How Long Does It Take Soda to Freeze? [A Complete Guide]

I don’t know about you, but this happens a lot to me. I often leave my can of soda on the dining table instead of the fridge. 

 When you take the first gulp, the desired cold soda pop is missing.  you’re stuck with an unappetizing warm drink. 

 Sure, you can drop some ice cubes to make it cold, but I think diluting your soda is such a waste of a refreshing drink! I am sure you’ll agree.

 So, plop the carbonated drink into the fridge to chill. On a hot, humid day, it can take an hour to get cold enough for your liking. But when you want the drink like right now…

The freezer seems a great choice.

Before you drop that bottle of Grape Soda or Virgil Cherry into the freezer, it’s important to know:

How long does it take soda to freeze?

Carbonated drinks take up to 3 hours to freeze, and they don’t freeze completely at that. 

The actual freezing time depends on the sugar content in your drink and the temperature in your freezer.

And what happens when you left it in the freezer for a while?

With this guide, I try to answer all your ice soda-related questions including whether you should be freezing soda.

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Does Soda Freeze Well?

 If you remember the school science lessons, you know water molecules bind together and move from liquid to solid state. This happens when the temperature falls below a certain point. Most liquids follow this pattern.

 Your soda, on the other hand, works differently. All thanks to the presence of carbon dioxide and added sugar syrup. 

 As soda is often nothing but carbonated water (with sugar and flavorings), it will never completely freeze into solid ice. It will achieve a semi-frozen consistency.

How Long Can Soda Last In The Freezer?

 According to experts, most carbonated drinks take anything between 2-3 hours to freeze. When you remove the soda bottle from the freezer after 2 hours, you can expect a slushy-like mixture that crumbles on the touch.

 As I’ve mentioned earlier, the freezer temperature and sugar quantities make a difference in how faster it freezes. 

 Different fizzy drinks will freeze at particular temperatures but within a small range. The more sugar in your drink, the sooner it will freeze, and at much lower temperatures. 

 A normal 16 Oz coke bottle will freeze at 28-30°F (0°C), whereas the same bottle of diet coke will freezer at 32°F (0°C) and for a lesser time. 

What Happens When You Freeze Soda for Longer?

 You’ve put your soda cans in the freezer and it's more than three hours now. You forgot all about it.

 You except one of these two things to happen when you open the freezer door.

 One: your tin can has sprung a leak and you have fizzy soda oozing all over.

 Two: your soda in a glass container has exploded leaving a bigger mess and even glass shards in your freezer.

 Why does carbonated drink explode in the freezer?

When cola or other soda is kept in the freezer, it begins to lose the carbon dioxide that gives it the distinct fizz we all love.

 At freezing temperatures, water and other liquids begin to expand to almost 9% of their original volume, before they turn to ice. Furthermore, the dissolved carbon dioxide gets pushed out from the soda. 

 This dual action of the contents puts pressure on the bottle or can. After a certain point of time, it cannot handle the pressure and begins to leak or explode depending on the packaging material.

 Let’s look at what happens when you freeze fizzy drinks that come in different packing materials.

Freezing cans of soda 

 I’d avoid freezing metal or aluminum cans. These tend to be tightly packed with liquid. Freezing these cans will lead to substantial pressure from both expanding water and carbon dioxide. 

 This can cause them to burst a hole or leak out from the top, at the very least.

Freezing glass bottles of soda 

 Most types of glass, unless it is tempered or canning glass, cannot withstand the pressure of water expansion. Nor can they handle the temperature changes that occur while freezing liquids, unless they are certified as freezer-safe. 

 Add a sealed glass bottle filled with carbonated water and you have recipe for disaster. The soda bottle will most likely shatter in the freezer. 

Freezing plastic bottles of soda 

 This is the safest type of storage container you can use in the freezer. The plastic bottle won’t burst a hole or explode inside your cold storage. 

 But excess pressure and extreme temperatures can sometimes cause the lid to pop out and the liquid to spill out. 

 If you still want to freeze your soda, go with the PET bottles. 

 You may also like: What Happens When You Put Ice In A Deep Fryer?

How long should you chill carbonated drinks in the freezer?

 Soda with the standard quality of sugar will freeze faster compared to a sugar-free drink with alternative sweeteners. However, these drinks chill rather quickly, in twenty to thirty minutes. 

 If you’re not planning on making slushies, you should chill your sodas for no more than an hour in the freezer. 

 If you’re not in a tearing hurry or you’re likely to forget about your fizzy drinks, store them in the fridge until you need them.

Will freezer soda can turn into ice after opening?

 On opening the cap of a frozen bottle of coke, you’ll notice a pop. This is the fizz-creating gas (co2) being released. 

When this happens, some ice crystals can form on the surface, giving you a delicious soda pop slushie.

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Final Thoughts

 You can place your Dr. Pepper and Fanta bottles in the freezer to them chill faster. While carbonated water doesn’t solidify completely due to the dissolved carbon dioxide, it freezes to a semi-solid state at temperatures below 30°F. 

 The ideal time to chill your soda is twenty minutes in the freezer. Beyond three hours, your soda can leak or explode, especially if the container is made of aluminum or ordinary glass.

Have you tried freezing your favorite can of soda? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 I tried to answer some common questions about soda and chilling them safely.

Can you use the freezer to cool soda?

As you’ve seen, you can use the freezer to chill your soda rapidly and quickly. Stick it in for 20 minutes and you have a cold drink without the mess or slush.

Will soda freeze in an open container?

A cup of soda won’t explode and will only overflow when it has been filled to the top. However, the soda will not turn into ice pops without the addition of dry ice or liquid nitrogen.

Does soda lose fizz after freezing?

While some of the gas is likely to escape when you open the lid of a frozen soda bottle. it wouldn’t have a drastic effect on the taste or fizz.

Can you thaw frozen soda?

Since the soda never really solidifies, it is relatively easy to get it back to the liquid form, while preserving all that fizz.

 You can thaw it in the fridge overnight or leave it at room temperature for a few minutes to help it defrost.