Hello you sweet toothed head squeezing family out there.
We at head squeeze have been set a really interesting question from our mates at Sorted.
Check this out.
Here at Sorted we use sherbet occasionally but we're not sure how it works, perhaps you
guys at Head Squeeze could tell us.
What makes sherbet do what it does?
So we thought we'd try and look at some of the science behind it and see if we can answer
some of their questions.
Here we got the basic ingredient of what makes sherbet.
As you can see we start off with these two powders, they're edible powders.
Here we have bicarbonate of soda and here we have some citric acid and if I was to take
this stuff and if I was to taste it, basically it's like a lemon with everything else taken
away except for the sour.
That's citric acid.
And you got the bicarbs which is more of a base, now a base is something which reacts
with an acid to neutralise it.
That just tastes a bit salty and just really rubbish really.
Now the key important part of the sherbet are these.
These are what makes the magic happen.
Now these other things here which is icing sugar and jelly crystals.
Now the jelly crystals depending on the flavour the jelly, will give a strawberry taste, orange
taste, or whatever flavour you want to put in it really.
And this is icing sugar, you know icing sugar is, its really sweet and it sweetens up that
sour citric acid.
So what we do to make sherbet is we just mix these all together and that's basically it
do let's give it a go.
So I'm gonna take a teaspoon of citric acid and I'm gonna take a teaspoon of bicarbonate
of soda, bung that in there too, now put them together like that and they're not reacting
obviously cause they're dry but if I was to make them a bit wet a bit moist, then they
will start reacting.
That would be to add water or saliva.
So I'm gonna add a tablespoon of icing sugar to sweeten it up and then just to give it
the lovely strawberry flavour I'm gonna add some jelly powder and then mix it all.
It's looking more familiar.
Right, so that's it basically, that is sherbet.
Now obviously I've got to try it to really find out, the trusty finger...
You can feel it just fizzing and bubbling in my mouth.
The reason it is fizzing and bubbling is because the bicarbonate in it and the citric acid
the saliva in my mouth mixed those in my mouth it caused a reaction to occur, an acid base
reaction and any time you get an acid mixed with a base is basically gives off a salt,
carbon dioxide CO2, plus water H2O, so the bubbling I can feel in my mouth is actually
the CO2 being released by that reaction.
Actually, let me just try it again just to make sure.
Don't try this at home!
Sherbet!
Right, so basically that is how you make sherbet and that's why you get all the sensations
you get when you put it in and if you were just try the citric acid just by itself it
is really tangy and zingy so I wouldn't recommend it you can try it if you want 'cause its all
edible substances.
Now just to prove that this is an acid and a base reaction going on, we got an old trusty
friend in that you can make as well, 'cause I know you Sorted team like food, so here
with our culinary skills we've taken a red cabbage and we've done the old acid indicator
trick with the red cabbage again.
So we mixed it up, added some water and we extracted this lovely purple looking juice.
It doesn't smell very nice, but this believe it or not is an acid and base indicator.
You can check out my video that I done before to see how that works.
If you add the indicator to a base such as the bicarbonate of soda it will go a particular
colour.
Now if it goes more towards the blue colour that means it's a base and if it goes towards
red it's acidic.
So let's have a look when we stick it in.
As you can see it's gone slightly blue, slightly a bit more blue that purple that means it's
slightly basic, but if you try the citric acid now, well the name kindof gives it away
doesn't it?
Add this in, there we go, it's a lovely red colour.
So there is proof using your red cabbage indicator, that citric acid is an acid and that the bicarbonate
of soda is a base.
If we mix them back together, to get a massive base reaction.
So when you have sherbet that's basically what happens in your mouth.
So there you go, that's the basic science behind sherbet!
That's what happens in your mouth people and that's what happened to me when I put loads
in my mouth, and it's actually probably going on inside my stomach right now.
CO2 release, I'm probably gonna have to burp in a second.
Try it at home, try it out and let us know how you get on, and I hope that has answered
your question!
Sorted!
Now just before I go I've heard that the real test of sherbet is sucking it through a straw,
so let's give it a go.
I don't know whether I should be saying to try that at home, try that at home!
And if this is your first time to head squeeze, please don't forget to give us a little subscribe
and we'll actually do more about the science of food for you.
So I hope you had fun and I hope you're gonna try that at home.
We're out!
I probably got diabetes now.