What is Sparkling Water?
Sparkling water is a blanket term for water in which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved. This creates carbonation, or bubbles. Sparkling water may be plain, or may be flavored or have nutrients or salts added. Sparkling water has been around since the late-18th century. At that time, Joseph Priestley found that by suspending a bucket of water over beer vats, the water became impregnated with bubbles and was given a pleasing taste. He later came up with a method of dripping sulfuric acid on to chalk to make the carbon dioxide and put it into the water. Around the same time a Swiss chemist came up with his own method for making sparkling water, trying to recreate the healing waters of natural sparkling springs which could be distributed more cheaply. Modern sparkling water is substantially more carbonated than these past types, as it pressurizes the carbon dioxide first, then pushes it into the water, allowing much greater densities of the gas. Historically many homes had a seltzer bo
