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1. Carbonated Fruit
While enjoying a nice, crisp apple or a ripe, juicy pear, do you ever think to yourself, “This would be so much better with a little carbon dioxide”? Well, apparently you aren’t the only one. Fizzy Fruit, the world’s first carbonated fruit, is now hitting grocery store shelves near you.
Neurobiologist Galen Kaufman got the idea for carbonating fruit when he bit into a pear that had been hanging out in a cooler filled with dry ice. The carbon dioxide from the dry ice had mixed with the water content of the fruit, resulting in a carbonated effect. Together with the Food Innovation Center, a research facility at Oregon State University, Kaufman developed this idea into Fizzy Fruit. It’s been a hit at pilot schools across the country and is now served in more than 600 school districts. And if the carbonation in the fruit doesn’t have enough fizz factor for you, maybe you should think about adding your fizzy fruit to your fizzy yogurt…
2. Carbonated Yogurt
First came drinkable yogurt. Then Go-Gurt, in tubes. Now, carbonated yogurt? Yep. It’s called Fizzix and it comes in flavors that sound suspiciously like Pop Rocks, including Blue Raspberry Rage, Strawberry Lemonade Jolt and Fruit Punch Charge.
Brigham Young food scientist Lynn Ogden came up with the idea similar to the way Fizzy Fruit was conceptualized – after adding dry ice to yogurt it was filled with CO2 when the ice broke down. He and his students messed around with the idea for years before perfecting the technique (yogurt is prone to exploding when carbonated) and receiving a patent. Ogden started selling “Sparkling Yogurt” on the BYU campus and eventually sold the idea to General Mills in 2006. Although kids apparently love Fizzix, it didn’t win any fans when Fortune magazine did a taste-test on the product – one tester referred to Fizzix as “Yuck-plait.”
3. Caffeinated Donuts
If your idea of breakfast is more along the lines of a jelly donut and a Diet Coke or three, soon you can cut combine the two. Dr. Robert Bohannon, a molecular scientist who graduated from the Baylor College of Medicine, is the brains behind Encaff, an additive that inserts caffeine into everyday foods while hiding the bitter caffeine taste. Bohannon has already developed Buzz Donuts and Buzzed Bagels and is working with companies to inject Encaff into gum, breakfast bars and smoothies. Food that has been Encaffienated will contain somewhere between 50 to 100 mg of caffeine, which is a pretty typical amount – a standard cup of coffee contains about 50 mg.
4. Caffeinated Beer
One area of the market Bohannon can’t corner, though, is beer. Caffeinated beer has been on the shelves since 2005, when Anheuser-Busch launched BE (pronounced “B to the E”). BE contains 54 mg of caffeine and smells like “blackberry and a little bit of cherry”, according to the creator of BE, Nathaniel Davis. But one bartender says it tastes like tangerine. I guess it’s one of those things you will just have to try for yourself – that is, if mixing a stimulant and a depressant doesn’t concern you at all. BE – also known as Bud Extra – is now just one of many caffeinated beers available to consumers, including Labatt’s Shok (60 mg of caffeine), and Molson’s Kick (55 mg of caffeine).
5. Bacon-Flavored Salt
Bacon Salt is a product that was just launched by self-titled “Bacontrepreneurs” Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow. It’s a zero-calorie, zero-fat, zero-carb, zero-meat seasoning that tastes just like bacon. It’s even kosher. Justin and Dave came up with the idea while discussing their mutual love for bacon, and shortly thereafter, Bacon Salt was born. They held a taste-test amongst friends early in 2007 and received rave reviews, except for the maple-flavored bacon salt. However, the original, hickory and peppered flavors were big hits. Justin and Dave say that Bacon Salt is delicious on everything from grilled meats to veggies to, yes, bacon. Dave’s father-in-law claims to like it on ice cream and a Bacon Salt fan sent a picture of Bacon Salt on watermelon. If anyone tries Bacon Salt on ice cream, be sure to let me know.
6. Sliced Jelly
Sliced jelly is for those days when you really don’t have the energy to open up a jar and get out a knife to make your PBJ. John M. Codilis is president and CEO of P.J. Squares LLC, a company that makes a sandwich slices with strawberry or grape jelly on one side and peanut butter on the other. Hungry consumers just have to unwrap a slice, throw it on some bread and enjoy. No jars, no knives, no muss, no fuss! Although it might sound a little unnecessary and, OK, more than a little lazy, it does have practical origins: the inventor of peanut butter slices (plain peanut butter without a side made of jelly), John Bogan, was watching his young son attempt to make himself lunch. He was completely destroying his slices of bread in the peanut butter spreading process, so Bogan thought he would invent something easy for small kids to use. Codilis says about 40 percent of P.J. Squares buyers unwrap the slices and eat them solo, no bread required.
