were root, spikenardSpikenard Scientific classification : Plantae : Magnoliophyta : Magnoliopsida : Dipsacales : Valerianaceae ''Nardostachys ''jatamansi Spikenard (also nard and muskroot is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of India and Ne, pipsissewa , guaiacumGuaiacum is a genus of plants of the Zygophyllaceae family that includes the lignum vitae tree, G. officinale''., spicewood , yellow dockYellow Dock Rumex crispus is a plant with smooth curly leaves and a yellow root, which is used medicinally as an astringent and tonic., honeyHoney is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. The flavor and color of the substance is largely determined by the type of the flowers from which the nectar is gathered. Common flavours of honey include or, clover, cinnamon, prickly ash bark, yucca, quillaja , and dog grass .

Due to the wide variety of ingredients possible the flavor of root beer is widely variable between brands. This is especially true of local brands.

Root beer was a traditional beverage and herbal medicine. The beverage was often alcoholic, usually around 2%. As a medicine it was used for cough and mouth sores. Commercially prepared root beer was developed by Charles Elmer Hires on May 16, 1866. He presented root tea powder at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition. In 1893 he began selling bottled carbonated root beer.

Home-made root beer is made using flavoring (either a concentrate, or actual roots and spices) to which is added sugar, water, and yeast. It is allowed to ferment under pressure to retain the carbonation and limit the alcohol produced by the yeast to low levels.

1 Commercial brands

Root beer brands include

A&W Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes, and Yum! Brands, Inc.
Barq's — Coca-Cola
Briar's Root Beer — Briar's
Dad's Root Beer — Monarch Beverages
Hank's Root Beer — Hank's Beverages
Hires Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
IBC Root Beer — Cadbury-Schweppes
Mug Root Beer — PepsiCo
Stewart's Fountain Classics — Cadbury-Schweppes
Virgil's Root Beer — Reed's, Inc.

2 Sassafras controversy

Sassafras root was banned in the U.S. in 1960 by the FDA as it contains safrole, a potential carcinogen. The young shoots, bark and leaves do not contain this toxin, so commercial extracts are often made from these. Also artificial flavoring agents have been developed which are used in some commercial root beers. Other varieties use sassafras root extract from which the safrole has been removed. The sassafras tree grows wild in the most of the Eastern United States and a person could go and harvest the wild plants, however removing safrole from sassafras root extract and verifying that it is safe is a task which is beyond the ability and equipment of most homebrewers.

3 Root beer as a flavor

Root beer is also used as a flavoring for candy, cough drops, popcorn, root beer floats, cakes, and breads. An example of this are root beer Sanded Candy Drops made by Pennsylvania Dutch Candies.

4 External links

Root beer Soft drinks

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