WEBVTT - Why is a popsicle called a quiescently frozen confection?

0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.840
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from house stuffworks dot com, where

0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:14.560
<v Speaker 1>smart happens. I am Mars Brain with today's question, why

0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:19.759
<v Speaker 1>is a popsicle called a quiescently frozen confection? Popsicles have

0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:23.040
<v Speaker 1>been around for nearly a hundred years. Ever since a

0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.360
<v Speaker 1>cold night in nine five, when eleven year old Frank

0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:29.240
<v Speaker 1>Epperson left a cup of soda pop with a stirring

0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.640
<v Speaker 1>stick in it outside, popsicles have been a cool and

0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:36.360
<v Speaker 1>flavorful treat for young and old al While the trademark

0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:40.199
<v Speaker 1>Popsicle brand is the most popular, the industry sells more

0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.280
<v Speaker 1>than a billion of the variously flavored ice on his

0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.880
<v Speaker 1>Stick treats every year, and the vast majority of them

0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:51.440
<v Speaker 1>are quiescently frozen. This phrase actually refers to the fact

0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:55.240
<v Speaker 1>that flavored ice is simply put in a refrigerator and frozen.

0:00:55.640 --> 0:01:00.480
<v Speaker 1>The word quiescently means in a RESTful state. This distinction

0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:04.080
<v Speaker 1>is made because ice cream and most other frozen confections

0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:08.320
<v Speaker 1>are stirred or agitated in the process known as overrunning.

0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.520
<v Speaker 1>For example, overrunning is what causes the ice cream mixture

0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:16.520
<v Speaker 1>to expand as it slowly freezes, by creating little bubbles

0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:20.720
<v Speaker 1>of air in the mixture. It requires constant agitation until

0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:25.279
<v Speaker 1>the confection is ready Quiescently frozen mixtures are not stirred

0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:29.200
<v Speaker 1>or agitated at all after the mixture is prepared. If

0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:31.800
<v Speaker 1>you've ever tried to make flavored ice at home, you

0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.440
<v Speaker 1>may have noticed that the flavor does not distribute evenly.

0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.800
<v Speaker 1>Often you have an ice cube with a confection of

0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:42.360
<v Speaker 1>flavor at the bottom. In the case of flavored ice,

0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:45.679
<v Speaker 1>the water freezes at thirty two degrees fahrenheit or zero

0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:48.840
<v Speaker 1>degrees celsius, while most of the other ingredients have a

0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:53.920
<v Speaker 1>lower freezing temperature. Commercial vendors of flavored ice use stabilizing

0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:57.560
<v Speaker 1>ingredients that keep the syrup, flavoring, and other ingredients from

0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:01.360
<v Speaker 1>separating from the ice as it forms. Instead, these other

0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:05.080
<v Speaker 1>ingredients become a sort of semi frozen lubricant between the

0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:11.880
<v Speaker 1>ice crystals, giving popsicles their slushy consistency. Be sure to

0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:14.720
<v Speaker 1>check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future.

0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:17.359
<v Speaker 1>Join How Stuff Work staff as we explore the most

0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:22.440
<v Speaker 1>promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The How Stuff Works

0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.760
<v Speaker 1>I Fine app has arrived. Download it today on iTunes.