"carbon dioxide" news and stories

• More acidic oceans, a consequence of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, can produce jumbo-size shelled marine species, including lobsters, crabs, and shrimp.
• In other CO2 news, Max Burger restaurant in central Stockholm claims to be the first restaurant chain in the world to publish carbon dioxide emissions on its menu.
• Congress will get a school lunch next week when the USDA will serve them chicken fajita strips, sliced ham and canned green beans, the same products the agency gives schools across the country.
• Woman caught on a hidden camera sneaking into a New York apartment by coming in through a crawlspace and raiding the pantry. Resident believes she had been secretly living there for weeks.
• Ganja Gourmet becomes first marijuana restaurant to open. It's located in Colorado, where medicinal marijuana is legal.
• Memorabilia from the bankrupt restaurant Tavern on the Green will be auctioned Jan. 13-14. Items will include the Central Park restaurant's crystal chandeliers, silver candelabras, stone sculptures and other decorative items.
• Finally, Food & Wine has compiled lists of the best airport dining spots and the best places to dine out during the holidays, including Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.

A few months ago Nick mentioned that Fizzy Fruit may be introduced into some schools. Well many years before it made the news I tried my hand at making my own fizzy fruit at home. I had heard about the idea a few years earlier from people in the brewing industry when I was an assistant brewer during grad school in Seattle. It's pretty easy to do. I used an empty soda syrup keg, filled it with assorted fruit, added CO2 under pressure, and chilled it overnight. This carbonated the fruit, the same way soda is carbonated, so that it fizzed with tiny bubbles like champagne when you ate it.

Looking back, it was fellow blogger Joe D who taste tested that first batch with me in the winter of 1996/1997. Personally I didn't think much of most of the fruit. They all tasted good, and the fizz was fun, but except for the grapes, the fizz was more annoying than anything else. With the grapes it was actually enjoyable. I guess because they were small, sweet and tart, and you could pop whole ones in your mouth. I never thought the idea was going to go anywhere, but I guess it has.

Source

Yes, those creepy little pebbles of carbon dioxide have been around, in various forms, for 50 years, according to a recent press release from Pop Rocks, Inc. I was never a big fan of the seltzer-in-your-skull feeling that Pop Rocks provided, but I found some of the history in the release pretty interesting. Apparently they were originally developed by a General Foods chemist in an attempt to create instant carbonation for soft drinks. PopRocksCandy.com has more history and background on several rumors involving CO2 candy and exploding kids. To celebrate the anniversary, Pop Rocks, Inc. is re-releasing the candy in retro packaging like the one you see here.