TikTok Has Spoken: Jam Seltzer Is Summer 2022’s Newest Drink Craze

If you ask FoodTok, summer 2021 was all about whipped lemonade. But this year’s drink is way easier to make, and you probably have all the ingredients you need in your kitchen right now. Meet jam seltzer, a refreshing, two-ingredient sipper that has endless variations. (It makes a stellar cocktail base to boot.) Read on to learn how to make TikTok jam seltzer at home—it’s as easy to prepare as it sounds.

It’s, um, exactly what it sounds like: seltzer with a spoonful of jam. The jam not only adds flavor to the typically subtle beverage, but it also offers color and sweetness, making for a remarkably customizable drink.

Whether you’re partial to LaCroix, Topo Chico or Polar, any brand of seltzer will do, and the same goes for jam, although most TikTok users stick to Smucker’s and Bonne Maman. You can also use tonic water, lemon-lime soda, ginger ale or hard seltzer—as long as it has bubbles and a relatively neutral flavor profile, it’s fair game.

If you like seltzer because it’s crisp and not sweet, limit the jam to a tiny teaspoon. If you want to strip the seltzer of its subtlety, you can add a heaping tablespoon (or three). Just know that some sediment or flecks of jam may sink to the bottom of your glass instead of dispersing throughout the seltzer, especially if you use a jam with seeds.

For minimal sweetness and maximum refreshment, go easy on the jam and use plain or citrus-flavored seltzer. To make it sweeter and richer in flavor, go wild with the jam and use flavored seltzer. (Some TikTokkers use nearly three tablespoons of jam per 12-ounce can of seltzer, but we think one tablespoon is a good starting place—you can always add more after tasting.) For a more unique bev, combine different types of jam with flavored seltzers instead of plain. We’re partial to blueberry-lemon, raspberry-lime, apricot-mango and blackberry-coconut combinations, but the possibilities are endless.

You can stick the mocktail course, use hard seltzer (like White Claw or Truly) for a little booze or add a shot of vodka, rum or tequila to your glass to create a bonafide cocktail. Embellish on the recipe by adding summer fruit, fresh mint, lavender syrup or even edible flowers to your glass.

Most TikTokkers prepare jam seltzer in a drinking glass, but we’ve also seen people make it in an almost-empty jam jar (ingenious, if you ask us). Whatever you use, be sure to leave room in the glass for stirring so the jam can dissolve; you can even stir the jam into some citrus juice before adding the ice and seltzer. Just don’t shake the seltzer in a cocktail shaker, unless you want a bubble volcano to erupt in your kitchen.

Ingredients

• Ice (optional)
• 1 to 3 tablespoons jam of your choice
• One 12-ounce can cold seltzer or sparkling water, plain or flavored

Directions

Step 1: Add the ice if using to a large glass, mason jar or jam jar. Add the jam.

Step 2: Pour the seltzer or sparkling water over the jam and ice. Using a long spoon or a straw, stir the drink until the jam dissolves. Serve immediately.