Kosher Coke - The Real Thing!

I am not an observant Jew. To put it more succinctly, I am not Jewish at all. Yet I look forward to Passover each year for one gastronomic reason - kosher Coca-Cola. I am not much of a soft drink lover either, tea and water being my beverages of choice. But when I do drink soda, I prefer ice cold Classic Coke or regular Pepsi to anything else.  Both are familiar soft drinks of my childhood in India - delicious tingling beverages that brought much relief on hot sunny days at home, in restaurants or by the shack of a road side vendor.

I was not aware that kosher dietary laws extend to soft drinks until just a few years ago (probably 2001 or 2002). During the Passover week that year, I happened to pass a special table displaying kosher goods for the upcoming holiday at my local grocery store and noticed 2 liter bottles of Coke with distinctive yellow caps among the items. I brought one home purely out of curiosity. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise - it tasted like real Coke, a nostalgic taste no longer found in the modern incarnation of the drink. Having never paid any attention to the ingredients in Coca-Cola, I had no idea why the kosher cola tasted so much better than the ordinary variety. A Jewish friend shed light on the mystery. Kosher Coke is made with sugar - it is indeed the Real Thing. In the mid '80s the Coca-Cola company led the way in switching to high fructose corn syrup as sweetener for soft drinks, ditching real sugar from the ingredients. No wonder the kosher Coke tasted so good - it invoked the happy times of youth. Since then every Passover season, I keep an eye out for this rare commodity - kosher Coke is as rare as it is ephemeral. It makes its fleeting appearance for just a few days around this time of the year and if one is not vigilant, it is gone. Last year I missed it. So, I am determined to obtain a couple of bottles this year. I was at the grocery store this morning looking for kosher Coke. It hadn't arrived. I talked to the manager and he assured me that he has some on order and I should check back tomorrow or the day after. Greedy though I am for this special concoction, I only purchase moderate quantities partly out of consideration for Jewish shoppers and partly because 2 liter bottles are not the best option for our household of just two members, neither of whom consumes carbonated drinks in large quantities. Most years I have only managed to find this large sized  packaging. Just once, the store also carried cans of kosher Coke which I much prefer.

If you are too young to have ever tasted soft drinks sweetened  with sugar and you didn't know about  kosher Coke, do try to find some this week and taste the Real Thing.  Read more about this special edition of Coca-Cola here.

Note: This post originally appeared on March 18, 2008. I am bringing it to the front for the Passover week that begins today.

Comments

[Anna]

I'm not a soft drink consumer, either, but I also like Coca Cola made with cane sugar, which is a flavor I associate both with childhood and with trips to Mexico and other parts of Latin America, where they still use cane sugar as the sweetener. Outside Passover, you can find the stuff with cane sugar in some Latino neighborhoods in Southern California, and I bet you can in Texas, as well. Folks on chowhound sometimes post on the subject of where to obtain cane sugar Coke in a given area; and here's an article speculating on the reasons for limiting its supply: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041109/news_1b9mexcoke.html

[Andrew Rosenblum]

I too much prefer Coke with real sugar, which I've had on trips to Mexico as well. That corn lobby! Let's hope they've shot themselves in the foot at last with this ethanol boondoggle -- not that I'm against biofuels, just against ethanol, a biofuel that offer little to no environmental benefit over gasoline. Now, ethanol prices have driven corn prices through the roof, which has raised the prices of corn-sweetened foods. Maybe food producer will go back to other kinds of sweeteners -- Coke in particular.

[Judith Shapiro]

I am thrilled! I haven't enjoyed a can of coke (actually, that would be coke in a thick glass bottle) for many years. I'm off to find the real thing. Thanks.

[Ruchira]

Went back to the grocery store for the Real Thing this morning. To my chagrin, the kosher table this year only has Dr. Pepper made with "real" cane sugar. Crestfallen, I went to the Customer Service desk to again ask for kosher Coke. I was informed that Dr. Pepper it is for this season.

But guess what. I learned a valuable lesson in asking the right question. After hearing that there won't be any kosher Coke for Passover, I persisted,
"So, you don't have Coke made with sugar anywhere in the store?"
The answer?
"Oh, that we have throughout the year - imported from Mexico. They are in the refrigerated case near the check-out lanes. We thought you wanted kosher!"

So, I have them. Exorbitantly priced and in old fashioned greenish glass bottles, better than cans and better than plastic, sold singly at $1.29 a pop. I have brought home six for the time being. But as I complained to the check-out clerk about the high price, he helpfully informed me that I can buy the same thing at half the price at a nearby smaller grocery store that stocks more stuff from Latin America. Well, there you have it. My quest for the Real Thing is over. Looks like I don't have to go thirsty between Passovers.

[Anna]

That makes me wonder whether the cane sugar Coke uses in Mexican Coke is processed using bone char...not that I'd care, since I neither keep kosher nor, anymore (except in occasional spasms of ethical remorse) vegetarian. Those who care and don't eat meat might want to find out, however. (It could just be that the non-kosher cane sugar Coke hasn't received the blessing of the local rabbi kosher- certification cartel.)

Glad you found what you're looking for, Ruchira. Simple pleasures!

[Ruchira]

Anna:

Bone charcoal of course is routinely used in sugar refining. So your suspicion sounded logical. I just did a search for bone char and kosher. The Wiki entry says that sugar processed by this means is frowned upon by vegetarians and vegans but is considered kosher. So I guess even if Mexican Coke is not certified kosher, it might actually pass muster?

I now wonder if Indian sugar manufacturing completely eschews bone-char, using only activated charcoal from vegetable sources. Otherwise it would be a huge concern for Indian vegetarians for whom no contact between food and animal products, except milk derivatives, is permissible.

But thanks to your comment I found what I was looking for. I wouldn't otherwise have known to ask because I didn't know about Mexican Coke made with sugar being available in the US market.

[pinku]

sadly am one of those brought up on fructose soft drinks...u tempt with Kosher coke but I dont think we can get it here in delhi...but then we do have freshly squeezed sugarcane juice chilled with big chunks of ice to compete....