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Can you freeze sweets?
Sweets keep well at room temperature, so the freezer is rarely the answer. Here is what freezing does to different sweets, and how freeze dried sweets, the social media craze, are made.
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You can put sweets in the freezer, but there is rarely a good reason to. Most sweets already keep well at room temperature, because they contain so little free water that mould struggles to grow. And for some sweets, the trip into and out of the freezer does more harm than good.
Why sweets rarely need freezing
Freezing is a way to stop food spoiling: the government's guidance explains that bacteria cannot grow on frozen food. But most sweets are not at risk of that kind of spoiling in the first place. They are mostly sugar, and the less free water a food has, the fewer microorganisms can grow in it. A sealed container in a cool, dry cupboard does the job: see how should you store pick and mix?
The problem with thawing
The trouble comes when frozen sweets warm up again. Cold food taken into a warm room collects condensation, a film of moisture from the air.
- Chocolate. Moisture on the surface of chocolate dissolves some of its sugar. When the moisture dries, the sugar forms larger crystals and leaves a dusty white layer called sugar bloom. Bloomed chocolate is still safe to eat, but it does not look or feel as good.
- Boiled sweets and rock. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it pulls in moisture, so hard sweets that meet condensation turn tacky and can stick together: see why does seaside rock go soft?
If you do freeze sweets, keep them in a sealed container and let them come back to room temperature before you open it, so that any condensation forms on the outside of the container rather than on the sweets.
Starch jellies and the cold
Jellies set with starch age in a particular way. Cooked starch slowly recrystallises and hardens, a process called retrogradation, and it happens much faster between minus 8 and 8 degrees Celsius. That range covers the fridge and the time sweets spend cooling down and warming up: see why do jelly sweets go hard?
Freeze dried sweets are different
Freeze dried sweets are not simply frozen. Freeze drying is a way of drying food at low temperatures: the food is frozen, then the pressure is lowered so that the ice turns straight into vapour, without melting, a change called sublimation. It removes water in a very different way from heating.
Freeze dried sweets had a major surge in popularity in the United States in 2020, driven by social media, with freeze dried versions of sweets such as Skittles and SweeTarts appearing in shops. They are made in special machines, not in a kitchen freezer.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Can you freeze pick and mix?
You can, but there is usually little point, because sweets keep well in a sealed container in a cool, dry place. Freezing can also cause problems when the sweets thaw, such as sugar bloom on chocolate and stickiness on hard sweets.
Can you freeze chocolate?
It can be done, but cold chocolate collects condensation when it comes back into the warm, and that moisture causes sugar bloom, a dusty white layer. Bloomed chocolate is safe to eat but looks and feels less appealing.
What are freeze dried sweets?
Sweets that have been frozen and then put under low pressure, so the ice turns straight into vapour without melting. Freeze dried versions of sweets such as Skittles became popular in the United States from 2020 through social media.
Sources
- Best before and use by dates, GOV.UK
- Chocolate bloom, Wikipedia
- Hygroscopy, Wikipedia
- Retrogradation (starch), Wikipedia
- Freeze drying, Wikipedia
- Water activity, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Questions people askHow should you store pick and mix?Keep pick and mix sealed, cool and dry, away from sunlight. Store hard and soft sweets apart, keep chocolate out of the fridge, and keep sweets away from pets.
- Questions people askHow long do sweets last?Sweets last a long time because they hold so little water, but each kind ages differently. Jellies harden, boiled sweets go sticky and chocolate can bloom.
- Questions people askDo sweets go out of date?Most sweets carry a best before date, which is about quality, not safety. Some sweets made almost solely of sugar, and chewing gum, need no date at all.
- Questions people askWhy do jelly sweets go hard?Jelly sweets go hard mainly because they lose water to the air. Jellies set with starch also firm up as the starch slowly recrystallises, fastest in the fridge.
- Sweet tips and how toWhy does seaside rock go soft?Rock goes soft and sticky because sugar pulls moisture out of the air. Here is the science, and how to keep a stick of rock hard for longer.
- Questions people askWhy is chewing gum so hard to get off pavements?Gum bonds to pavements and shoe soles because they are made of similar polymers. Removing it needs steam and scrapers, and costs cities a fortune.