Special water pairing: Hitschies Sour Dragon Tongues 💧🐉

In the world of fine dining, most people immediately think of wine and water when they hear the word 'pairing'. But today, I'm taking a different approach: a colourful, surprising and sour one. This time, our list includes Hitschies Sour Dragon Tongues in Blue!

Yes, you read that right! These sweet and sour fruit gum strips with an intense blueberry flavour are sure to delight children and adults alike. But what happens when you combine this sugary treat with selected mineral waters? I tried it out and was surprised by the result.

Why pair water with sweets?

Water is so much more than just a thirst quencher. Depending on its mineralisation and carbon dioxide content, it can emphasise, balance or completely transform flavours. This creates an exciting interplay, particularly with intense flavours such as the sour-sweet dragon tongues.

The mineral waters

I selected four well-known mineral waters for pairing:

1. Black Forest Still

2. Saskia von Lidl, Still (Quelle: Kirkel)

3. Quellbrunn von Aldi Naturell (Quelle: Erbeskopf)

4. Gerolsteiner Naturell

I deliberately chose still mineral water, as the carbon dioxide would have emphasised the acidity of the sweets. However, all still waters have a different mineral composition and taste. This makes them perfect for pairing.

Black Forest: Enhances the acidity. Black Forest generally has a relatively neutral taste. Accordingly, it does not affect the taste of these sweets.

Saskia: Softens the acidity. Despite its low mineralisation, Saskia has a distinct taste of its own. Due to its low mineral content, it should not have a significant impact on the taste of these sweets. However, I have the impression that Saskia softens the acidity.

Quellbrunn: Softens the acidity. This is probably because hydrogen carbonate dominates over the other minerals. Hydrogen carbonate has the property of binding acid. I therefore think this is why the acidity is reduced.

Gerolsteiner: Enhances the sweetness of candy. This is probably due to its high calcium and magnesium content. These minerals usually taste sweet in combination. At the same time, the hydrogen carbonate ensures that the acidity is buffered.

Conclusion

Why should water pairing always be a gourmet experience?

Sometimes, magic happens when childhood memories meet mineral elegance. I proved this with the blue Hitschies sour dragon tongues. Even sweets can provide a real water experience.

My favourite in this tasting was: Black Forest!

You can watch the video of the pairing here.

Best regards

Timo Bausch

Certified Water Sommelier

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About Timo Bausch

My fascination with mineral waters began in 2016 during my training as a Water Sommelier. Since then, I have been exploring the characteristics and diversity of water. In addition to pairing water with food, wine, coffee and other beverages, I offer the creation of water menus for restaurants and hotels. Furthermore, it is also important to me to draw attention to the importance of drinking water.