Timeline for Why doesn't frozen sugar solution taste sweet?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
20 events
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| Apr 25, 2017 at 14:11 | comment | added | Stephan Luis | This phase diagram that seems to answer the question about sugar concentration doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/biocrystal/water-sucrose.php according to that at -10 ℃ a 60% by weight solution of sugar will not produce that ice (pure water)/ sugar-water mixture. Wow, that's a lot of sugar! Bon appetit! (Although that article is more about frozen cells, yuck!) | |
| Apr 25, 2017 at 14:04 | comment | added | Stephan Luis | Re above there's also this phase diagram but no concentrations: doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/biocrystal/water-sucrose.php | |
| Apr 25, 2017 at 14:01 | comment | added | Oscar Lanzi | There may be ingredients other than sugar, as well. In my juice I discovered later that the juice developed a foam when I poured it (not freezing). Could surfactants be affecting the (size scale of) phase partitioning? | |
| Apr 25, 2017 at 13:55 | comment | added | Stephan Luis | I'm wondering the concentration of sugar (g/ml) for the eutectic mixture at -4 ℃. When making the popsicles, how much sugar to start with? My guess is that a saturated room temperature solution is what most people use?? Found this link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1070427207020061, but it's a paid for publication. | |
| Apr 25, 2017 at 10:21 | history | edited | Oscar Lanzi | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Added experimental result.
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| Apr 25, 2017 at 7:52 | comment | added | Luaan | @Pere I would expect that in a glass of water, the ice would start to form on the edges (surface) of the glass, which would kind of make it freeze from the outside in, with the center-top being the last to freeze (before the glass cracks). But I wouldn't expect it to be simple - depending on the solution and purity of the water before adding the solute, and the thickness of the glass, and the material (and smoothness) of the glass... it can also freeze from the top to bottom. But note that the OP would likely be licking from top; the sweeter part is either in the center or at the bottom. | |
| Apr 24, 2017 at 22:55 | comment | added | Pere | Water doesn't freeze from the outside: it freezes from up to bottom because ice floats. If the answer were right, liking the bottom of the ice cube should taste sweet - even sweeter than water tasted. Anyway, because of my child experience of using a freezer to make popsicles, I'm afraid @Luaan is right and what the OP experiences is just that frozen food tastes less sweet, even if it's homogeneous. | |
| Apr 24, 2017 at 16:55 | comment | added | Aaron McMillin | Can you color the sugar (or use something else) to be able to see these veins in the ice? | |
| Apr 24, 2017 at 11:59 | comment | added | Mindwin Remember Monica | @Luaan that is because nobody just gives one single lick to ice cream. | |
| Apr 24, 2017 at 9:28 | comment | added | Luaan | @Mindwin But icecream is still needs a lot more sugar to get the sweet taste than a room-temperature treat. It's not quite as bad as what the OP is observing, but it's a very real effect anyway. | |
| Apr 24, 2017 at 3:25 | comment | added | Malady | So, in summary: "The sugar is on the inside of the ice. You're licking the outside, which is nearly all water." ? | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 23:55 | comment | added | Oscar Lanzi | @CopperKettle that's basically how it works. A binary mixture is eutectic (where it can be so) only at the right concentration of both components. At any other composition the component in excess freezes out to get the composition to eutectic, then it's freezing party time for everybody. | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 15:40 | comment | added | CowperKettle | So sugar water is a non-eutectic mixture? Interesting. And this non-eutectic mixture cools down until enough pure water freezes, transforming the rest (sugar+ yet unmelted water) into a eutectic mixture. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this. | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 13:50 | vote | accept | paracetamol | ||
| Apr 23, 2017 at 13:15 | comment | added | bobflux | Yes, that's why you need to stir and churn continuously if you want to make sorbet. | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 13:03 | history | edited | Oscar Lanzi | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Clarification added based on comments
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| Apr 23, 2017 at 12:48 | comment | added | Mindwin Remember Monica | @PrittBalagopal they do get numb with frozen foods, but the amount of heat loss needed to balance the temperature drop from licking an ice cube is not enough to cause such effect. It is the same as frozen ice cream. You sense the taste once the bite melts. | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 12:26 | comment | added | Pritt says Reinstate Monica | Another possible reason could be that taste-buds get kinda deactivated at low temperatures. | |
| Apr 23, 2017 at 10:29 | history | edited | Oscar Lanzi | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Clarification/elaboratoon.
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| Apr 23, 2017 at 10:03 | history | answered | Oscar Lanzi | CC BY-SA 3.0 |