Is mineral and sparkling water the same

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April 27, 1983, Section C, Page 1Buy Reprints

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NEW YORK CITY supermarkets and specialty stores seem to be drowning in a sea of carbonated waters: naturally sparkling mineral water, naturally sparkling spring water, seltzer, sparkling seltzer, club soda, sparkling club soda, pure mineral water with effervescence, natural mineral water. The bewildering array of these products has engendered enormous confusion among consumers, most of whom are uncertain about the differences.

Like many other products, especially those that have achieved a certain cachet, these bottled waters are often purchased for reasons that have nothing to do with their taste: How else to explain the popularity of a brand like Perrier, which even the former president of its American company could not differentiate from ordinary club soda in a blind tasting? And why would anyone spend $1.29 for a bottle indistinguishable from the contents of a 39-cent bottle of seltzer?

Despite all the descriptive names given to these carbonated waters, there are only three categories: sparkling mineral water (carbonated water, often from an underground spring), seltzer (carbonated tap water) and club soda (carbonated tap water to which mineral salts are usually added). Everything else is simply a variation.

The craze for bottled sparkling water began with the intense Perrier advertising campaign in 1977. It was so successful that these days people ask for Perrier when they mean sparkling water, just as they once asked for a Frigidaire when they meant a refrigerator. In the meantime, other imported and domestic sparkling mineral waters have come and gone, so quickly in fact that 8 of the 61 waters purchased at markets in New York City in the last two weeks are no longer available.

Now the bottled-water trend appears to be heading in a different direction. Two national companies, Seagram's and Schweppes, are introducing their own sparkling waters, but this time instead of mineral waters, they are seltzers. Domestic seltzers, made from ordinary tap water, are pushing fancy mineral waters off the shelves. There appear to be two reasons for the success of seltzer: It has no added sodium, which consumers in this health-conscious age find important, and it is much less expensive than mineral water.

According to the trade magazine Beverage Industry, sales of imported waters, most of which are sparkling, rose from 1.2 million gallons in 1976 to 28.1 million gallons in 1979 but fell back to an estimated 12.1 million in 1982. At the same time the number of gallons of club soda and seltzer sold has increased steadily, from 51.6 million in 1976 to 59.6 million in 1979 and an estimated 99 million in 1982.

Seltzer has captured 39 percent of the sparkling-water business, and, not surprisingly, New York City, where seltzer never completely went out of fashion, accounts for over 60 percent of that business.

In the last week I tasted and retasted more than four dozen sparkling waters. Taste is, of course, subjective, and different people are looking for different qualities in these waters. I prefer bottled sparkling waters with a clean taste and moderate effervescence. They should have no aftertaste, no aroma or off-odor. Good water should be, above all, refreshing.

My findings bear out what some people have suspected for a long time: Price is no indicator of taste or quality. Some of the most expensive mineral waters had flaws in their taste, whereas some of the least expensive house-brand seltzers came the closest to the taste I was seeking.

Of the 18 seltzers 8 were clean tasting, though slightly bitter, and some of them had unpleasantly vigorous carbonation. Among the best were Krasdale, Manischewitz and White Rock. Three of the 15 club sodas tasted clean: Gristede's, Grand Union and No Cal, though the effervescence in No Cal was too strong.

Of the 20 sparkling mineral waters sampled, however, only 2 had a clean taste: Bru, a Belgian import, and White Rock, a domestic brand. However, it should be noted that by definition, mineral waters have a distinct mineral taste, be it alkaline, medicinal or soapy, and that some people drink these waters because of this taste.

Bottled seltzer is nothing more than the modern-day variation of the seltzer sold in siphon bottles since the turn of the century. In fact, a few companies still deliver the old-fashioned seltzer in a siphon bottle. In its recent incarnation as bottled seltzer the product is usually filtered and carbonated tap water.

Whatever sodium is present in seltzer occurs naturally in the tap water, and the sodium content of New York City drinking water is quite low, about five milligrams per eight ounces. Theoretically, all seltzer bottled from New York City water should taste the same, but the intensity of the carbonation as well as different bottling techniques can result in taste differences. The most popular bottled seltzer in New York is Vintage. Like the best of the seltzers it has a clean but slightly bitter taste. An 8-ounce serving has less than 3 milligrams of sodium and costs approximately 11 cents.

Club soda, on the other hand, is often high in sodium. It is usually filtered and carbonated tap water that has been flavored with minerals and mineral salts such as sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate. These minerals, as well as the level of carbonation, affect the taste of the soda.

