My Apple Dumpling Recipe calls for Sprite or Ginger Ale to be added around dumplings before baking. What is the effect of the Sprite?
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1Can you explain what you mean by "added around dumplings"? – SourDoh Nov 25 '14 at 20:35
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1Indeed, I only connect "dumpling" with boiling, or sometimes steaming, never baking. Are you supposed to put the prepared dumplings in a pan and bake them in the oven? Before or after you boil them? Are you adding the sprite as the baking liquid in the pan when you bake? – rumtscho♦ Nov 25 '14 at 21:26
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2It boils down and makes a syrup, while sort of steaming the dumping, if it's like other recipes I've seen : macspride.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/… (make fun of the name or the ingredients if you must, but these are really good) – Joe Nov 25 '14 at 21:34
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@Joe Sounds like an answer! (Especially if you mention whether you can substitute sugar water or something; seems like maybe the carbonation isn't important.) – Cascabel♦ Nov 25 '14 at 23:37
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@rumtscho Apple dumplings are a baked dessert; see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_dumpling – coneslayer Nov 27 '14 at 5:15
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The soda does a few things:
- adds moisture to steam the dumplings.
- cooks down into a syrup to make a sauce.
You can typically change out the soda, but you don't want to use a diet soda, as it won't thicken the same and some artificial sweeteners will break down when heated. You don't just want to replace it with sugar water, as the acid in the soda will help to keep it from seeming overly sweet.
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1Hm, do you think sugar+water+lemon (lemonade, I guess) would do? I'm not sure if the OP is just curious or trying to avoid buying soda, but there are definitely a lot of us who don't often have soda around. – Cascabel♦ Nov 26 '14 at 2:34
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1@Jefromi : it might work, but I've never tried it. I'd be inclined to make a syrup rather than just try to mix the sugar into the water ... maybe add some strips of citrus zest while cooking it down, then remove it. Sprite has 38g of sugar in a 12oz can, and a pH of ~3.5 (averaging from multiple websites). – Joe Nov 26 '14 at 16:20
