Carbonated water might, by and large, go mostly unnoticed, but besides being a uniquely refreshing drink, it can also be used for gardening, cleaning, even cooking!
Wait a second, cooking?!
Well, even though you might not have thought so, carbonated water is very useful in cooking.
However, that in itself begs the question, can you boil carbonated water?
Can you boil carbonated water?
Heating carbonated water will cause it to shed all the CO2 dissolved in it faster. Boiling carbonated water eventually eliminates the carbonation completely. It is quite safe to boil carbonated water, and it doesn’t even damage kettles. The only way to boil carbonated water that is dangerous is to boil it in a pressure cooker.
The ins and outs of boiling carbonated water
If the question is whether it is possible to actually boil carbonated water, then yes, as explained above, it is possible.
The process of boiling carbonated water is a straightforward procedure that is exactly the same as when you’d boil your normal water from the tap.
It is possible to set the burner’s temperature at ‘high’ to boil carbonated water.
Other than that, everything performs just like tap water does–even in a chemical sense.
Actually, most people would be shocked to discover that carbonated water doesn’t seem to be a special substance when you consider natural liquids and substances around the globe.
Around the world, there are lots of places that produce naturally occurring carbonated mineral water.
This means that the carbonation of the water does not by itself have enough of an effect on the liquid to alter its capacity to boil.
So, carbonation does not significantly alter the point at which it boils (see below in the FAQs section.)
The effects of the carbonation process in water will begin to show up when additional ingredients are introduced into the mix.
This opens up greater possibilities for different chemical reactions to occur, even if they might be milder than they would otherwise be.
Because carbonated water is so similar to ordinary tap water, most of the attention on working using the carbonated water in a kitchen setting focuses on the normal activities of simply cooking meals with water, rather than fretting over the boiling point and unusual interactions.
In short, carbonated water is easily and safely boiled or used in cooking, pretty much exactly the same way you utilize your ordinary mineral or tap water.
Caveat. As mentioned above, DO NOT use carbonated water in a pressure cooker!
Is it possible to use boiled carbonated water in teas and coffees?
Now you’ve learned how to boil carbonated water, you’re probably wondering what else you can do with that knowledge.
Well, let’s investigate what, if any, effects carbonated water has when used in teas or coffees.
For a start, both tea and coffee require boiling water. Fortunately, neither introduces too many new chemical elements into water that could significantly alter everything, bringing unforeseeable and/or awkward ramifications with them.
It is important to note that you boil the carbonation out of the water when heating it.
In effect, you are simply repeating the process of distillation.
You are left with pure water (not accounting for any salts that might already be in the water, though).
So, in this way, you can absolutely prepare teas and coffees using carbonated boiling water since, in its entirety, the liquid will be closer to distilled water and won’t have any of the properties of carbonated water.
How does one make carbonated coffee?
It would be a very complicated method of obtaining water for your coffee or tea, but if you’re in a situation where you just have carbonated water–and you really want one of these drinks–well, now you know you can make it work.
Simply boiling the carbonation out of carbonated water isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs for excitement-seeking individuals.
Maybe it will pop into someone’s head to wonder what happens if you don’t boil carbonated water before making tea or coffee?
For coffee, you may use a cold-brewing method and prepare the coffee in a sealed bottle to preserve any carbonation you can.
It is quite likely that the beverage will continue to be carbonated since the method of making coffee is unlikely to take away the carbonated effects that the drink has, leaving you with a rather unusual drink.
However, if you’re really into carbonated coffee and you’re searching for a carbonated variant of coffee, the best option is to prepare the coffee in the same way you would normally do and then carbonate it using a specialized carbonator.
It’s an awkward process, but there’s probably a reason why carbonated coffee isn’t big with most coffee lovers.
How does one make carbonated tea?
In the case of tea, the procedure and the methods are similar. The method you choose to brew tea will leave you with carbonated water that actually isn’t carbonated at all.
This means that the tea you drink will be exactly the same as the one you normally drink.
In reality, there isn’t any significant taste difference because you’ll mostly have the same water at the end of the tea-brewing process.
The answer will depend on your perspective. If you look at it one way, you’re using carbonated water to make tea.
However, if you look at it with steely-eyed objectivity, you’re not actually drinking carbonated tea. Unfortunately, you’ll never be able to carbonate tea.
In summary, you can boil carbonated water with tea and coffee without problems because the process used to make tea and coffee will neutralize the carbonation.
There are different ways to increase the carbonation of drinks if that’s your goal specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions About Can You Boil Carbonated Water
Is boiling carbonated water okay?
The procedure of boiling carbonated water is quite straightforward and is exactly the same as how you boil standard tap water. However, because the released carbon dioxide expands as a cube of volume as per Boyle’s law (if you don’t understand that, simply replace it with ‘expands hugely’ in your mind), under no circumstances, boil carbonated water in a pressure cooker.
What happens when carbonated water is boiled?
If you heat carbonated water to a boil, sodium bicarbonate will break down into sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide will be released into the air. If you use carbonated to make tea or coffee, keep in mind that some sodium carbonate will remain in your drink. However, for most people, it is insufficient in quantity to even make a difference to the drink’s taste.
What is carbonated water’s boiling point?
Interestingly, carbonated water boils at 204.8°F, which is slightly under the 212°F of pure water. This is anti-intuitive since the usual action of impurities in a liquid is to raise its boiling point.
Afterword: Can you boil carbonated water?
So, not only is it possible to boil carbonated water, it turns out that there are plenty of excellent ways to use carbonated water in your cooking too!
For example, carbonated water makes pancakes, waffles, and cake rise better and have a fluffier texture.
When used to cook vegetables, they also give the veggies a brighter, livelier, fresher appearance.