Gingras Pixo Pearls Are The New Festive Fizzle

Bubbles move from the glass to the plate

We will never turn down a glass of bubbly.

But this year, we've found new ways to add fizz to our festivities.

Gingras Pixo Pearls, tiny translucent spheres of top-notch apple cider vinegar, add a mellow but acidic tang and satisfying textural pop to dishes. We've used the glowing orbs to garnish blinis and bruschetta, swapped them out for mignonette on oysters and sprinkled them on salads, where they perform double-duty as garnish and dressing.

On the sweet side, ply your guests with bowls of carbonated fruit spheres. We first spotted this head-scratcher at Chicago's whiz-bang restaurant, Moto. After a second encounter at San Francisco's Fifth Floor, we cribbed the idea for ourselves.

The technique, explained Fifth Floor pastry chef Francis Ang, is surprisingly simple: Rounds of pear sit overnight in a CO?2 canister in a sugary blend of pear liquor and pear jam (see the recipe). The resulting fizzy fruit is thrilling, like a sophisticated alternative to that beloved childhood candy, Pop Rocks.

Pass the bubbly.