– Etymology:
– Word “sherbet” is from Turkish “şerbet”, which comes from Persian شربت and Arabic شَرْبَة.
– Historically, sherbet was a cool effervescent or iced fruit soft drink.
– The word is cognate to syrup in English.
– Meaning, spelling, and pronunciation have varied among different countries.
– The word sherbet is related to the act of drinking.
– History:
– German Brausepulver is similar to sherbet powder.
– John Richards claimed to be the inventor of Richards effervescent Portable Sherbet Powder in 1816.
– Sherbet powder became popular in the 19th century.
– Sherbet used to be stirred into beverages to create effervescing drinks.
– Sherbet is now commonly sold as a sweet powder.
– Ingredients:
– Sherbet in the UK and Commonwealth countries is a fizzy powder containing sugar, flavoring, acid, and base.
– Acid in sherbet can be tartaric, citric, or malic acid.
– Base in sherbet may be sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, or other similar carbonates.
– Sugar is added to make the flavor more palatable.
– Acid-carbonate reaction in sherbet creates fizziness in the presence of moisture.
– Products:
– Sherbet can be sold alone or used as a decorative element on other sweets.
– Qualities of sherbet include granularity, color, zing, and flavoring.
– Sherbet lemon is a popular sweet in the UK with intense lemon flavor and powdered sherbet centers.
– Sherbet Fountain consists of sherbet with a liquorice stick or strawberry flavor hard candy stick.
– Sherbet dips like Dip Dab by Barratt include lemon sherbet dip with a strawberry lolly.
– Slang:
– Sherbet has been used in the UK and Australia as slang for an alcoholic drink, especially beer.
– The slang term for beer as “sherbet” dates back to at least 1890.
– It is still used in contemporary Australian slang.
– “Heading to the pub for a few sherbets” means going for pints of beer.
– The use of “sherbet” as slang for beer is noted in various slang dictionaries.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
Sherbet is a fizzy, sweet powder, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop or liquorice, using a small spoon, or licking it from a finger.
 Jars of colourful Kali in a sweetshop | |
| Alternative names | Soda powder |
|---|---|
| Type | Confectionery |
| Main ingredients | Sugar, flavouring, edible acid and base |
