A simple experiment with raisins and fizzy drink, paired with a healthy dinner for the whole family.
Ingredients for Science
- Raisins
- Fizzy drink (lemonade, tonic water or similar)
- Glass or clear plastic cup
- Tweezers
Ingredients for Supper
- Raisins
- Cous cous
- Stock cube
- Onion
- Oil or butter
- Mild curry powder
- Frozen peas
- Tinned tomatoes
Method
- Chop the onion and fry gently until soft
- Add 1tsp curry powder (if liked) and fry for a minute more
- Add a tin of tomatoes and a few handfuls of raisins
- Simmer the sauce gently whilst you do some science…
- Use the tweezers to drop a few raisins into a glass of lemonade and watch what happens
- Back to supper…add a handful of frozen peas to the pan
- Boil the kettle and dissolve the stock cube in 350mL hot water
- Add 200g cous cous to the jug
- Cover and leave for five mins
- Fluff up the cous cous with a fork and add to the sauce.
- Serve with a glass of lemonade (or G&T for grown-ups!)
Science in a Sentence
Bubbles of a gas called carbon dioxide, that make the drink ‘fizzy’, cling to the raisins which makes them float to the surface; as the bubbles pop, the raisin sinks again. The Naked Scientists have a nice explanation here if you want to know more.
Notes
A clear fizzy drink works best, I have not tried Prosecco yet! For the fruit, you could also use sultanas or cranberries. The supper serves 4 although if grown ups are eating too, you might want to accompany with some bread or you could add in some meat or fish to increase the portion size. Instructions for cooking cous cous vary; the quantities above work well for the one I buy.