I’m sure these few examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bizarre products on the market. What have you seen? Better yet, what have you tried?
You’ll be seeing a lot more Weird Science here on the site, including a series of posts from Senior Weird Science Correspondent Chris Weber.
I think Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans should count . . . seriously, vomit flavored jelly beans?!?
posted by Meagan on 10-1-2007 at 2:09 pm
My friend and I picked up a bacon flavored chocolate bar ( www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars ) from Whole Foods the other day and gave it a shot. The basic experience started with chocolate. Then it tasted salty. Then the bacon came in, and that’s when it just got nasty. Unfortunately, not everything tastes better with bacon.
posted by Ben on 10-1-2007 at 2:31 pm
I’ve tried Sparks, which is a caffeinated beer. It tastes nasty, but I have friends who swear by it. Personally, for me, all the Vitamin B really takes away from the beer.
posted by Downchez on 10-1-2007 at 3:31 pm
While in Asia saw a number of interesting innovations, including: Chocolate Cheese. Basically american cheese singles, that were brown and reportedly chocolaty. Didn’t have the stomach to try it.
posted by Yummy! on 10-1-2007 at 4:18 pm
e-moo- carbonated fruit flavored milk. Why?
posted by ac on 10-1-2007 at 4:24 pm
PB&J singles sound weird, but I bet they solve the soggy bread problem when you pack them for lunch!
posted by Miss Kiki on 10-1-2007 at 7:10 pm
I can actually see a practical application for the PB&J singles with minimalist campers and hikers.
posted by Beth on 10-1-2007 at 7:47 pm
I’ve had the PB&J singles. They’re not bad, but I prefer my jelly to actually have a jelly consistency. Although the singles were kind of fun to eat without bread…
posted by Korin on 10-2-2007 at 7:52 am
The jelly slices might also be good for elderly people who spend a lot of time alone and have trouble opening jars.
posted by Melissa on 10-2-2007 at 11:36 am
I’d just like to warn others about what happened to me while eating Fizzix at work: I thought that a tasty tube of yogurt would be an easy snack to eat at my desk, and as I proceeded to open the tube I noticed it looked a bit pressurized but chose to ignore this. I then pulled the tube open and bright pink yogurt sprayed all over me–in my right eye, down my face, down my shirt, and onto my pants! Needless to say my coworkers have pictures of this and it took two days to get the sticky out of my eyelashes. Maybe carbonated yogurt wasn’t such a good idea after all?
posted by Jordan on 10-2-2007 at 12:15 pm
Hey! I’ve had chocolate cheese!! I live in China, and my roommate came home from Walmart (yes, a real Walmart, but unlike any you’ve ever seen- it’s chaos.) with chocolate cheese. It’s quite disgusting. It looks exactly like processed American cheese slices, but the color of milk chocolate. I don’t even know how to describe the taste, kind of like plastic chocolate? Suffice it to say, it’s gross.
posted by greenstrawberries on 10-3-2007 at 5:06 am
The PB and J slices may appeal to households where one or more people are allergic to peanuts: they can stay hermetically sealed until they are out of the house! Seriously, being very allergic, I always had to train my brother, roommates, etc. that the knife goes in the JELLY first, THEN in the peanut butter, because the other way around contaminates a whole jar of jelly for non-PB eaters.
posted by Lisa M on 10-4-2007 at 11:24 am
I’ve had chocolate cheese from Wisconsin and it’s great! It tastes just like really rich fudge, but it’s good for you. There are a number of cheese factories in Wisconsin that make it.
posted by Pam K on 10-5-2007 at 9:23 pm
Hey, update you guys. I had the Fizzix carbonated yogurt last weekend because a local grocery store was giving out free tubes of it after Race for the Cure. I thought it was delicious, and normally yogurt of any kind makes me gag.