Not all club sodas, however, contain these minerals and consequently they have the same makeup as seltzer. No Cal and Red Apple house brand are among those that do not contain added sodium.

Mineral water is prized for its mineral content - copper, zinc, magnesium - despite the fact that the minerals often impart a distinctive taste, and despite the fact that the mineral content of some of these waters is so high that consumption, to the exclusion of any other water, could be health-threatening. Yet Europeans have paid high prices for these mineral waters for years in the belief - never documented - that they have health-enhancing benefits.

Determining the differences in types and contents of mineral waters takes some doing. The mineral content of ''natural mineral water'' is determined by the source of the water, usually a spring. But without the word ''natural'' in the name the water may have minerals added or removed. The sodium content of these waters varies widely, determined by the source of the water. Thus Poland Spring Natural Spring Water has less than 5 milligrams per 8-ounce serving while Ramlosa Sparkling Mineral Water, a Swedish import, has 47 milligrams per 8 ounces. The Food and Drug Administration defines a food as salt-free if a serving contains less than 5 milligrams.

Carbonation in mineral water can be natural, meaning the water contains enough carbon dioxide when it is underground to make it fizz. Perrier and Gerolsteiner Sprudel, for instance, are naturally carbonated waters. Carbonation can be added to mineral water the same way it is added to tap water, with manufactured carbon dioxide, or by the addition of ''natural'' carbon dioxide.

There is a significant difference between naturally carbonated beverages and those that are carbonated with manufactured carbon dioxide. The effervesence in the naturally carbonated water is lighter than that in artificially carbonated water; it is more like a fizz than an explosion. The intensity of the bubbles in some artificially carbonated beverages makes them unpleasant to drink. Either type of carbonation can also add a bitterness to the taste of a water.

It is difficult to determine the sodium content of many imported mineral waters because information on the labels is often sketchy. In the case of all the mineral waters tasted last week, both imported and domestic, the sodium content was available only by calling the importer or the producer. Not having an American contact listed on the label of imported food could prove to be a serious problem in an emergency where knowledge of the contents is essential.

Most seltzers, which use their low-sodium content as a selling point, list the information on the label. Most club sodas do not list the sodium content.

