Sherbet (powder) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sherbet, Kali or Keli (Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

) is a fizzy powder sweet, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop

Lollipop

A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...

or liquorice, or licking it on a finger.

Etymology

The word "sherbet" is from Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

"şerbet", which is from Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

"شربت", which in turn comes from "sharbat

Sharbat

Sharbat or Sherbet is a popular Middle Eastern and South Asian drink that is prepared from fruits or flower petals. It is sweet and served chilled...

", Arabic "sharba" a drink, from "shariba" to drink. Also called "sorbet", which comes from French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

"sorbet", from Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

"sorbetto" and in turn from Turkish "şerbet". The word is cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

to syrup

Syrup

In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...

. In British

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

it historically was a cool effervescent or iced fruit soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

. The meaning, spelling and pronunciation have fractured between different countries. It is usually spelled "sherbet", but a common (improper) corruption changes this to "sherbert".

In Northern England, in particular Lancashire, Sherbet and Kali are two very different confections. Sherbet is generally recognised to be a powder based substance of the type found with liquorice (sherbet fountain). Kali however, is of a crystal form. Often found packaged in straws and available in a variety of colours and flavours. Both sherbet and Kali may be fizzy.

History

Beginning with the 19th century sherbet powder (soda powder) became popular. "Put a spoonful of the powder in a cup of water, mix it and drink it as soon as possible, during the time of sparkling. ... Because this way the most of acid of air

Carbonic acid

Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...

is lost ... it is more practicable to put the powder into the mouth and flush it with some water." 2 g of sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Na HCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda . The natural mineral form is...

and 1.5 g of tartaric acid

Tartaric acid

Tartaric acid is a white crystalline diprotic organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants, particularly grapes, bananas, and tamarinds; is commonly combined with baking soda to function as a leavening agent in recipes, and is one of the main acids found in wine. It is added to other foods to...

were separately packed in coloured little paper bags.

Ingredients

Sherbet in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and other Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

countries is a fizzy powder, containing sugar and flavouring, and an edible acid

Acid

An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

and base

Base (chemistry)

For the term in genetics, see base A base in chemistry is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an alkali if it contains and releases hydroxide ions quantitatively...

. The acid may be tartaric

Tartaric acid

, citric

Citric acid

Citric acid is a weak organic acid. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks...

or malic acid

Malic acid

Malic acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH2CHOHCO2H. It is a dicarboxylic acid which is made by all living organisms, contributes to the pleasantly sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms , though only the L-isomer exists...

, and the base may be sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate

, sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate , Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well-known for its everyday use as a water softener. It can be extracted from the...

, magnesium carbonate

Magnesium carbonate

Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, is a white solid that occurs in nature as a mineral. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals...

, or a mixture of these and/or other similar carbonate

Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....

s . To this is added a large amount of sugar to mask the unappetising flavour of the reactive powders, and fruit or cream soda

Cream soda

Cream soda is a sweet carbonated soft drink, often flavored with vanilla.-History and development:A recipe for cream soda—written by E.M. Sheldon and published in Michigan Farmer in 1852—called for water, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, sugar, tartaric acid, egg, and milk, to be mixed together, then...

flavouring.

The acid-carbonate reaction occurs upon presence of moisture (juice/saliva). Sherbet used to be stirred into various beverages to make effervescing drinks, in a similar way to making lemonade

Lemonade

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...

from lemonade powders, before canned carbonated drinks became ubiquitous. Sherbet is now used to mean this powder sold as a sweet. (In the United States, it would be somewhat comparable to the powder in Pixy Stix

Pixy Stix

Pixy Stix is a powdered candy packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.Pixy Stix used to be made by Sunline which started 1952 in Springfield, Missouri. Originally it was a drink mix in the late 1940s, sold as Frutola, but J. Fish Smith found that kids were eating the sweet & sour...

or Fun Dip

Fun Dip

Fun Dip is a candy manufactured by The Willy Wonka Candy Company, a brand owned by Nestlé. The candy has been on the market in the United States and Canada since April 1942, and was originally called Lik-M-Aid. It was originally manufactured by Sunline, Inc, through their Sunmark Brands division,...

, though having the fizzy quality of effervescing candy, such as Pop Rocks

Pop Rocks

Pop Rocks is a carbonated candy with ingredients including sugar, lactose , corn syrup, and flavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that it creates a fizzy reaction when it dissolves in one's mouth.-Background and history:...

