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Fizzy fun fruits: whatta unique concept!


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the 2004 story and also this (which is from 2001):

Carbonated food is fun to eat because the popping of [CO.sub.2] bubbles on the tongue is mildly painful, according to food scientists. That pain tweaks taste buds, making flavors stronger--peaches seem peachier, grapes grapier, and so on.

Fruits are just the latest foods to be given a [CO.sub.2] buzz. A Massachusetts company markets a bubbly bubble gum-flavored milk, and Kellogg's is testing a carbonated cereal. One kid tasting the cereal compared its crackling sensation in the mouth to having "a walkie-talkie in your head."

Soooo, now the fruit we eat must not only be delicious and juicy and sweet, now it also have a pizzazz factor?? How much further will this go as our "necessities" need a certain je ne sais quoi to be taken seriously? :laugh:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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I don't see anything wrong with it. It's the same as turning perfectly good fruit into pie, sorbet, or whatever. It's a method of preparing a natural ingredient to have different properties. Same as cooking, blending, peeling or seasoning.

Sounds pretty cool.

edited for farging typos

Edited by FistFullaRoux (log)
Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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This one doesn't seem so bad. If the carbonization is just from contact with dry ice, and doesn't involve lots of nasty chemicals and dyes, this could be a great way to get kids interested in eating fruits and veggies instead of sugary/starchy junkfood.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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The only problem I see with it is that rotting fruit sometimes gets fizzy naturally. You'd have to be careful to explain to people to eat their carbonized fruit quickly, lest they confuse something going bad with something carbonated. Actually, I am one who does not usually like carbonation. I drink very few sodas, preferring water or iced tea in most cases, so I don't think I'd be into fizzy fruit. Except the grapes. The grapes sound cool.

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jwood de-lurking for a moment.

I know Galen. Worked with him whilst he was developing his idea. We had Fizzy Fruit at all the office parties and potlucks. The larger fruits are ok Fizzed, but the grapes are da bomb. It actually makes us giggle when we eat them.

I've even made a cheap imitation by putting grapes in a plastic bowl (think tupperware) around a small bowl or juice glass of baking soda, pouring some lemon juice or vinegar into the soda, then QUICKLY snapping the lid on and carefully transferring to the fridge for a couple of hours.

returning to lurk-mode...

Edited by jwood (log)

--------------------

joanna in houston tx

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jwood de-lurking for a moment.

I know Galen. Worked with him whilst he was developing his idea. We had Fizzy Fruit at all the office parties and potlucks. The larger fruits are ok Fizzed, but the grapes are da bomb. It actually makes us giggle when we eat them.

I've even made a cheap imitation by putting grapes in a plastic bowl (think tupperware) around a small bowl or juice glass of baking soda, pouring some lemon juice or vinegar into the soda, then QUICKLY snapping the lid on and carefully transferring to the fridge for a couple of hours.

returning to lurk-mode...

Thanks for contributing. Please feel free to contribute more!

Is the sensation like pop-rocks? I'll never forget the first time I had chocolate with pop-rocks at Oriol Balaguer in Barcelona. The sensation and flavor was astounding. This would be interesting and no different than any other food modification. Would I want to eat fruit like this exclusively? I doubt it, though it would occassionally be fun, I think.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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this could be a great way to get kids interested in eating fruits and veggies instead of sugary/starchy junkfood.

I fail to see why kids wouldn't eat fruit (veggies, maybe) and in general, I strongly object to the idea that all kids' food has to be marketed just to them, be "Xtreme" in some way or another (blue ketchup? :blink: ) for it to be palatable. Since when did kids not want ketchup?

I think if you start kids off with good, whole foods to begin with, instead of nasty, processed, starchy junk, they'll WANT good, whole foods.

[OLD-TYPE PERSON RANT] When I was a kid, fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt was considered exciting. And that was without a lot of artificial colors, flavors, though it probably did have a decent amount of sugar. But it didn't have to have sprinkles, or come in neon colors, or be associated with a breakfast cereal character, or in a tube to make me want it! [/OLD-TYPE PERSON RANT]

That said, I think fizzy grapes sound really, really fun. :wub:

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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JGarner - I completely agree that food shouldn't _have_ to have a gimmick to appeal to kids, but in todays world, where there are tons of junky snacks aimed right at them, fruit just doesn't seem to hold the appeal. As parents people can always help mold their children's tastes and habits, and only have certain things around the house, but when out with friends or on trips they will ask for what they see all of the time. If fizzy fruit becomes something they ask for by default it could be winning a minor battle in combatting the junkfood.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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I want fizzy fruit! It sounds magical and neat. Does the fruit otherwise keep the same texture?

more on Fizzy Fruits from their website

Thanks for the link.

As a side note, if you stare at the animated bubbles on the web site long enough they turn 3D...sort of like those hidden "magic" pictures in patterns that were the rage a few years ago. Just let your eyes sort of go out of focus...

Why, yes, I do have a lot of spare time. Why do you ask? :laugh:

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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As parents people can always help mold their children's tastes and habits, and only have certain things around the house, but when out with friends or on trips they will ask for what they see all of the time.

Just because a child asks for something does not mean that the parent has to give in. (Note that I am NOT a parent).

But as a point of example, my brother and sister-in-law always have a tray of fresh, sliced veggies in the fridge: pea pods, jicama, bell pepper slices, blanched asparagus, whatever's in season usually. Always available for the kids to snack on. If they get those fruit snacks (basically gummi bears in cartoon-character form), they're organic, or made from 100% fruit. The candy - all of it - Halloween, Easter, Christmas, etc. is put in a basket on the top of the fridge and only brought out with permission after a meal. String cheese is a popular snack. My nephew might not eat salad, but he'll reach for red bell pepper strips.

Nowhere in his kitchen (believe me, I've looked) are chips or Lunchables or 5% juice drinks.

They do, occasionally, get to have McDonald's, but it's a treat rather than a regular part of their diets.

It is possible. I mean, we all managed to grow up without the benefit of magic color-changing sprinkles for our yogurt and pudding you could squeeze out of a tube.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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  • 1 year later...

from Oregon State University's Website...

Third-grader Alex Martinez, left, enjoys Fizzy Fruit on Dec. 9 at Sunrise Elementary School in Albany while classmate Uriel Zepeda tries another grape.

“It’s good, and tasty,” said Alex Martinez.

“No,” replied Uriel Zepeda, who was sitting right next to Alex. “It’s perfect and bubbly.” [food technologist] Ling has been testing the Fizzy Fruit on his sons the last few years, but the children’s reactions were important.

“I feel great as a food researcher to see so many smiling faces when these kids are enjoying this fun and healthy fruit snack,” Ling said. “This is really the best reward for us who worked on this innovative food product in the last several years”

I haven't tried Fizzy Fruit brand carbonated fruit, but my home tests with dry ice have yielded fun results. The taste of carbonation in fruit is almost tangy to the tongue. I was surprised that carbonation had a taste at all until I was reminded that I like to enjoy my beer on nitro vs carbonation. :biggrin:

Perhaps Fizzy Fruit will yield fruit on nitrous?

make your own carbonated fruit: RecipeGullet entry.

flavor floozy

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