Will my partially frozen soda be OK?
November 30, 2013 5:20 AM Subscribe
I happened upon an extremely good sale on 2-liter bottles of soda yesterday, and stocked up for entertaining this holiday season. Like a big dummy, I forgot they were in my trunk over night, and when I went and retrieved them this morning, they were partially frozen.
They weren't completely frozen, they were definitely still more liquid than ice. Will this soda be OK to serve at a party or will it be a flat disgusting mess by late December?
They weren't completely frozen, they were definitely still more liquid than ice. Will this soda be OK to serve at a party or will it be a flat disgusting mess by late December?
We used to semi-freeze bottles of soda to keep them cold for long car trips. They'll be fine.
posted by xingcat at 5:56 AM on November 30, 2013
posted by xingcat at 5:56 AM on November 30, 2013
Colder beverages retain co2 better, no fizz problems. Just set them aside now wherever you planned and don't worry about it. Don't open them semi thawed though as you'll get some parts which froze better (the water) than others and end up drinking all the flavor none of the water.
posted by chasles at 6:02 AM on November 30, 2013
posted by chasles at 6:02 AM on November 30, 2013
The only thing that I'd say is, while rare, it is possible that there may be some pressure change associated with thawing it out. Let it thaw slowly and preferably not right next to expensive clothing. The shower, with the door closed or curtain drawn, is an ideal place.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:10 AM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:10 AM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: There is no way for gas or liquid to get in or out, and freezing doesn't chemically affect sugars or salts or acids or whatever else is in the syrup. So everything that's inside the bottle post-thaw is chemically and physically the same as it was pre-freeze. If the bottles haven't stretched, which they're unlikely to have done given that freezing was nowhere near complete and that a gas pocket exists (soda bottles are never filled 100% full of liquid), then their volume remains the same, which means the internal equilibrium gas pressure for any given temperature will also be the same, which means that if you give the bottles a few hours to settle to equilibrium after they thaw, the concentration of dissolved gas will also revert to its pre-freeze level.
In other words: as long as you give them time to settle down, they won't lose any fizz.
posted by flabdablet at 7:05 AM on November 30, 2013 [5 favorites]
In other words: as long as you give them time to settle down, they won't lose any fizz.
posted by flabdablet at 7:05 AM on November 30, 2013 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I hope you opened one that was partially frozen because that is the most delicious way to consume soda.
posted by JDHarper at 7:12 AM on November 30, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by JDHarper at 7:12 AM on November 30, 2013 [6 favorites]
I occasionally partially freeze a can of soda and it always seems pretty flat to me when I drink it, but after reading this thread, maybe that's just my perception? I'd taste it after thawing to see what you think.
posted by JenMarie at 8:19 AM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by JenMarie at 8:19 AM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hi, Michigan winter survivor here - I feel like, growing up, we used to let a couple of 2-liters freeze accidentally almost every year. Our theory was always that, if you let it warm up enough to thaw first, No One Has to Know. We definitely didn't perceive any lack of carbonation, and in principle I agree with flabdablet that I don't see how it would lose gas anyway.
I ALSO agree with JDHarper that slushy soda is the most delicious kind! Fun fact: pressurized soda has a lower freezing point, so if you let it warm up JUST enough to appear liquidy again, it will slush up right when you open it and release the pressure, which looks and tastes pretty awesome.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 9:34 AM on November 30, 2013
I ALSO agree with JDHarper that slushy soda is the most delicious kind! Fun fact: pressurized soda has a lower freezing point, so if you let it warm up JUST enough to appear liquidy again, it will slush up right when you open it and release the pressure, which looks and tastes pretty awesome.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 9:34 AM on November 30, 2013
Just as a note: my comment on pressure change comes from forgetting I had a 12 pack of soda in my car before a winter vacation, coming back home to find my car towed from the street, and finding several exploded sodas half frozen inside my car. The upside was the car was 10 years old at that point, and I intended on driving it into the ground. That's not really an upside, but it did mean that I didn't worry about it killing the resale value.
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:46 AM on November 30, 2013
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:46 AM on November 30, 2013
I tend to disagree with those who say the pop won't lose the fizz. While the explanations make sense, my experience has been the opposite. Those times that I've accidentally left pop in the freezer too long, upon pulling it out, letting it thaw and then opening it, the pop was noticeably flatter than pop that hadn't been frozen.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by Sonic_Molson at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2013
You have to make sure all the ice is out before you open it. If there is ice, it will tend to fizz a lot - as there are a lot of nucleation sites for the CO2 to come out of solution (making it flatter than it should be).
posted by defcom1 at 6:54 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by defcom1 at 6:54 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Those times that I've accidentally left pop in the freezer too long, upon pulling it out, letting it thaw and then opening it, the pop was noticeably flatter than pop that hadn't been frozen.
Clarification: in order to lose no fizz, you need to make sure that the gas forced out by the freezing process has indeed re-dissolved to equilibrium* before you open the bottle, and this takes time.
Given that mzwz implied that it will be nearly a month before these bottles get opened, that will certainly have had time to happen.
*Gas molecules constantly diffuse across the boundary between gas and liquid. At any given temperature, there will be a gas pressure and a level of concentration of dissolved gas such that this diffusion happen at equal rates in both directions. Temporary disruptions caused by shaking or freezing can lower the concentration of dissolved gas below equilibrium and raise the gas pressure in the pocket under the cap above it, which leads to greater gas loss on opening the bottle, which means the dissolved gas concentration stays lowered i.e. the soda is flat.
posted by flabdablet at 8:44 PM on November 30, 2013
Clarification: in order to lose no fizz, you need to make sure that the gas forced out by the freezing process has indeed re-dissolved to equilibrium* before you open the bottle, and this takes time.
Given that mzwz implied that it will be nearly a month before these bottles get opened, that will certainly have had time to happen.
*Gas molecules constantly diffuse across the boundary between gas and liquid. At any given temperature, there will be a gas pressure and a level of concentration of dissolved gas such that this diffusion happen at equal rates in both directions. Temporary disruptions caused by shaking or freezing can lower the concentration of dissolved gas below equilibrium and raise the gas pressure in the pocket under the cap above it, which leads to greater gas loss on opening the bottle, which means the dissolved gas concentration stays lowered i.e. the soda is flat.
posted by flabdablet at 8:44 PM on November 30, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Tanizaki at 5:36 AM on November 30, 2013