The Science of Ice in Sodas
Deciding how much ice to put into your soda usually comes down to personal preference, some people like a lot and some none at all. Wired Magazine takes a more scientific approach to the issue, breaking down the cold, hard data. The Wired team went to their local cineplex and bought three Cokes with varying amounts of ice, here's what they found:
No Ice, Please
Temperature- 40° F
Volume of Liquid- 31 oz
Cost per Degree of Chilling- N/A
Total Cost for Cold- 0¢
Verdict- Not fridge-frosty, but at 40 degrees you can't call it tepid.
Easy On The Cubes
Temperature- 36° F
Volume of Liquid- 28 oz
Cost per Degree of Chilling- 9.8¢
Total Cost for Cold- 39¢
Verdict- Sacrifice just 3 ounces of fizzy corn syrup for a nice, nippy temp. Sweet.
Ice, Ice, Baby!
Temperature- 33° F
Volume of Liquid- 20 oz
Cost per Degree of Chilling- 20.3¢
Total Cost for Cold- 1.42¢
Verdict- Not worth it! Plus, sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (brain freeze).
And the winner? Easy on the cubes.
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11 Comments:
I actually like room temperature soda. Does that say something about me?
lawofmurphy at 3:44PM on 09/30/08
What's the temperature of the last 11 ounces of the no ice or 8 ounces of the easy on the ice? If it's room temperature by then, I don't want to drink it.
CVilleBilly at 4:20PM on 09/30/08
Guess I'm the freak job who wants a little soda with her ice?
MADFUD at 6:29PM on 09/30/08
I like tons of ice, but not for the cooling effect...if I'm drinking soda, I don't want to drink a cup of sugar. More ice=less soda=less calories=no sugar shock.
bialy at 7:01PM on 09/30/08
Some people have wayyyy too much time on their hands.
buffy at 8:06PM on 09/30/08
No matter what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.
jakdracula at 9:09AM on 10/01/08
At my cineplex, they push a button that (I thought) measured a certain amount of soda for each size. Uniform pours. Thus I don't understand how the amounts could differ by as much as 11 ounces. The no-ice version should reach 1/2 to 2/3 way up the cup. Hmmm.
lambowner at 10:03AM on 10/01/08
I always loved the elderly guests we'd have at the restaurant who would ask for no or little ice just to have more soda, even tho we had free refills. Depression era mindset, I suppose. Europeans could also get pretty snotty about not wanting any ice. Personally, I've always been in the middle-not too much, not too little. When it comes to drinking it out of a can though, I do like it to be pretty warm.
gastronomeg at 11:49AM on 10/01/08
As long as it's nice and fizzy, I don't need it to be cold. Same with beer. Carbonation is more important than temperature, IMO. Besides, soda and beer take up too much space in the fridge.
Kerosena at 2:54PM on 10/01/08
I'd rather see an analysis of the cooling effectiveness of different shaped ice.
I love fountain sodas with the rabbit-poo-shaped ice...and I'd like to know why it seems to taste better than other types of ice shape/soda combos.
wookie at 5:14PM on 10/01/08
Lambowner, the fountain can cut off when the cup is full, I'm guessing by some kind of backsplash sensor like a fuel pump. Taco Bell machines have paddles so you just put the drink under the spigot and it fills it.
I want to see an analysis of dilution, carbonation, and final temperature. Styrofoam cups have a 2 thin lines in them, a lower one for ice, and a top fill line. In my experience, these are actually ideal guides.
johndoughy at 3:47PM on 09/21/09