Fountain of Knowledge

For my 50th birthday my grown-up children presented me with an equivalent number of my favourite confectionery product- the classic Barratt Sherbet Fountain.

The traditional version has been made by Barratt's since 1925.

I grew up with the 1960's and 70's packaging of a cardboard tube, about one imperial inch in diameter around which the distinctive coloured and logo'd label was stuck with a stub of a liquorice stick poking out of the slightly twist- closed top.

The trouble was that everything got a bit soggy during the normal method of consuming the contents, typically involving a lot of spit.

This was mainly around the intended use of the liquorice as a straw with the hollow middle being activated by the simple act of biting off the crimped end. Something had to change and what with the emphasis on hygiene, health and safety this type of light and porous wrapper could not survive.

The actual quality of the sherbet varied significantly depending upon the environment in which the tubes were stored or shop displayed. There was nothing worse than the anticipation of a sharp and fizzy sherbet content being destroyed by a rather dry and tasteless powder  following an attack by airborne moisture.

So in 2009 the longstanding packaging was replaced by a plastic tube with a solid liquorice stick (was it really a bit thinner and shorter or did it just seem like it?) protected by a twist-off lid.

This change may have been the first of many involving confectionery products (Snickers name change, Opal Fruits, Spangles, shrinking walnut whips, Toblerone reduction, etc) to upset the likes of traditionalist Daily Mail newspaper readers who blamed it on bureaucracy gone mad, the European Union and everyone else.

It was a case that the nation had to be re-educated in how to tackle a sherbet fountain. The "new" format meant that the sherbet had to be be licked off the liquorice or eaten directly by pouring straight into the mouth . This latter method could result in a violent sneeze or cough sending a huge cloud of almost vapourised powder into the air.

My favourite way which is still the case today is to pour out the contents into a cereal bowl and use the tip of a teaspoon to take up small amounts. This intensifies the whole experience. I know that some found the new version too much of a different experience from the original paper-wrapped sweet and never adapted to it.

Although Barratts have been producing sherbet for nearly 100 years it is a very old concoction indeed.

The word "sherbet" is derived from the Turkish şerbet, itself from the even more ancient  Persian language and in turn from the mists of long lost Arabic , specifically sharba, a drink, from "shariba" to drink. A more modern incarnation comes from French "sorbet", the Italian "sorbetto" and in a full etymological circle back to the Turkish "şerbet". The word is cognate to syrup in English.

Historically it was a cool effervescent or iced fruit soft drink particularly favoured in the Middle Eastern climate and culture. The meaning, spelling and pronunciation have fractured between different countries. It is usually spelled "sherbet" but more often as not becomes "sherbert".It must not to be confused with the North American "sherbet" which if ordered over a Gelateria counter would mean that you are served with a variant of the iced dessert sorbet.

Compared to the ancient world it was only in the 19th century that sherbet powder (soda powder) became popular. A popular practice of the time was to "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 is lost ... it is more practicable to put the powder into the mouth and flush it with some water"

Sherbet is, for all of the mystique and history a very simple mixture of ingredients.

In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries the distinctive fizzy powder derives from four main constituents. 1) sugar 2)flavouring 3)edible acid 4)base. The acid may be tartaric, citric or malic acid, and the base may be sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, or a mixture of these or other similar carbonates .To this is added a large amount of sugar to mask the unappetising flavour of the reactive powders usually icing sugar, and fruit or cream soda flavouring.

The classic Barratt Sherbet has an ingredients list of Sugar, Treacle, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Cornflour, Sodium Bicarbonate, Acids (Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid), Natural Colour (Plain Caramel), Liquorice Extract, Anti-Caking Agent (Tricalcium Phosphate), Flavouring and Aniseed Oil.

Here is the science bit.

The acid-carbonate reaction occurs upon presence of moisture, mainly the aforementioned abundance of spittle although water or juice will do the same. Sherbet used to be stirred into various beverages to make effervescing drinks, in a similar way to making lemonade from lemonade powders, before canned carbonated drinks became ubiquitous. Sherbet is now used to mean the powder sold as a sweet.

With my grubby childhood hands grasping my pocket money and if it was not possible to purchase a Sherbet Fountain then there were other sherbet content goodies. In Northern England where I grew up , kali (pronounced "kay-li" with emphasis on the second syllable) is a crystal form of sherbet, often packaged in straws (similar to the Stateside Pixy Stix) and available in a variety of colours and flavours.

The sherbet lemon remains as a widely consumed sweet in the UK, and is included in many sweet shops. It is the main flavour of boiled sweets with powdered sherbet centres - such as sherbet fruits, where sherbet limes, strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and orange are popular flavours. The sherbet lemon has a citrus taste and is sour and tangy. If sucked slowly, although it is difficult to resist biting into the shell, as the outer casing fractures the sherbet in the middle explodes, making the sweet suddenly more sour.

Sherbet dips or Sherbet Dabs are also popular, such as the Dip Dab also 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.

Another  type of sherbet dip is the Double Dip by Swizzels Matlow, 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 such as strawberry, orange, cola. It must be a generational thing because I never took to this modern, crazy, confused concept.
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I did like the paper and then later plastic straws filled purely with fruit-flavoured sherbet. The most common lengths were 10 cm and 50 cm. The price of these straws ranged from the decimal 5p to £2.00 in the UK depending on size, make and flavour.I have not seen them on the sweet counter for some time now.

Another favourite of mine is the flying saucer which are small dimpled discs made from edible coloured rice paper and filled with white unflavoured sherbet (the same form as in Sherbet Fountains). The first flying saucers were produced in the 1960s. It is again a challenge to wait for the paper to dissolve in the mouth to release the sherbet of optimum fizziness.

Sherbet is also  incorporated into other sweets. On cola bottles and Haribo sours it is used to give an interesting surface texture and zing to what would otherwise be quite bland gelatine items.

In popular culture Sherbet has been used in parts of both the UK and Australia as slang for an alcoholic drink, especially beer. 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 as in: "We're heading to the pub for a few sherbets." - … pints of beer."

In the UK "Sherbet" is sometimes used to refers to cocaine, which is also consumed as a powder.

To be inebriated is sometimes referred to in the North of England as "kaylied"

I was, on reflection, quite fortunate to get through my childhood years without being arrested or committed . I could often be found wandering about looking vacant with my face covered in white powder and carrying the almost drug culture paraphenalia of a spoon and bowl . Worst of all was the putting of myself and others at risk from poisoning on the occasions that I foolishly tried to make sherbet from scratch. Pass me the acid and bicarb.

Typical kitchen scene in home made sherbet production