By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

I love carbonated drinks. When I was growing up, my parents pushed me to drink milk for health reasons. We never had soda in the house and, when we had dinner with relatives who made soda available, my parents would have to remind me to eat something, rather than just drink the soda. When I was in college, alcohol was the forbidden fruit for most students. Not for me, though. My parents always let us have a taste of their drinks and our synagogue offered Kiddush wine even for the younger generation. So, for me, soda was that forbidden fruit, although I was good and usually drank the milk the dining service offered, rather than the soda.
Years passed and my medically restricted diets began. Interestingly enough, one of the things I turned out to be allergic to was milk. But, in addition to milk, I had to cut other drinks from my diet: not only wasn’t I supposed to have the sugar in regular soda, but the chemicals in the diet versions. That’s when I began to turn to flavored seltzer. Yes, I know it doesn’t taste like soda. However, even though my brain knows that, its carbonation usually satisfies my desire for a treat. I’m not sure how that works, but I don’t really care as long as it does.
Having grown up in Endwell, I wasn’t aware that seltzer was considered a Jewish beverage. While some Jewish-themed websites offer a Jewish connection to everything, no matter how slight that connection, it does seem true that seltzer is associated with Jews. A recent article on the My Jewish Learning site (www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/why-jews-love-seltzer) offers a history of the beverage: basically, Jewish immigrants found making seltzer an easy way to make money. The article also mentions how seltzer and other carbonated drinks served as a digestive aid after typically heavy Jewish meals, at least, after Ashkenazic Jewish meals. 
I think there is another reason for the connection, one that the article doesn’t discuss: Jews who keep kosher need a beverage that doesn’t contain dairy to drink during meat meals. (We only had kosher meat in the house when I was growing up, but didn’t separate meat and milk at meal time.) Seltzer is a relatively cheap drink for those who want something with a little more oomph than water. It is healthier than sugary soda (especially in the days before diet drinks were readily available). While juice is an option, it might be more expensive and it also contains a decent amount of natural sugar. 
On the one hand, it feels odd to think of seltzer as a Jewish drink since I have non-Jewish friends who always have seltzer in their homes. On the other hand, it’s fun to lay claim to yet another popular phenomenon. That means it’s unlikely I’ll ever run out of ideas for a Jewish food column.