Why does melted ice taste different than other water?

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wigglyspider
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29 Nov 2009, 10:34 am

.. I looked on, like, Yahoo Answers or whateveritis, and everyone answered "because ice cubes are made from tap water!" durhurrrrr. All I drink is tap water. But tap water that used to have ice cubes in it still tastes different from tap water that had no ice. And it also tastes different from tap water that's been chilled (like in the fridge) but not frozen. AND icicles have the ice-water taste too, even though they're made from rain and not any kind of tap or processed water. So it's definitely an ice taste.
But why does the water still have the ice taste even after the ice has completely melted???

I thought you guys would be more likely to know than the general population. XD;


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digger1
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29 Nov 2009, 11:22 am

could be that your freezer has stuff in it that's causing a taste.

or maybe the freezing process kills or deactivates some chemicals like fluoride or chlorine.



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29 Nov 2009, 11:44 am

""All water has some impurities in it, even water that tastes fine when you drink it. But when you freeze this same water into ice cubes, these impurities are magnified and can become noticeable, sometimes disgustingly so. So, even if the water in your house tastes good when you drink it, this same water can make stinky ice""


That seems to be the answer that fits best, assuming that the ice isn't absorbing something from your freezer. But, since you included icicles in the question, that eliminates the freezer issue, and would likely mean that whatever the taste is that's being magnified, is present in most types of water, even rainwater.

Hmm....the world may never know. :lol:


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wigglyspider
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29 Nov 2009, 11:38 pm

Yes, it's in all ice I've ever tasted.. icicles and other frozen outdoor water, ice from restaurants, movie theaters, fast-food, ice from EVERY freezer I or my friends/family I've ever had. And it's not a taste that implies impurities or stagnation or anything like that, it's a clear taste. The taste is strongest when I chew the ice, I've noticed.
...it's driving me nuts! If it was ONLY in ice it wouldn't seem so weird, but the taste lingers in the water even when it returns to room temp! So strange.


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30 Nov 2009, 1:43 am

You know, when water freezes it expands, so I'm guessing that in the expansion process it's also soaking up whatever is nearby. Icicles outside taste like what dirty siding smells like, if that makes sense. So for a project, take something like lemon juice in a bowl and put a bowl of water next to the lemon juice in a freezer with just those two things in it, see if the water sucks up the fumes from the lemon.

This sounds correct in my mind, but so does alot of other things that shouldn't.


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886
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30 Nov 2009, 10:51 am

ice frozen in my freezer can often come out tasting like... apple juice.. o_O

i've always pondered it, though, i often have to clean the ice maker.


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Mazeut
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01 Dec 2009, 11:13 am

Perhaps its not the taste of ice but the temperature. The cold numbs your taste buds preventing you from tasting anything beyond the sensation of cold and wet. Chewing would add an abrasive element to it that might further numb you.

Have you tried drinking melted ice that has been allowed to reach room temperature? If it retains the "clear" taste then my guess is completely wrong.



Mariareese
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17 Aug 2015, 6:41 am

Dont know more about it, but Its taste is different.


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Spiderpig
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17 Aug 2015, 9:13 am

Most substances that dissolve in liquid water are insoluble in ice. As the solution freezes, they're forced out of the ice crystals and concentrate in the shrinking liquid phase. If the final temperature is low enough, they precipitate together with the water remaining in the liquid solution, but usually, in a regular freezer you may have at home, a small amount of very concentrated liquid solution remains, coating the ice and trapped in pockets inside it. This liquid will usually have a much stronger taste than the water did before being frozen. You can try it with a solution of salt or sugar, or any fruit juice. If you pick a big piece of clear ice, however, and wash away the layer of concentrated liquid solution, it'll be made of nearly pure water, and hence tasteless. Whether it stays pure after melting depends on where you let it melt, of course, but, if there's nothing for the molten ice to dissolve, this water will have essentially no taste, no matter what the water you initially froze tasted like.


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17 Aug 2015, 1:02 pm

I once watched an episode of How It's Made where they were making ice sculptures, and they said the water has to be as pure and clean as possible so the ice will be crystal clear. The water looked like it was better to drink than what comes out of taps or even bottles. Even more interesting was that one of the sculptures had a dispenser for alcoholic beverages inside it.



lostonearth35
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01 Sep 2015, 10:45 pm

I have a box of popsicles from last November. My mom bought them for me when I had a cold with a sore throat. But I don't usually like to eat popsicles when I don't have a sore throat, so they've been sitting in the freezer ever since. I'm wondering if I should throw them out? They might still be edible but they're probably freezer-burn-flavored by now. I feel bad wasting them, I should have given the rest away to my dad because he LOVES popsicles!



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02 Sep 2015, 12:52 am

lostonearth35 wrote:
I have a box of popsicles from last November. My mom bought them for me when I had a cold with a sore throat. But I don't usually like to eat popsicles when I don't have a sore throat, so they've been sitting in the freezer ever since. I'm wondering if I should throw them out? They might still be edible but they're probably freezer-burn-flavored by now. I feel bad wasting them, I should have given the rest away to my dad because he LOVES popsicles!


Such a tragic waste of popsicles....I like them to, don't really know why I'll eat them sore throat or not.


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AspE
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02 Sep 2015, 9:48 am

Short answer, it doesn't. All water has been ice at one point. It's psychological. I'm sure you haven't done a proper test with a control and distilled water.