Where To Store Your Fizzy Water So It Doesn’t Go Flat (No Special Equipment Required)

In the fridge, it's all about location, location, location.

What is it about fizzy water that quenches thirst unlike anything else? It's all in the bubbles, and those bubbles are the reason I always keep some of the sparkling stuff on hand in case I suddenly feel parched, crave a mocktail, or want to whip up a batch of tempura. Fizzy water is a non-negotiable in my kitchen, and if you’ve read this far, chances are it is in yours too.

The one problem with bubbly H2O is that once it's been opened it rapidly loses its fizz. Whether you buy it in a glass bottle with a metal top or a plastic bottle with a screw cap (forget about keeping an opened can of fizzy water from going flat—that’s impossible!), after a day or so the water loses its effervescence, at which point I’d rather drink from the tap.

Luckily for those of us who crave tiny bubbles, I found a solution to extend the life of fizzy bottled water and it’s unbelievably easy: Store it in the coldest part of your fridge.

Why Fizzy Water Loses Its Fizz

The little bubbles that differentiate sparkling from still water are actually clusters of carbon dioxide molecules looking to escape. Carbon dioxide is a gas, and because gasses don’t dissolve into liquids, it remains trapped inside the water until the pressure is released by breaking the bottle’s seal.

At that point the carbon dioxide molecules form little bubbles, float to the surface, and pop into the air. In other words, the minute you crack open that seal, the clock starts. This is why, if you’re like me, you feel pressured to finish the whole bottle in one go.

But there’s more to this fizzy phenomenon than just time: Temperature is also a factor. When kept at colder temperatures, fizzy water and other carbonated beverages stay bubbly longer because the rate of degassing (those bubbles floating to the surface and popping) is slower. You may have even noticed that refrigerated fizzy water keeps longer than it does at room temperature.

How To Keep Fizzy Water From Going Flat

Because temperature plays such an important role in the rate at which fizzy water falls flat, I did a little experiment to test the theory and the results were astounding.

I bought two big bottles of fizzy water, opened them, drank a small glass of each, and then stuck them in the fridge. Here’s where it gets interesting: I popped one bottle in the door of the fridge and the other all the way in the back, in the coldest section.

I didn’t think it would make any difference at all. The fridge is pretty much the same temperature throughout, right? Wrong.

After three days, the bottle in the back of the fridge was noticeably fizzier than the one in the door. This means I was able to triple the life of my sparkling water without any gadgets or fancy bottle stoppers. Easy!

Needless to say, the next time I stock up, the back of my fridge will be full of fizzy water, and I won't stress about finishing the whole bottle in one go.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.