# Original Orange Crush Formula / Recipe?



## shadeone (Aug 21, 2013)

Got a question for all of you... Has anyone ever happened to come across what would be a formula for the original Orange Crush at all? Either the bottled soda or the syrup concentrate? Everyone knows that today's Orange Crush bears no resemblance to the beverage of the early days.

 In my recent fascination with making my own home made sodas, I have come across a recipe in a book called "Homemade Soda" by Andrew Schloss that claims that it is the "secret recipe" used for the "original Orange Crush". You can see the preview of the book with the page featuring the recipe on Google Books here: HERE

 Now, by looking at the bottle caps from Orange Crush through the decades, we can see all of the ingredients that were in the original, just not how much of each.
 The early "Ward's Orange Crush" caps have the following:
 "Containing water, sugar, citric acid, orange oil and juice"
 The first paper labels on the really early bottles stated:
 "A pure drink made from orange juice, oil of orange, fruit acid, granulated sugar and carbonated water".
 Later caps, after the Ward's name was dropped say:
 "Contains carbonated water, sugar, orange juice, flavor of peel and fruit acid." They started adding the line "Contains 1/20 of 1% benzoate of soda".
 Later caps, from the 40s-60s have the following ingredients listed:
 "Carbonated water, sugar, orange juice, pulp and oil, citric acid, artificially colored."

 The author's recipe in the homemade soda book does not include any orange juice. The recipe states that "orange juice was added briefly to the formula in 1921, but today's beverage contains no juice". and another article I found states "Initially, there was no orange juice in the beverageâ€”only the oil from the skins. But by 1921, juice was added to Orange Crush. A 1924 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia listed what was contained in the Orange Crush bottles: A compound prepared from oil of orange, orange juice, citric acid and purest sugar syrup. Colored with harmless food colors.â€
 It looks like orange juice has been a part of the ingredients even since the Ward's era (I dont know where "briefly added" comes from), so if the author has an actual Crush recipe, it would be a pre-Wards era recipe. My thoughts though, are that this is probably an interpretation of a "close-enough" take on what the author believes Orange Crush originally tasted like, based on commonly available orange syrup recipes. However, his recipe does differ from the commonly found orange soda syrup recipes that are available everywhere on the internet in that it includes food colorings and gum arabic, which the others do not.

 Another article found online states that the name "Orange Crush" comes as a "reference to the process of extracting the oils AND JUICE from the fruit." Wikipedia also states that "Originally, Orange Crush included orange pulp in the bottles, giving it a "fresh squeezed" illusion even though the pulp was added rather than remaining from squeezed oranges". So, if they used actual juice, another question I have is why did they add in pulp later?

 In my search for this elusive forumla / recipe, I have found a soda on the current market known as "Baumeister Orange". They are bottled in Green Bay, Wisconsin by Lakeshore Bottling, Inc. Their website states the following:
 "You may remember as a child Baumeister Orange originally being called "Kewaunee Orange Crush". Even back then it came in a heavy dark bottle to protect its full orange flavor. It was noted for its unique color and an unmatched flavor. Today, now called Baumeister Orange Soda, it still has the old-fashioned flavor, still in a brown bottle, and still the unique color that makes it in a class all by itself."

 Now, I did some research and it turns out that there was an Orange Crush bottling plant in Kewaunee, WIsconsin, known as the "Kewaunee Orange Crush Bottling Plant", that used to bottle both the original Orange Crush, as well as "Baumeister Root Beer". You can see an original Kewaunee Orange Crush crate here: 





 as well as an old Orange Crush ad showing Henry J. Baumeister from Kewaunee, WI here: 





 . 
 The root beer bottled at the facility had cartons with the Kewaunee name on them as well: 





 After digging some more, I found a response to an orange soda taste test on this page: HERE where a reader states the following:
 "The only reason why orange Crush is popular is because the company knows how to market well and take down little businesses. In fact, they even tried to buy back the rights to the original Crush formula from Baumeister, but Baumeister said heck no - so orange Crush went off to make the most orange tasting soda they could which in the process they made the soda taste not the same, making it unfaithful to the original."

