How to Quick-Chill Warm Beverages in 15 Minutes
Guests just arrived and your white wine or beer is room temperature? Use the salt-and-ice thermal hack to drop the temperature to freezing in a matter of minutes.
The Warm Drink Emergency
Hosting a dinner party is stressful enough without realizing that you forgot to put the white wine, champagne, or beer in the refrigerator. Serving a warm Pinot Grigio is a culinary faux pas, but simply placing the bottles in the fridge will take at least two to three hours to reach a pleasant drinking temperature.
Even tossing the bottles into the freezer is a slow process (taking about 45 minutes to an hour), and runs the risk of the liquid freezing, expanding, and exploding the glass if you forget about them.
The Thermodynamics of Salt Water
To rapidly chill a beverage, you must surround it with a medium that extracts heat quickly. Air (like in a freezer) is a terrible conductor of heat. Water is a fantastic conductor. But regular ice water bottoms out at 32°F (0°C).
- By adding a massive amount of salt to ice water, you trigger a chemical reaction called "freezing point depression."
- The salt forces the ice to melt rapidly, which absorbs heat from the surrounding environment. It also prevents the melted water from freezing back into ice.
- This allows the temperature of the liquid water to drop significantly below freezing (down to about 15°F or -9°C) while remaining a liquid.
- This sub-freezing liquid completely surrounds the glass bottle, pulling the heat out of the beverage exponentially faster than a freezer ever could.
Step-by-Step Rapid Chilling
This trick works for wine bottles, glass beer bottles, and aluminum soda cans. (It is the exact same science used in old-fashioned ice cream makers).
- Step 1: Find a large container. A metal bucket or a large stockpot works best, as metal retains the cold well.
- Step 2: Place your warm bottles into the empty bucket.
- Step 3: Fill the bucket halfway with ice cubes.
- Step 4: The secret ingredient. Pour at least 1 to 2 cups of cheap table salt or Kosher salt directly over the ice. The exact amount isn't strictly important, just use a lot of it.
- Step 5: Fill with water. Pour cold tap water into the bucket until the bottles are submerged up to their necks. (You need water, not just ice. Ice cubes only touch the bottle in a few places; the liquid water surrounds it entirely).
- Step 6: The Stir. Use a large spoon to violently stir the ice, water, and salt mixture for a minute. You will instantly feel the outside of the bucket become painfully cold.
- Step 7: Let it sit. Leave the bottles in the super-chilled brine. Give the bucket a quick stir every 5 minutes to keep the coldest water circulating against the glass.
- Step 8: The Result. A standard can of beer will be ice cold in 5 to 7 minutes. A thick glass bottle of wine will be perfectly chilled in 12 to 15 minutes.
When the time is up, pull the bottles out and quickly wipe them down with a damp towel to remove the salty residue before pouring. Your guests will never know you forgot.