Delivery methods

Sherbet has a dual role in the modern sweet world, acting in both solo form and as a decorative agent on other sweets. The most common occurrences are detailed below, but this list is not exhaustive. Dimensions of sherbet include granularity, colour, zing (acidity) and flavouring (normally a citrus fruit).

Sherbet Lemon

The sherbet lemon is a popular sweet in the UK, and is included in many sweet shops. It is the main flavour of boiled sweets with powdered sherbet
centres - such a sherbet fruits, where sherbet limes, strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and orange are popular flavours. The sherbet lemon has a citrus taste and is sour and also tangy. The sherbet in the middle explodes, making the sweet suddenly more sour.

Sherbet Fountain

Barratt's "Sherbet Fountain" consists of sherbet and a stick made from liquorice, sold since 2009 in a plastic tube with twist-off lid. This replaced the traditional paper packaging with the liquorice stick poking through the end, much to the fury of the traditionalist Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

newspaper .
The top of the stick is intended to be bitten off to form a straw and the sherbet sucked through it, where it fizzes and dissolves on the tongue, though many people prefer to either dip the liquorice in the sherbet and lick it off or to tip the sherbet into their mouths and eat the liquorice separately.

When paired with liquorice, sherbet is typically left unflavoured in a white form and with a higher reactive agent so that it causes a fizzy foam to develop in the mouth.

The manufacturer, Barratt, is a subsidiary of Tangerine Confectionery

Tangerine Confectionery

Tangerine Confectionery is a British confectionery company with its headquarters in Blackpool, Lancashire.It has grown, since 2006, through acquisitions into one of the largest independent confectionery companies in Europe and the fourth largest sweet maker in the United Kingdom.-History:In January...

Fruit flavoured with lollipop

Sherbet dips or Sherbet Dabs are also popular, such as the Dip Dab by Barratt. They consist of a small packet of sherbet, with a lollipop sealed into the bag. Once the lollipop has been licked, it can be dipped into the sherbet and then sucked clean, alternatively it can simply be used to shovel the sherbet into the mouth. It has been known for some 'Dip Dab' packets to contain two lollies and some unfortunately no lollies at all.

Another popular type of sherbet dip is the Double Dip by Swizzels Matlow

Swizzels Matlow

Swizzels Matlow is a British-based traditional confectionery manufacturer.Their best known sweets include Love Hearts, Double Lollies, Drumsticks, Refreshers , Fizzers and Parma Violets...

, where the packet is divided into three sections; one contains an edible stick which can be licked and then dipped into the other sections, each of which contains a different flavour of sherbet (for example strawberry, orange, cola).

Sherbet straws

Plastic straws filled purely with fruit-flavoured sherbet. The most common lengths are 10 cm and 50 cm. The price of these straws range from 5p to £2.00 in the UK depending on size, make and flavour. Normally found in newsagents.

Flying saucers

Small dimpled discs made from edible coloured paper (rice paper

Rice paper

Rice paper usually refers to paper made from parts of the rice plant, like rice straw or rice flour. The term is also used for paper made from or containing other plants, such as hemp, bamboo or mulberry...

), typically filled with white unflavoured sherbet (the same form as in Sherbet Fountains). The first flying saucers were produced in the 1960s.

Decorator functions

Sherbet is incorporated into other sweets. For example it is used to give gum based sweets an interesting surface texture and zing (notably cola bottles, fruit strips).

Slang

Sherbet has been used in parts of both the UK and Australia as slang

Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

for an alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

ic drink, especially beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

. This use is noted in a slang dictionary as early as 1890, and still appears in list of slang terms written today (especially lists of Australian slang). "We're heading to the pub for a few sherbets." - … pints of beer."

In the UK "Showbiz Sherbet" sometimes refers to cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

, which is also consumed as a powder.

"Sherbet dab" is used as rhyming slang for a "taxi cab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

External links

Of the Street Sale of Ginger-Beer, Sherbet, Lemonade,&C., from London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1, Henry Mayhew
Henry Mayhew
Henry Mayhew was an English social researcher, journalist, playwright and advocate of reform. He was one of the two founders of the satirical and humorous magazine Punch, and the magazine's joint-editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days...

, 1851; subsequent pages cover the costs and income of street sherbet sellers.
Tangerine Confectionery homepage
Instructions to make sherbet

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

History

Ingredients

Delivery methods

Sherbet Lemon

Sherbet Fountain

Fruit flavoured with lollipop

Sherbet straws

Flying saucers

Decorator functions

Slang

See also

External links