As I bit into a particularly fresh apple today, the juice almost bubbled out like soda. It even tasted like it. And I thought, Hm...
Now, I'm not altogether sure how to make a carbonated apple: we can't simply bubble the carbon dioxide through it, after all. Perhaps just subjecting the apples to a highly pressurized carbon dioxide bath will do the trick. But either way, I'm sure the Halfbaked skunk works is up to the challenge. And after we've got it to work with apples, we'll move onto oranges and grapes and bananas and things. Who knows, maybe even tomatoes.
Oh, and before you harp on about the ludicrous way companies are trying to brand natural things like apples and pears and chicken meat, this is NOT about marketing. Once we have figured out how to make the things, we will post it in the public domain, so any kid with access to high pressure carbon dioxide can savor them.-- DrCurry, Aug 15 2007 http://www.fizzyfruit.com/ [Orangejuice, Aug 15 2007] Tangent: What makes drinks bad for teeth? http://cbs2chicago....tory_160184634.htmlCitric acid; sugar. "Carbonation, incidentally, is not a factor." [jutta, Aug 15 2007] Tangent: Quote from 2001 study. http://www.attract....fm?question_id=1692"Dissolution levels with all of the mineral waters were very low and for several still waters were undetectable. Sparkling mineral waters showed slightly greater dissolution than still waters, but levels remained low and were of the order of one hundred times less than the comparator soft drinks." [jutta, Aug 15 2007] Sparkling Apples* http://www.martinellis.com/*100% apple juice [Klaatu, Aug 28 2007] How to make carbonated fruit http://www.instruct...e-Carbonated-Fruit/instructable [Spacecoyote, Feb 05 2009] Your to late, it's a good idea and its already being marketed in the US.-- pydor, Aug 15 2007 What?
link?-- evilpenguin, Aug 15 2007 Been done :[ http://www.fizzyfruit.com/-- Orangejuice, Aug 15 2007 i bet you guys didn't get the "Dental Whiz Fizz Kid" certificate... because, you know, i did.-- F_R_O_G, Aug 15 2007 Youch - now I know it exists, I'm not sure I like it. Although, carbonation might be a gentle way to kill unwanted bacteria, I wouldn't be surprised if carbonated fruit lasted a bit longer than regular fruit. (Although fruit has been shown to ripen more quickly when in a high CO2 content atmosphere - like a brown paper bag [edit-no it doesn't])
The process? Fizzyfruit seem to suggest that it's "natural" as though they skip through their orchards sloshing bottles of Perrier around the place - or something - I'm not convinced.
More likely, as you suggest, you get a bunch of fruit and seal it in a great vat and pressurise it with lots of carbon dioxide for a few hours. After a while, the pressure is going to have to equalise, at which point, the fruit should be carbonated.
But I really don't think I would like a fizzy banana - that's just wrong!!-- zen_tom, Aug 15 2007 Carbonated jackfruit, loverly.-- skinflaps, Aug 15 2007 //(Although fruit has been shown to ripen more quickly when in a high CO2 content atmosphere - like a brown paper bag)//
That is the ethylene, not the CO2.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Aug 15 2007 So it is - in fact, having done a cursory bit of googlage (which I probably should have done before), I learn that CO2 would in fact appear to inhibit the ripening process! I think I must have gotten the whole brown-paper bag/CO2 thing confused between calming someone who is hyperventilating and causing fruit to ripen. (Common mistake) Which makes me wonder; What happens if you make someone who's hyperventilating, breath(e) a high concentration of ethylene?-- zen_tom, Aug 15 2007 //What happens if you make someone who's hyperventilating, breath a high concentration of ethylene?//
I think they get brown squishy spots.-- Galbinus_Caeli, Aug 15 2007 Wow, good grief, [marked-for-expiry]-- DrCurry, Aug 15 2007 My dentist told me that carbonation is what does the most damage to teeth, rather than the sugar content in fizzy drinks.
This company appears to have actually contrived to make fruit, of all things, bad for teeth.-- fridge duck, Aug 15 2007 // My dentist told me that carbonation is what does the most damage to teeth, rather than the sugar content in fizzy drinks.
Hm! That doesn't match what I thought. I realize that your dentist is someone you probably don't want to get into a fight with, but I'd be curious to find out where they got that opinion.
There are groups who want you to drink (a) milk (b) still water and are blaming "carbonated beverages" as a whole - but in studies that have treated carbonated water separately, other sugary & tart drinks, regardless of carbonation, far exceed the carbonated water in damage.-- jutta, Aug 15 2007 My dentist says the same.-- theleopard, Aug 15 2007 Hm! I'll have to go ask mine; he's an easygoing guy. Maybe there's been an ice tea/gatorade conspiracy!-- jutta, Aug 15 2007 That link to FizzyFruits makes me need to puke.-- Noexit, Aug 15 2007 Carbonated water is actually carbonic acid; that is the weakest acid there is (since most of it stays as CO2), so I would tend to believe that the effect on your teeth is relatively limited.
The sugar in fizzy drinks gets converted to acid in the mouth, a vastly stronger cause of tooth decay.-- DrCurry, Aug 27 2007 Coke also contains phosphoric acid, an excellent tooth dissolver.-- GutPunchLullabies, Aug 27 2007 I can't find the link I was searching for but you can make carbonated frozen fruit at home by freezing fruit slices in a sealed jar with a piece of dry ice.
Not too much dry ice mind you. That would be how to make yer basic freezer bomb.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Aug 27 2007 Also, when CO2 is dissolved in water, it produces carbonic acid, which is of significant note.-- Alx_xlA, Feb 04 2009 random, halfbakery