Got a bottle of soda that has been sitting in the freezer and now you want to thaw it out and you are not sure how to do it?
Well, today I am going to show you a couple methods that you can use to thaw frozen soda, especially if you are in a rush.
I have used these methods myself (as recently as last week) and trust me, they work!
So let us get right into it.
What to Know Before Defrosting Frozen Soda
Before we get into the different methods you can use to defrost your frozen soda, there are a couple of thawing tidbits that I think you will find to be pretty useful.
If Your Soda Didn’t Explode, Consider Yourself Lucky
You probably ended up freezing soda because you wanted a homemade slushi or you possibly wanted to cool your soda really quickly and forgot that it was sitting in the freezer.
While I freeze plastic 16 oz Coke bottles all the time with no problems, if you put cans, glass or a 2-liter soda in the freezer, there is a BIG POSSIBILITY that it could explode.
If you want all the buts and bolts of why that happens, then check out my how to freeze soda guide.
A quick overview of the guide is essentially this:
- Soda expands as it freezes
- There is a lot of pressure dude the expansion of the ice and carbon dioxide trying to escape.
- Excess pressure in a sealed inflexible container will often lead to a big explosion.
- That is not something you want to deal with.
Never Open a Frozen Soda Bottle Without Thawing It!
I know this sounds a bit overly dramatic, but based on personal experience, TRUST ME, it really isn’t a good idea to attempt to open a frozen soda bottle before it has thawed.
If my words aren’t too convincing, I jumped over to Twitter to see if others had the same sentiments and, well, you can see for yourself.
Frozen soda creates an immense pressure in the bottle. Once you open the bottle, that pressure will be trying to escape and it will be carrying any and everything with it.
If you make the mistake of opening the bottle of soda while it is still/slightly frozen, be prepared for a messy experience, with a lot of cleaning up thrown into the mix.
Does Frozen Soda Go Flat After Being Thawed?
There is this running thought that once you thaw frozen soda, it will go flat.
That is true and false.
Remember, there is this buildup of pressure as the CO2 gas has been forced out of the soda when it was frozen.
If you were to open the bottle, the CO2 gas that gives the soda the fizz will escape and you will end up with soda that is flat.
If you do not open the bottle, the same pressure that has built up, tends to help force the gas back into the water when thawing.
The key to not having flat soda after defrosting is patience.
The Best Way to Thaw Frozen Soda: 3 Methods That Work
Thawing soda is not rocket science and the methods that we cover below are pretty effective at defrosting, whether it is a 16 ounce or 2 Liter bottle.
If you have a frozen glass or can of Coke that not blown up and made your freezer a mess, then you can use these methods with no problem.
Let it Sit at Room Temperature
The easiest way to thaw a frozen bottle of soda is to let it sit at room temperature.
It should take about an hour or more for the bottle of soda to defrost properly, but this depends on the temperature of the room (is it hot, cool or cold).
If you want to speed up the process a bit, you could also place the frozen soda by a window that gets a lot of sun.
It is a good idea to place the bottle on some paper towels or in a plate/container as it thaws, as there is going to be a lot of condensation.
Water Bath
If you need your frozen soda defrosted quickly, then you could always put it in a water bath.
Warm water gets the job done in a zip, but you can also use cool water if none is available.
Warm Water Bath
Putting a frozen bottle of soda in warm water, is a sure fire way to get them thawed out quickly.
What you will do is fill a pan or kitchen sink (if you are thawing multiple or 2-liter soda bottles) with warm, as heating plastic with boiling water is a big no-no.
Place the bottle/bottles in the warm water and let them sit for about 10-15 minutes.
At the 5-minute mark, you should replace the water, as it should be a bit cold, with new warm water, as this will ensure that there is no slowdown in the thawing process.
A much quicker method is to run it under the kitchen faucet, using warm water.
The constant running of warm water over the bottle will quickly remove the cold away from the bottle, causing it to cool pretty quickly.
The only downside is that you will be wasting a lot of water to get this one bottle thawed.
You can also run it under the kitchen faucet, just ensure that the water is warm and not necessarily boiling hot.
Room Temperature Water Bath
If you do not have warm water or don’t want to be bothered with setting a pot to heat up on the stove, you could always just fill a container or kitchen sink with water from the kitchen faucet.
It is the same principle as above; it will just take a bit longer to thaw (maybe a couple extra minutes).
Just remember to constantly change the water once it gets cold, as this will help to speed up the defrosting process.
Overnight in the Refrigerator
This last method is not the quickest, but still pretty effective.
If you aren’t going to be immediately drinking your frozen soda, then you could always let it sit in the refrigerator and thaw out overnight.
It will take about 8 to 12 hours (overnight) for it to fully thaw.
If you have a refrigerator that is extra cold, don’t be surprised if you wake up the next day and the soda is still slightly frozen.
If that is the case, you can use any of the methods that we spoke about above to let it thaw out properly.
Wrapping it up
When it comes to thawing frozen soda, you have quite a couple of options available to you, depending on how quickly you need it defrosted.
So now that we’ve reached the end of the article, I want to hear your thoughts.
Which method above do you plan on using? Was there anything on the list you weren’t aware of beforehand?
Let me know in the comments in below, I am interested to hear.
