|
Home > Arts &
Lifestyle > Food
& Dining News
| Photo Gallery |
Company
CEO Peter van Stolk sitting behind bottles of Turkey &
Gravy soda and Green Bean Casserole soda. (AP
photo) | |
|
| Holiday sodas hard to swallow: Jones
Soda offers liquid holiday diet
By Allison Linn / Associated Press
Wednesday,
November 10, 2004
SEATTLE --
Jones Soda Co. takes the idea of a liquid diet to a new low. How does
Green Bean Casserole Soda strike you? And how about an aggressively
buttery-smelling Mashed Potato Soda?
Even
the creators of the fizzy concoctions at this small Seattle soda company
can hardly stomach the stuff. But last year's unexpected success of the
Turkey
& Gravy Soda means another round of bizarre food-flavored soft drinks.
As an added bonus -- they're calorie-free.
This
week Jones Soda Co. launches a full meal deal of five Thanksgiving soda
flavors, from the bile-colored Green Bean Casserole to the sweet -- but
slightly sickly -- Fruitcake Soda. Last year's Turkey & Gravy is also
back on the menu.
If you
think it sounds less than appetizing, you're not alone.
"Oh,
man, I can't drink that!" cries out company chief executive Peter van
Stolk, after pouring himself a drink of mashed potatoes.
To
banish the buttery aftertaste, he recommends a chaser of Cranberry Soda,
the only one of the holiday bunch that doesn't make you want to pick up a
toothbrush.
Drinking
last year's savory Turkey & Gravy was no picnic, either, but that
didn't stop people from clamoring for it, pushing bidding on auction site
eBay Inc. up to $63 for a two-bottle set.
This
year Jones plans to produce up to 15,000 five-packs of the 12-ounce
bottles, which come complete with utensils (a straw and a toothpick). The
sodas may not be as satisfying as a real holiday meal, but they can boast
being both calorie- and carb-free, not to mention vegan and kosher.
Beginning
Thursday, they'll be on sale at some Target Corp. stores throughout the
country, and at other retailers, for between $14.95 and $16.95, with
proceeds benefiting Toys for Tots.
Known
for its quirky ads and offbeat bottle designs, Jones traces its roots to a
soda distribution operation that began in 1987. But it wasn't until the
mid-1990s that the company began its own line of sodas, cultivating a
following among skaters, surfers and snowboarders with unusual flavors
like blue bubble gum, green apple and watermelon. These days, Jones soda,
juice and energy drinks are available nationwide at stores including
Target, Albertson's and Safeway.
Five
tasters were assigned to the task of perfecting the holiday flavors,
although van Stolk said most other employees ended up trying the sodas
sooner or later.
In the
early stages, the staff grew deeply divided over mashed potato vs. sweet
potato: "It was like red versus blue," van Stolk said, referring to the
recent presidential election.
In the
end, he called it for mashed potato, arguing it was the more familiar
food.
Jones
isn't the only company to find that people have a certain fascination with
foods that make you go "yuck." There's the real-life version of Bertie
Bott's Every Flavor Beans, made famous by the Harry Potter books and
featuring tastes like Vomit, Booger and Earthworm. And millions of
Americans regularly tune in to reality shows to watch contestants eat
things like spiders and snails.
Experts
say part of the human fascination with such foods is the omnivore's
natural tendency to try a varied diet. But there's also a certain group of
people who are simply novelty seekers who get a thrill out of more extreme
gastronomical adventures, said Virginia Utermohlen, an associate professor
of nutritional sciences at Cornell University.
For
those people, she said, the thinking is, "So long as I know it's not going
to kill me, it might be just interesting."
Barbara
Rolls, nutritional sciences professor at Penn State University, said
research shows young people are more likely to try new foods, but she
speculates it's not just nature.
"It's
that bravado factor," she said.
And for
some, Rolls added, the risk will have a reward.
"Who
knows, maybe it really tastes good," she said.
|
|
|
