Why is a popsicle called a quiescently frozen confection?

been around for nearly a hundred years. Ever since a cold night in nine five, when eleven year old Frank Epperson left a cup of soda pop with a stirring stick in it outside, popsicles have been a cool and flavorful treat for young and old al While the trademark Popsicle brand is the most popular, the industry sells more than a billion of the variously flavored ice on his Stick treats every year, and the vast majority of them

are quiescently frozen. This phrase actually refers to the fact that flavored ice is simply put in a refrigerator and frozen. The word quiescently means in a RESTful state. This distinction is made because ice cream and most other frozen confections are stirred or agitated in the process known as overrunning. For example, overrunning is what causes the ice cream mixture to expand as it slowly freezes, by creating little bubbles

of air in the mixture. It requires constant agitation until the confection is ready Quiescently frozen mixtures are not stirred or agitated at all after the mixture is prepared. If you've ever tried to make flavored ice at home, you may have noticed that the flavor does not distribute evenly. Often you have an ice cube with a confection of

flavor at the bottom. In the case of flavored ice, the water freezes at thirty two degrees fahrenheit or zero degrees celsius, while most of the other ingredients have a lower freezing temperature. Commercial vendors of flavored ice use stabilizing ingredients that keep the syrup, flavoring, and other ingredients from separating from the ice as it forms. Instead, these other ingredients become a sort of semi frozen lubricant between the

ice crystals, giving popsicles their slushy consistency. Be sure to check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join How Stuff Work staff as we explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The How Stuff Works I Fine app has arrived. Download it today on iTunes.