Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Why does every juice concentrate, except for grape juice, stay frozen until you get home from the store?

Dear Matt:

Grape juice. When you buy frozen juice concentrates at a store they generally stay frozen until you get them home -- except for grape juice. Frozen grape juice concentrate frequently starts getting sloshy before you even exit the store, if the checkout line is long enough. Why is this? Does grape juice contain some sort of natural antifreeze? If so, could I use it in my car's engine in an emergency?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Moby Grape, the net

Matt:

I've wondered about this since I was a kid, but it's so ridiculous that I've never had the nerve to ask anyone. Why is my feces green after drinking purple grape juice? Never noticed it with wine. Am I a freak of nature? Hope the elves don't have to do any hands-on analysis for this one.

-- No name, no place, pleeeeez

Heck, no. They smelled the question coming in over the transom, grabbed their Razors, and jetted out the back door. Haven't seen them in three or four days. So now it's just you and me, mister. No. Don't be shy. We're all just poopin' humans in this crazy outhouse we call life. Of course our staff quack, Dr. Doctor, is doubled over in a giggling fit, but as usual, we've sought a second opinion. The second opinion sounds a little nuts to us, but it's from our usual highly informed sources, so I can't argue. Especially without the elves to catch my back. You seem to be among a select few individuals, but no one wanted to commit to "freak of nature." Grapes and your digestive system just have an interesting biochemical relationship.

A poop analysis would reveal that it's made up of indigestible (mostly cellulose) food shreds, dead gut cells and intestinal bacteria (and lots of 'em), digestive secretions and enzymes, fats, and water. It comes in a variety of decorator shades, depending mostly on what you ate 24 to 36 hours ago. But you seem to be one of the people who doesn't absorb the sugars in grape juice very well, and in your intestines they act like a laxative. This is a common condition in children, not so common in adults. This rapid transit of not-entirely-digested food can tinge the resulting product a greenish shade. A festive touch around St. Patrick's Day. And of course if you mistake the foregoing as medical advice, well, then we'll all be doubled over in giggling fits.

And blame the nature of grape-sugar solids for that fast-thaw juice concentrate. According to the juicers at Welch's, it must be kept at 0 degrees to overcome the sugar's urge to return the brick to a liquid. It's a little like an ice cube with crud in it melting faster in the crud-filled areas than does a pristine cube. All juices are susceptible to this to one degree or another, but grape juice is the quick-melt champ.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Three nights of Mission Bayfest bring bliss

“This is a top-notch production.”
Next Article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night

Dear Matt:

Grape juice. When you buy frozen juice concentrates at a store they generally stay frozen until you get them home -- except for grape juice. Frozen grape juice concentrate frequently starts getting sloshy before you even exit the store, if the checkout line is long enough. Why is this? Does grape juice contain some sort of natural antifreeze? If so, could I use it in my car's engine in an emergency?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Moby Grape, the net

Matt:

I've wondered about this since I was a kid, but it's so ridiculous that I've never had the nerve to ask anyone. Why is my feces green after drinking purple grape juice? Never noticed it with wine. Am I a freak of nature? Hope the elves don't have to do any hands-on analysis for this one.

-- No name, no place, pleeeeez

Heck, no. They smelled the question coming in over the transom, grabbed their Razors, and jetted out the back door. Haven't seen them in three or four days. So now it's just you and me, mister. No. Don't be shy. We're all just poopin' humans in this crazy outhouse we call life. Of course our staff quack, Dr. Doctor, is doubled over in a giggling fit, but as usual, we've sought a second opinion. The second opinion sounds a little nuts to us, but it's from our usual highly informed sources, so I can't argue. Especially without the elves to catch my back. You seem to be among a select few individuals, but no one wanted to commit to "freak of nature." Grapes and your digestive system just have an interesting biochemical relationship.

A poop analysis would reveal that it's made up of indigestible (mostly cellulose) food shreds, dead gut cells and intestinal bacteria (and lots of 'em), digestive secretions and enzymes, fats, and water. It comes in a variety of decorator shades, depending mostly on what you ate 24 to 36 hours ago. But you seem to be one of the people who doesn't absorb the sugars in grape juice very well, and in your intestines they act like a laxative. This is a common condition in children, not so common in adults. This rapid transit of not-entirely-digested food can tinge the resulting product a greenish shade. A festive touch around St. Patrick's Day. And of course if you mistake the foregoing as medical advice, well, then we'll all be doubled over in giggling fits.

And blame the nature of grape-sugar solids for that fast-thaw juice concentrate. According to the juicers at Welch's, it must be kept at 0 degrees to overcome the sugar's urge to return the brick to a liquid. It's a little like an ice cube with crud in it melting faster in the crud-filled areas than does a pristine cube. All juices are susceptible to this to one degree or another, but grape juice is the quick-melt champ.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Next Article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader