Habanada Pepper Soda

Boil water and sugar in a small saucepan just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.

Wearing gloves if using a hot variety, halve peppers lengthwise and discard stem, seeds and membranes. Place the peppers in a medium heatproof bowl. Add lemon peel and stir in the simple syrup. Let cool, uncovered, about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

To make the soda, strain the syrup into a pitcher. Stir in lemon juice and seltzer.