 Im not sure how true that statement is but it IS true that the Orange Crush of today doesnt share the same ingredients as it did back in the day.

 The recipe page for Baumiester Orange has the following listed for the ingredients:
 "carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, artificial and natural flavors including FD&C Yellows #5 and #6, gum acacia, orange oils, and brominated vegetable oil, preserved with sodium benzoate".
 So we know that this list isnt faithful to the ORIGINAL Orange Crush in that it has High Fructose Corn Syrup, "artificial flavors" and brominated vegetable oil.

 I did more research and found this cap:




 which I believe to be from the 70s and on considering it doesnt have a cork back. The ingredients listed pretty much match the Baumeister Orange soda.
 Then I got a current Orange Crush that can be found in most stores today... The ingredients are listed as:
 "CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP AND/OR SUGAR, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE) GUM ACACIA, NATURAL FLAVORS, GLYCEROL, ESTER OF WOOD ROSIN, YELLOW 6, SALT, BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL, RED 40"
 Almost the same once again. I think Baumesiter is playing off of it's history a little just for the sake of marketing, though they do specifically list orange oils as part of their ingredients.

 Anyways, I was just curious if anyone has ever found anything that might be able to be portioned down in order to create a true-to-the-original Orange Crush tasting beverage. I hate the High Fructose Corn Syrup crap version of today and would like to make something that would make Neil C. Ward proud! I know West Jefferson Dr. Pepper makes a cane sugar version of Orange Crush and I know the Baumeister is close, but I need the TRUE natural original!!

 Thanks,
 Jamie


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## celerycola (Aug 21, 2013)

Neil Callan Ward was a 1905 Harvard chemistry graduate. He worked for two years in St. Joseph, MI, before returning to his hometown of Greenfield, TN, to marry his childhood sweetheart. He entered a partnership with Greenfield druggist J. L. Shannon and began to experiment with soft drink formulas. Soon after they formed a company to manufacture and sell their first product: Celery Ade. Ward left the firm in 1909 and moved to Los Angeles for his wife's health. Ward joined the Los Angeles Ice & Cold Storage Company as chief chemist and continued his soft drink experiments, eventually discovering a way to extract orange flavor from orange peel. Ward's Orange Crush debuted in 1915. 

 I have a Celery Ade soda back bar bottle, a Celery Ade watch fob picturing a stalk of celery, and a postcard showing a Celery Ade sign. I would love to get the original formula for Ward's Celery Ade.


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## shadeone (Aug 22, 2013)

Dear god that sounds disgusting.... Intriguing... But disgusting. haha

 I just emailed the people at Baumeister to quiz them on the authenticity of their "Kewaunee Orange Crush" story... I will post results here when I get a response!


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## celerycola (Aug 22, 2013)

Celery Soda was as popular as kola, ginger ale, and root beer a hundred years ago. I have bottles and advertising for over a hundred brands of Celery Soda sold from California to New England and Florida.


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## madman (Aug 22, 2013)

> ORIGINAL:  celerycola
> 
> Neil Callan Ward was a 1905 Harvard chemistry graduate. He worked for two years in St. Joseph, MI, before returning to his hometown of Greenfield, TN, to marry his childhood sweetheart. He entered a partnership with Greenfield druggist J. L. Shannon and began to experiment with soft drink formulas. Soon after they formed a company to manufacture and sell their first product: Celery Ade. Ward left the firm in 1909 and moved to Los Angeles for his wife's health. Ward joined the Los Angeles Ice & Cold Storage Company as chief chemist and continued his soft drink experiments, eventually discovering a way to extract orange flavor from orange peel. Ward's Orange Crush debuted in 1915.
> 
> I have a Celery Ade soda back bar bottle, a Celery Ade watch fob picturing a stalk of celery, and a postcard showing a Celery Ade sign. I would love to get the original formula for Ward's Celery Ade.


 great info thanks the greenfield tn  part is very interesting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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