Legend has it that when a blind monk sampled a bottle of wine that had fermented under pressure into champagne, he called out, "Come quickly, I am tasting stars!" Some 300 years later, when a Texas neurobiologist discovered that a pear he left in a cooler with some dry ice had been infused with carbon dioxide as the frozen gas sublimated, he realized he had created, if not stars, at least effervescent produce.
That doctor is Galen Kaufman, now the co-owner of the Fizzy Fruit Company, which plans to introduce carbonated apples, grapes, strawberries, and pineapple to US schools this fall. A sachet in the can contains nontoxic chemicals that produce CO2; when hit with a few drops of water. Seal it up, and the rising pressure forces the gas into the fruit. The batch of grapes we tested hissed like Pop Rocks when we opened the clear plastic can. Some even split to release bubbles from juicy fissures. The grapes tasted like normal, just laced with soda water. All four fruits are targeted at kids, and jazzed-up vegetables are next in the pipeline. Anything to get the tykes to eat their five a day.
- David Wolman
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Juiced-up Fruit
Why's Everyone Standing Around?
