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Gatorade is something that, while very tasty, is a little hard to define. It’s a bright, athletic drink designed to help you replenish some electrolytes in just a few sips. If you drink a lot of Gatorade, you might be tempted to freeze it, but is this doable?
Can You Freeze Gatorade?
Yes, you can freeze Gatorade for up to 3 months. Decant the sports drink into a container larger than the original bottle before placing that into the freezer. Over time, this will freeze to a slushie-like consistency and can be drunk in that form or when thawed.
Does Gatorade Freeze Well? No
Can You Refreeze Gatorade? Yes
How to Freeze Gatorade
Before freezing Gatorade, you need to ensure that you have an appropriately sized container.
Water expands by roughly twenty percent of its original volume when it is frozen, meaning that, to calculate the required size for a container to freeze Gatorade in, you must calculate twenty percent of the volume of the bottle, and add it to the total volume.
For example, if you had 100ml of Gatorade, twenty percent would be 20ml. Therefore, the total volume of space needed to freeze the liquid is 120ml.
You can now get to freezing it:
- Transfer Liquid: Once you’ve got an appropriately sized container, we recommend transferring the Gatorade into it entirely.
- Seal: Seal the container all the way around, and double-check the seal. It’s no secret that Gatorade contains a lot of sugar, which will be a sticky mess to clean up if the container leaks.
- Freeze: Place the Gatorade container against one of the walls of your freezer – it will form an effective barrier against freezer burn thanks to the fact that it’s a smooth liquid.
It’s worth pointing out that Gatorade won’t freeze in the way you’re likely expecting. Because Gatorade is such a powerful solution of different sugars and salts, it doesn’t freeze to a solid, ice-cube consistency.
Instead, thanks to the fact that your freezer can only chill something so much, the Gatorade freezes into something of a slushy consistency, with chunks of ice and some liquid.
This is fine for the drink itself since the solution will reform once it’s thawed.
PepsiCo insists that the flavour of Gatorade comes from an emulsion, and emulsions can be damaged during freezing. Therefore, we would also point out that freezing your Gatorade may damage the flavour over time.
It’s unclear to what extent the flavour may diminish, but it’s likely to reduce by some degree.
Once the Gatorade is frozen in your freezer, it can be kept for around three months before there is a noticeable degradation of flavour from evaporation rather than from damage to the emulsion.
3 Tips for Freezing Gatorade
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing Gatorade to have the best results:
Use Airtight Containers
Airtight containers will be advisable when freezing any kind of liquid, as they significantly reduce the chances of any spillage in your freezer.
Line Your Freezer With It
Lining your freezer with liquids is a great way to slow the advance of freezer burn since you can allow the items on the outer layer of the freezer to get totally frozen before the innermost items get damaged at all.
Consider Blending After Thawing
Because the recipe for Gatorade is proprietary, we cannot know what’s in the flavour emulsion at the drink’s core. However, some emulsions can be generated through force, such as in mayonnaise. Therefore, blending your drink may reform the flavour emulsion.
How Long Can You Freeze Gatorade?
You can freeze Gatorade for around three months before the overall flavour of the drink starts to be reduced due to evaporation over time. You can still count on the drink to be safe after that, though the flavour may be affected.
How Long Does Gatorade Last in the Fridge?
Gatorade can be kept in the fridge for between 3 and 4 days once opened with the lid fitted tightly. Beyond that, the flavour will degrade, and it will lose some fizz.
How Do You Defrost Gatorade?
The best way to defrost Gatorade is to leave it in your fridge overnight. During that time, it will quickly thaw, and the fridge temperature will be too low for bacterial growth to occur.
You can, of course, also consume the Gatorade when it is frozen in its slushy form.
Can You Refreeze Gatorade?
Yes, you can refreeze Gatorade.
As long as you follow the instructions above, there should be no issues with freezer burn or anything like that.
Over time, the flavour may decrease more and more since the flavour compounds can evaporate in the freezer, and the flavour emulsion is damaged by freezing.
Does Gatorade Freeze Well?
We would have to say no, it doesn’t.
This is because it freezes into a slushy consistency, which isn’t great for maintaining the emulsion of the flavour compounds. You can bring the Gatorade back to ‘life’, though, with a little work.
If you’ve still got questions about freezing Gatorade or Gatorade in general, then these may help:
Can You Freeze Unopened Bottles of Gatorade?
We would advise against freezing unopened bottles of Gatorade, and any fizzy drink for that matter. There is unlikely to be room for the liquid to expand which can lead to bottles exploding.
Can You Freeze Unopened Cans of Gatorade?
No, cans of drinks should never be placed in the freezer. They will expand, become pressurised and can then explode!
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