Time travel

[flemmings]

Last night with the autumn cold and rain outside and the purring space heater and duvets in, and me reading the unchanging Meiji world of Rainy Willow Antiquities Store, I found myself suddenly time-slipped the mid-oughties somewhere. Today, because of climate change, it's summer again, or at least a warm September that needs no jackets, and the nostalgic instant has vanished.

On a much more mundane note, why does Ovaltine powder melt in the heat? Cocoa remains a powder at all temperatures, but Ovaltine becomes a hardened shiny unmeltable enamel at the bottom of the jar.

Comments

[liralen]

I wonder if it's the malt?

[flemmings]

Does malt melt, asks the unscientific one.

[liralen]

*laughs* I looked it up... not until 215 F... hm. But it is hydrophilic... so can collect water out of the air and slump from that?

[flemmings]

That seems very likely. One humid summer + never putting lids on tight enough gives you enamel Ovaltine.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

Ovaltine contains more sugar? Cocoa hardens into hard lumps for me, but does not slag. I've not owned Ovaltine, so don't know about the enamel, but now I'm tempted to give it a try. For science.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

The sugar may be the thing, also being a finer powder than drinking chocolate. (Have never experimented with unsweetened cooking cocoa.) This is chocolate flavoured Ovaltine to boot.

Don't try the experiment unless you're prepared to drink a whole lot of malty Ovaltine and/or wait through a couple of summers.