Why do sodas and other sugary drinks become sticky when they dry?
In: Chemistry
If you are interested in reading further, sugar water (syrups) in particular are sticky due to something called “hydrogen bonds” which are well above ELI5 levels. But to go to ELI15 mode for a second, what happens is that sugars have a bunch of relatively “open” hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which form bonds causing sugars to clump together easily. The moment water enters the fray, a lot of these bonds get torn apart, but that results in “loose” hydrogen atoms wanting to bond to any surface they can find – hence, sticky.
because of how sodas are made mostly.
The idea is you make a basic syrup, its 50% water 50% sugar and you boil it until it reaches the desired thickness.
Then you mix in the flavoring oils, extracts and spices, depending on the soda you´re making and then you have the base syrup.
Then that syrup is mixed with water and pressure carbonated, now because sodas are consumed cold, as well as the carbonation adding a slight bitter taste, sodas tend to have a excessive amount of sugar/HFCS depending on where you are, so when the water evaporates, you´re left with the sugar syrup, which is sticky.
It’s the sugar (or sugars) that makes those drinks sticky as they dry. Basically, the sugar in the drinks doesn’t evaporate like the water does, so you end up with a syrupy, sticky residue.
sugars like that! anything that has sugar and water in it, the sugar gets sticky with less and less fluids, if you dry it completely you will get a sugary residue!
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