Just sharing.
posted by Stacy on 10-9-2007 at 3:57 pm
I don’t know why they can’t leave well enough alone. It’s not a wonder why everyone’s getting cancer. ugh
posted by Danielle on 10-11-2007 at 2:06 pm
Been spattered by Fizzix myself. I like yogurt and thought the flavor was okay and the consistency was kinda cool. Unfortunately I missed the warning on the box not to allow the tube to become room temperature. In my defense, the warning did not state the outcome of allowing the tube temp to increase!!!
posted by Kris on 11-7-2007 at 1:11 pm
What happened to the days of spreading pb & j on bread and non-fizzy yogurt? Kids are so spoiled!
posted by Tamara on 11-19-2007 at 10:10 am
Here’s the original “chocolate cheese”: Ski Queen Gjietost. It is a small cube of cheese in a red package and tastes delicious with green apples or on wheat thins. I’ve been eating it since I was a child. It’s a Norwegian cheese and is made from a combo or cow and goat’s milk.
posted by Wendi on 11-27-2007 at 8:41 pm
In Mexico one ice cream shop had tequila and cheese flavored ice cream. The tequila flavor tasted just like tequila, and the cheese, well, they need to work on that. Not like I want to try anymore though…
posted by heatherbee on 11-28-2007 at 7:20 pm
One day while I was out grocery shopping, I spotted one of those little free sample kiosks. The free sample was that wacky fizzy yogurt. Since I had my 4 year old with me, I gave it a shot. He loved it and I have to admit that it’s really not that bad. I bought two boxes for him!
posted by Alyson on 12-6-2007 at 9:24 am
Carbonated yogurt soda has been a popular drink in many Middle Eastern countries (called “doogh” in Farsi) for a very long time.
It’s actually delicious with a traditional rice dinner.
posted by Leila on 12-17-2007 at 11:15 am
My family had an interesting experience once, fizzy fish. Dry ice in the boat’s latched and sealed ice chest. Everything in the ice chest was carbonated by the time they reached their destination. Lemons got fizzy also.
posted by Lori on 12-21-2007 at 2:48 pm
I used to trick my co-workers into trying handfuls of similarly-colored, nasty Bertie Bott’s Everyflavor Beans. My favorite response was to one of them who had the misfortune of trying to “vomit” flavor. She chewed them for a while and then looked at me strangely and said, “It tastes like bleu cheese.” (!!!!!!)
posted by Mark Ryan on 1-21-2008 at 3:41 pm
I first tried BYU’s sparkling yogurt in 1995 - I remember it being touted as the next big thing. Weird as it might sound, it was actually really, really good.
But, then again, I prefer the BYU Creamery’s version of dairy products to the mass manufactured ones in the stores - their stuff is more natural, so that may be why it worked better at the Y than as Fizzix. Well, as natural as carbonated yogurt can be.
posted by Christa on 2-13-2008 at 5:30 pm
This is soooooo disgustingly American. Mix and match goo with fizz, co2 with liquids and jelly and poop. Yucko, gross me out. Who is their right mind would pop anything like these items into their mouth holes?
posted by elisek on 3-6-2008 at 11:08 pm
Kinda off topic, but last summer someone thought it would be a great idea to have free samples of Fizzix at Kennywood Amusement Park. Just about every ride was closed with barf all over it :)
posted by buzz on 3-16-2008 at 12:44 pm
MMMmmm…baconsalt for mashed potatoess
posted by Ella on 4-7-2008 at 11:12 am
I tried canned pancakes at Whole Foods once. It looks like a whipped cream can, except pancake batter comes out. You spray it onto the pan, cook for a minute, and voila! Pancake! We got samples and they were pretty good, considering.
posted by daring eater on 4-18-2008 at 1:24 am
I had the was at a fancy restaurant in Montreal last year and they served a co2 treated Caesar salad. I don’t know what they did to it, but it was basically green goo in a shot glass. I was with a large group of about 40 people - I think maybe three people ate it. It was disgusting.
posted by Marg on 4-25-2008 at 10:28 pm
They made caffeinated beer on the Drew Cary show. It was called Buzz Beer and their slogan was “Stay awake and get drunk al over again”.
posted by Amy W. on 5-2-2008 at 3:46 pm
And British food has the bad reputation(!) At least it’s made from…food. I thought America reached it’s pinnacle with aerosol cans with cheese in(I’ve only ever seen them on TV) but these are astounding! If it ain’t fizzy, fatty or caffeine-rich it’s just ain’t worth eatin’ is it?
posted by Britfoodie on 5-15-2008 at 2:55 am