Acid Wash the Fruit: Submerge whole strawberries in a bowl containing equal parts white vinegar and water. Let them soak for 15 minutes to kill mold spores. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and dry completely.
Weigh the Strawberries: Slice off the leafy tops and dice the strawberries. Place a sterile mixing bowl on a digital kitchen scale, tare it to zero, and add the strawberries to find their exact mass (400g).
Add the Sugar: Add 405g of sugar to the strawberries. Typically there should be equal parts by mass of strawberries and sugar. The additional 5 grams of sugar is to make up for the next step where we also add 5g of lemon juice.
The Lemon Juice Balance: Place a small ramekin on the scale, tare it, and weigh 5g of fresh lemon juice. Pour the lemon juice into the strawberry bowl. Now you should have a perfect 1:1 ration of sugar to strawberry and lemon juice.
Mix Thoroughly: Using clean, gloved hands or a sterile spoon, thoroughly mix the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Massage the mixture gently until the fruit begins to release its liquid.
Macerate: Transfer the mixture to a sterilized glass bowl or jar, cover it, and place it in the refrigerator for 2 days. The sugar will extract the liquids via osmosis.
Strain: After 2 days, pass the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl.
Dissolve Remaining Sugar: If there is undissolved sugar remaining with the strained strawberries, add a small splash of water, toss it in the microwave briefly, and stir until completely dissolved. Pour this liquid through the strainer to join the rest of your syrup. Transfer the finished syrup into a squeeze bottle.
Assemble the Soda: Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze your desired amount of fresh strawberry syrup over the ice, and top to the brim with sparkling water. Give it a gentle stir and enjoy!
