Stored

Cola sold in its two most common sealed retail formats: glass bottle and aluminum can.

Shows readers exactly how cola is purchased, stored, and identified at retail before opening.

Beverages

Cola

Sweet, fizzy classic for sipping, mixers, and braising

Sweet, dark, and fizzy, cola is the iconic soda, a rum-and-coke mixer, and a surprising secret in sticky braises and barbecue glazes. Keep it sealed and serve cold.

Cola is the dark, sweet, caramel-colored carbonated soft drink flavored with a secret blend of citrus oils, vanilla, cinnamon, and spices over a caramel-and-sugar base, with a bright acidic tang from phosphoric acid. Sugary and assertive, it's a surprisingly effective cooking ingredient: its sugar, acid, and caramel-spice profile braise and glaze meats brilliantly. Cola-braised pork, cola ham, cola barbecue sauce, and cola-glazed ribs all use the drink as a ready-made sweet-tangy-spiced braising liquid that reduces to a glossy, caramelized lacquer. Its acidity also tenderizes, making it a clever shortcut marinade.

Measured in: ml
Storage: Room Temperature

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Regular (sugar)

Caramelizes and glazes — best for cooking

Diet/zero

Doesn't reduce to syrup — avoid for glazes

Spiced cola

Extra spice notes for braises

How to use in cooking

Use cola as a sweet-and-tangy braising liquid: simmer pork shoulder, gammon, brisket, or chicken wings in it and the sugar reduces to a sticky, mahogany glaze while the acid tenderizes. It's a base for quick barbecue sauces and ham glazes, and a marinade for ribs and steak. The carbonation isn't needed for cooking — flat cola works fine. Balance its sweetness with vinegar, soy, mustard, or chili. Reduce it well to a glossy lacquer for the best results.

How to choose

Regular (sugar) cola caramelizes and glazes far better than diet cola, whose artificial sweeteners don't reduce to syrup — use full-sugar cola for braises and glazes. Brand differences are minor in cooking. Balance the sweetness with something savory or sour so the dish isn't cloying.

Common uses

Braise pork shoulder or brisketGlaze a baked hamMake a cola barbecue sauceLacquer sticky ribs or wingsMarinate and tenderize steakReduce into a sweet-tangy glazeDeglaze for a sweet pan sauce