Whipped Chocolate with carbonated strawberries

Step 7: Use less acidic fruit for the best results

We found that only the tips of our strawberries were carbonated. We think this was because our fruit was rather sour (acidic) except for at the tips. If you try strawberries, be sure they're ripe and sweet. The carbon dioxide gas forms carbonic acid in water, increasing the acidity of the liquid in the fruit. Since this is an equilibrium reaction, if the fruit is already acidic, less carbon dioxide will dissolve and it won't become as carbonated as it might. The reaction is forced to the left. This may be why less acidic pears worked very well. Grapes and watermelons should work well, too, but to accompany our whipped chocolate we wanted strawberries.