Can soft drinks be frozen?

As summer approaches, you may be thinking of some creative ways to prepare delicious drinks for the beach or entertaining.

Maybe you’ve looked in your pantry and seen a stack of soda cans and wondered “what would happen if I put a can in the freezer?”

So can soft drinks be frozen? No, you cannot freeze soft drinks in a can or pitcher. The carbonation of the soda and the expansion of the liquid will expand when frozen and could cause the can to explode in the freezer or when you try to open it. However, you can freeze the soda in ice cube trays.

The answer is definitely no, unless you want to risk your can or bottle exploding in the freezer from carbonation.

Read on to learn more about why you shouldn’t put that can of soda in the freezer, and what happens if you do.

What happens if you freeze the soda?

Although it may be tempting to freeze your soda into an icy treat, you should keep that can out of the freezer.

I once left a can of soda in the freezer section of my mini fridge and it practically blew the door off.

Soft drinks are made mostly of water, and when water freezes, it expands. Since soft drink cans and bottles are often filled to the top, there is no room for this liquid to go once it is frozen.

They’re also carbonated, a process in which carbon dioxide is infused into the liquid under high pressure to give that bubbly, fizzy end product. This gas creates that satisfying fizz of a good can of soda.

Add the expansion of frozen water to the pressure of carbonation and you have a recipe for disaster.

When your soda freezes, it expands and pushes carbon dioxide out, since it’s much less soluble in solids than it is in liquids. This can cause the cans to warp and possibly even burst, either in the freezer or when opened.

Can soda be frozen in ice cubes?

The main problem with freezing soft drinks arises if you try to freeze them in the container they came in. As a general rule of thumb, water-based liquids (such as juice or soda) expand by around 10% once frozen. So unless it comes in a bottle or can with a lot of extra space, there will be problems.

But can you freeze a soft drink in an ice cube tray? If possible. Just make sure you leave room on the tray for the soda to expand and not spill everywhere.

Remember, however, that by freezing the soda the CO2 will be expelled, so you will lose the fizz when it thaws.

You should keep in mind that if you freeze the soda in an ice cube tray, you will not get smooth ice cubes, but something with a rather grainy texture. The reason the soda freezes this texture is that it pushes the water molecules out of the way they need to be to form ice.

The only way to get smooth soda ice cubes is to use something that freezes carbon dioxide, like dry ice or liquid nitrogen. But if it’s more of a slush refreshment you’re after, freezing in an ice cube tray works great!

Can soda be frozen in a glass?

Just like freezing soda in an ice bucket, you can also freeze it in a glass, as long as you leave some space at the top. A good rule of thumb is to leave about an inch of space below the rim for it to expand.

Remember that freezing your soda will always give you a grainy texture and you will lose carbonation when frozen. So you’ll have all the flavor of your soda, but you probably won’t get the same, if any, fizz once you freeze it.

Can soda water be frozen?

Sparkling water carbonates in the same way as flavored and sugary sodas. The only difference is that it does not contain sugar. So, no, you can’t freeze soda water in the can or bottle it comes in or it will probably explode.

However, you can freeze soda water in an ice cube tray or glass, but like soda, it will lose its carbonation and end up with a rather grainy texture and not like a solid ice cube.