Note: This table may be divided, and additional information on a particular entry may appear on more than one screen. *3*Sparkling Spring and Mineral Water Sodium Content Name Country Per 8 Ounces Appolinaris Natural Germany 1.35 milligrams Mineral Water Artesia Pure Sparkling United States 35 milligrams Texas Mineral Water Badolt Naturally France 48.5 milligrams Sparkling Mineral Water Bru Belgium 2.4 milligrams Crystal Geyser United States 29.6 milligrams Sparkling Mineral Water Ferrarelle Naturally Italy 9 milligrams Sparkling Mineral Water Gerolateiner Sprudel West Germany 31.6 milligrams Natural Mineral Water Montclair Sparkling Canada Less than 3 milli- Natural Mineral Water grams Perrier Naturally France 3 milligrams Sparkling Mineral Water Peters Val Naturally West Germany 79 milligrams Sparkling Mineral Water Poland Spring Natural United States Less than 5 milli- Spring Water grams Ramiosa Sparkling Sweden 46.5 milligrams Mineral Water Saratoga Naturally United States Less than 5 milli- Sparkling Mineral Water grams Original Saratoga United States 46 milligrams Vichy Water S. Pellegrino Italy 10.5 milligrams Vichy Celestine France 289.5 milligrams Vichy Saint-Yorre France 396.6 milligrams Royale Mineral Water Vitteloise France 1.1 milligrams Voelau Austria Not available White Rock Sparkling United States 2.4 milligrams Mineral Water Approximate Price Per 8 Ounces Taste Appolinaris Natural 31 cents Mineral taste and aftertaste, Mineral Water moderate effervescence Artesia Pure Sparkling 63 cents Stale taste, moderate efferves- Texas Mineral Water cence Badolt Naturally 42 cents Stale mineral taste, minimal ef- Sparkling Mineral fervescence Water Bru 31 cents Clean, moderate effervescence Crystal Geyser 46 cents Slightly medicinal flavor, mod- Sparkling Mineral erate effervescence Water Ferrarelle Naturally 40 cents Alkaline, slightly effervescent Sparkling Mineral Water Geroisteiner Sprudel 35 cents Sharp aftertaste, moderate ef- Natural Mineral Water fervescence Montclair Sparkling 22 cents Clean, moderate effervescence Natural Mineral Water Perrier Naturally 24 to Slight, but not unpleasant bitter Sparkling Mineral 40 cents taste, moderate effervescence Water Peters Val Naturally 34 cents Strong flavor of wood, moder- Sparkling Mineral ate effervescence Water Poland Spring Natural 26 cents Slightly bitter, moderately effer- Spring Water vescent Ramiosa Sparkling 38 cents Slight, but not unpleasant Mineral Water taste, lightly effervescent Saratoga Naturally 36 cents Slight medicinal mineral taste Sparkling Mineral Water light to moderate effervescence Original Saratoga 36 cents Distinct mineral taste does not Vichy Water wear well, strong effervescence S Pellegrino 34 cents Alkaline, mineral taste, lightly effervescent Vichy Celestine 30 cents Considerable mineral, alkaline taste, very light effervescence Vichy Saint-Yorre 33 cents Soapy, light effervescence Royale Mineral Water Vittelloise 68 cents Slight mineral taste, lightly ef- fervescent Voelau 34 cents Sweetish flavor, effervescence disappears quickly White Rock Sparkling 26 cents Clean but slightly bitter, lively Mineral Water bubbles *4*Club Soda Sodium Approximate Content Price Per Name Per 8 Ounces 8 Ounces Taste A & P 50 milligrams 15 cents Slight sweetness; strong effervescence Canada Dry 50.4 milligrams 17 cents Plastic taste, strong ef- fervescence Foodtown 8.5 milligrams 14 cents Slightly bitter; strong ef- fervescence Gristede's 46 milligrams 14 cents Clean; moderate effer- vescence Grand Union 38.4 milligrams 14 cents Clean; moderate effer- vescence Hoffman 38.4 milligrams 20 cents Slight perfume taste; moderate effervescence Krasdale 3 to 6.6 milligrams 14 cents Slightly bitter but clean; moderate effervescence No Cal Less than 10 milli- 17 cents Clean; strong efferve- grams scence Pathmark 6 milligrams 9 cents Sweetish; strong effer- vescence Red Apple Less than 1 milli- 14 cents Stale, cardboard taste; gram very strong efferves- cence Schweppes 40 to 50.8 milli- 20 cents Slightly bitter plastic grams taste; moderate efferves- cence Seagram's Not provided 14 cents Citric taste; strong effer- vescence Shopwell 3 to 6.6 milligrams 10 cents Slightly bitter; strong ef- fervescence Waldbaum's 36.4 milligrams 12 cents Clean, but bitter; moder- ate effervescence White Rock 46 milligrams 17 cents Sharp; slightly salty; moderate effervescence *4*Seltzer Sodium Approximate Content Price Per Name Per 8 ounces 8 ounces Taste Ann Page Less than 3 milli- 13 cents Sharp, slightly bitter grams but clean; strong effervescence Best Health's Less than 5 milli- 10 cents Plastic taste; overly grams effervescent Canada Dry Less than 10 milli- 20 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; strong effervescence Foodtown 1.2 milligrams 14 cents Slightly bitter; strong effervescence Good Health Less than 5 milli- 12 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; harsh effervescence Gristede's Less than 10 milli- 14 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; moderate effervescence Grand Union Less than 5 milli- 10 cents Faint sweetness of per- grams fume; moderate efferves- cence Hoffman Less than 5 milli- 17 cents Plastic smell and taste; moderate effervescence Krasdale Less than 10 milli- 14 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; moderate effervescence Manischewitz Less than 10 milli- 10 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; moderate effervescence Old Fashioned Less than 10 milli- 11 cents Slightly bitter; grams overpowering effervescence Pathmark Less than 10 milli- 11 cents Slightly sweet, not un- grams pleasant; strong effer- vescence Seagram's Less than 10 milli- 14 cents Slightly bitter; large grams bubbles, strong effervescence Shopwell Less than 10 milli- 10 cents Slightly bitter; strong grams effervescence Snappie Less than 1 milli- 22 cents Taste of cardboard; Sparkling Water gram light to moderate effervescence Syfo Less than 1 mlli- 23 cents Slight and gram indistinguish- able taste; strong effervescence Vintage Less than 10 milli- 11 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; strong effervescence White Rock Less than 10 milli- 17 cents Slightly bitter but grams clean; moderate effervescence