Kosher-for-Passover Coke and Pepsi Are Back!
La Chaim! Stock Up Now!
While bread gets cracker-ified during Passover, chosen bottles of soda get stripped of their high-fructose corn syrup and are sweetened instead with the real deal. No need to hunt for imported Mexican colas or hitch a ride south of the border for the cane sugar cola that tastes so great.
That's right: Passover Coke is here! (Or Passover Pepsi, if you're on that side of the Cola War.)
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi make a real-sugar version around this time of year, and you can find it by looking for yellow caps on Coke bottles or white caps on Pepsi. But to be sure you really have a sweet, sweet sugariffic cola in your hands, check the cap for a "P" next to whatever kosher symbol appears (see photo).
Back Story
Because corn syrup is made from one of the five no-no grains, it's considered chametz and is therefore forbidden during Passover (along with anything made from wheat, oats, barley, rye, and spelt). The grain constraints are, of course, a nod to the Jewish exodus from Egypt; the Israelites fled in such a hurry that they didn't have time for baked bread to rise.
Enjoying Kosher-for-Passover pop of course doesn't require being Jewish. It requires a love for more refreshing, crisper cola. The eight-day pop-slurping fest—er, commemoration of the liberated Israelite slaves—starts tomorrow at sundown, but the kosher sugar-high is already available in grocery stores.
According to a forum on the beverage industry site BevNet, it's been spotted at Gelson's and Ralph's in California, Kroger in the Midwest, and a variety of Eastern European markets in Chicago and Brooklyn neighborhoods.
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About the author: Erin Zimmer, our Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a new media analyst and frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other local publications. While Georgetown's food columnist, she investigated the cafeteria's omelet station, Hoya coffeeshop's cultish pumpkin muffins, and what exactly the basketball players ate.
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9 Comments:
They don't make it only around this time of year. They just don't SELL it in the States except at this time of year. In Central America (and Mexico I've heard) it's sold year-round made with real sugar. The only time I see corn syrup Coke is when it's been imported to US military or government installation PX's. If I had to guess why, I bet it's the US government corn subsidies making corn syrup cheaper than sugar in the States, but it's just a guess.
And yes, I think sugar soda tastes SO much better...
akino luna at 12:03PM on 04/18/08
Just a small correction. Corn is not chametz, it's kitniyot, and it's not forbidden to Sephardic Jews. It couldn't have been one of the five grains (you've got the five listed) because corn is from the New World, and the rabbis could not have been aware of it. Somebody said, "You know what the problem with this holiday is? Not enough rules." The rest is history.
juliec at 12:18PM on 04/18/08
Thanks, Julie! We will try to make the appropriate correction.
Adam Kuban at 12:39PM on 04/18/08
It's worse than akiono luna thinks: not only is corn subsidized, but sugar is protected from imports, so it sells in the U.S. for a multiple of the world market price. That's why it pays to substitute corn syrup here, but not in the rest of the world. It's also why we are making biofuel ethanol from corn, when the Brazilians can make it from sugar much cheaper (and get a much better CO2 result in the process).
gustoct at 1:03PM on 04/18/08
Julie, Plenty of rules, Hon! Different ones just apply to different people! Ch'ag Sameyach!
RichardCrystal at 1:31PM on 04/18/08
We've got Passover Coke and Pepsi here in Pittsburgh, though the Coke has white bottle caps.
I have four bottles of Passover Coke in my closet already and am seriously considering going back for more. :)
maryofdoom at 2:01PM on 04/18/08
Don't forget Passover Dr. Brown's cream and black cherry sodas! They are one of the highlights of Passover for me. Add homemade vanilla ice cream (made with a read vanilla bean) to the cream soda . . . mmmmmm.
The Passover versions are available also at Schnuck's and Dierberg's in the Midwest. Buy now before they are all gone!
Mizbee at 6:30PM on 04/18/08
As someone who follows strict kosher laws during Passover I love people learning and enjoying any aspect of this great holiday! Passover is a serious celebration and call for freedom for all people, so when you buy the kosher soda consider taking a moment to reflect on freedom. If you do that, then you have fulfilled the purpose of Passover. Moreover, your yummy soda (which is, in fact, delicious) will be sure to taste even better since you made a spiritual connection that spans the world and a hundred generations. :)
qqqqq at 7:47PM on 04/19/08
@ maryofdoom
You're in Pittsburgh too! Ditto what you said about the soda caps.
My household stocks up on soda during Pesach. Partially because my hypoglycemic system goes into shock every year during Pesach from the lack of carbs keeping me afloat (had a near miss of passing out this year in the shower! eep!), and partially because nothing with HFCS enters my home.
We don't drink a lot of soda outside of Pesach though, so we don't buy THAT much. Just enough.
EtherMaiden at 11:34PM on 04/23/08