This week's episode of The Sporkful is all about soda (or pop...or coke, depending on where you live). Dan explores the exotic world of rare, artisanal sodas at Galco's Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles, talks soda nomenclature with a linguistics professor, and learns how to pair sodas with different dishes.

But let's not forget the basics -- like: What's the best way to enjoy a simple soft drink, all on its own?

In his book Eat More Better, Dan stresses that sodas may look different on the outside. But on the inside, they all have the "same needs":

• A cold storage environment so that ice is optional, not required
• Ice added only to dilute excessively sweet cola as desired, not to chill it
• Cold water as a dilution alternative to ice, if the Eater deems evolving levels of dilution to be a negative (it's essentially like adding ice that's not so cold)
• A pleasant release from cans and bottles via the spaciousness of a glass, which relieves it of excess fizz, or fountain service with correct syrup-to-soda ratios (increasingly a mythological scenario)
• Straw use only when ice is present, to reduce tooth clinkage

Treat your soda right, and it will treat you right, too.

Photo: Flickr / CC Roadsidepictures