Steep is the wrong word

[Alien Traveler]

OK. Let's get good old (digital) Merriam-Webster:

3 steep
verb
: to put (something) in a liquid for a period of time
Full Definition of STEEP

transitive verb
1
: to soak in a liquid at a temperature under the boiling point (as for softening, bleaching, or extracting an essence)
2
: to cover with or plunge into a liquid (as in bathing, rinsing, or soaking)
3
: to saturate with or subject thoroughly to (some strong or pervading influence) <practices steeped in tradition>

So, "steep" means to soak something in a liquid, like a tea.
Not god word for our juices.

"Mix" - yes, we know it. Good for some of our juices, for thouse which do not any steeping/aging.

Back to M-W:

2 age
verb
: to become old or older

: to cause (someone or something) to become old or to appear to be old
of food or drink : to be stored for a period of time in order to gain desired qualities



So, only "age" is good for aging juices. However, "steeping" is already our slang word and will not go away easily.

 

[Bunnykiller]

quite tru... but its not too late to make amends and use the proper term.... it seems to be working with the word smoking in the context of vaping....

 

[AttyPops]

Sorry, quite false.

You put flavoring in liquid and let it diffuse. Thus it is steeping.
You don't change anything significantly, like you do when aging. It gains few if any additional desired qualities. "Flavor" is just a result of it diffusing properly in the liquid.

Aging changes things. Ask me how I know. Although technically, it's also a passage-of-time.

There's simply no biological processes involved in aging an e-juice. Nor is there an erosion or whatever like when you "age" a surface of a material for aesthetic purposes.

I'll bet there's little going on in most (99%) of the e-juice recipes that isn't equally duplicated by putting the juice in a shaking machine and shaking the crap out of it for several hours. Blind taste test that with some juice aged, say, 3 months.

You can't do that with wine or cheese. Shaking the wine will not make it the same as aged wine.

EDIT:
Although if we want to continue to be pedantic about it...it's closer to homogenization than steeping or aging...since steeping implies extraction and aging implies significant change (like from other things...bacteria, yeasts, the elements, erosion, etc).

 

[Alien Traveler]

There's simply no biological processes involved in aging an e-juice. Nor is there an erosion or whatever like when you "age" a surface of a material for aesthetic purposes.

You are right. No biological processes.
You are wrong. I am talking not about biological but about chemical changes (slow bonding, oxidation, whatever - we do not know now).
And diffusion is not steeping. Steeping is mostly extraction (no extraction in our case). Moreover, it is extremely easy to speed up diffusion - just mix you solution (shake if you wish). That's it.

 

[AttyPops]

See edit above.

However, if you're going to make that claim....that the juice changes due to 'slow bonding, oxidation, whatever - we do not know now' you have to back it up. I say no significant change after initial thorough diffusion. Probably depends on recipe though Also see previous point about doing BOTH.

And your last part is my point...it IS easy to speed up steeping with shaking. People do it all the time. Same with warm-water bath that thins the juice and speeds diffusion. So it's steeping.

 

[Alien Traveler]

None of us can really prove his point. An only thing I have to say is that diffusion is a fast thing. After good mixing it will take minutes, at most hours, to make solution homogeneous. If it takes months - then something else should be going.

About temperature: usually 10 degrees Celsius will speed up chemical reaction 2 times. So, rising temperature from 70 to 150 F will speed up reactions 32 times. 32 hours in one hour. Good for chemical "aging".

 

[AttyPops]

I'll just note that steeping doesn't preclude some chemical changes over time... I have a hunch that if you take any group of chemicals and let them sit long enough they change some regardless of diffusion. However, what we're after with steeping is very thorough mixing...like nearly molecular level granularity in a relatively thick liquid. Maybe some of the chemical changes too. But mostly mixing.

Aging PRODUCES A DIFFERENT PRODUCT. Like with cheese or wine. Wine starts off as grape juice. Cheese as milk-fat.

Besides, if Kurt said it's steeping, it's steeping. <=== Blatant 'appeal to higher authority' argument

 

[Alien Traveler]

Aging PRODUCES A DIFFERENT PRODUCT. Like with cheese or wine. Wine starts off as grape juice. Cheese as milk-fat.

I can, but it is not necessary. Aging of an aluminum alloy still produce an aluminum alloy. Just with a bit better properties. Just like aging our juice. Please, do not stick in your examples to cheese and wine (Now I just have to go to a grocery store on my way home; it's a Friday, you know. It's your "cheese and wine"...)

 

[Coldrake]

ageing:
"to bring to maturity or a state fit for use"
Ageing | Define Ageing at Dictionary.com

ageing:
"to acquire a desirable quality (as mellowness or ripeness) by standing undisturbed for some time"
Ageing - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Ageing seems to fit perfectly with what we do with our e-liquids. Works for me.

 

[renacer]

Some people on this forum are such fascists about terminology. "It's not an e-cig, it's a PV" "It's not vapers' tongue, it's vapers' fatigue." "It's not a burnt hit it's a dry it."

 

[Bootiewootsy]

lol I am wondering if I steeped or have gotten better with age... Just having a little fun since I am over 70 and enjoy this forum...

 

[edwinoey]

wow! age is sounds more classy nice one bro. I mean yeah its kinda like aging you liquid to have proper blend and saturation. steeping is kinda odd word tho.

 

[dead not sleeping]

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