polarity of vg/pg and the solubility of various terpenes

[aoxomoxoa1825]

Ive read numerous time that pg carries flavor better. This something I'm beginning to see in my "juice" as i play with my % but only with specific flavors. First is this something that anyone else has seen and would care to discuss? If so which flavors? Next (if this is indeed factual and not a placebo effect from reading about it) why is this given that pg is aggressively polar, more so than vg (two alcohol groups) and most terpenes are non polar? So really (in my opinion) its more or less reducing your ability to "hold" terpenes especially the more volatile ones.

Help meh understand this mysterious wizardry!

Last, this is my official request to change "steeping" to aging, oxidizing, or maturing... there are no solids involved here... unless i'm missing something.

 

[aoxomoxoa1825]

also wanted to ask about the possibility a azeotropic effect or really the lack there of (im fairly certain that these would be fairly separable through fractional distillation) and how that would affect flavor and proper temp

 

[Heabob]

Last, this is my official request to change "steeping" to aging, oxidizing, or maturing... there are no solids involved here... unless i'm missing something.

Yes, you are correct, but unfortunately old habits are hard to break.
Steeping is just an old term that has just gotten "stuck" I'm afraid.

First is this something that anyone else has seen and would care to discuss?

I've found that PG give me better flavor too, but I don't understand the science behind it.
So I just go with the flow and mix everything 70/30VG rather than fight it.
Don't have the time or patience to try and determine which flavors work better in "this or that" type of base.
But just speculating that a 50/50 mix would be a good "neutral spot" for both flavor & vapor.
For those that don't have allergies with PG that is...

 

[aoxomoxoa1825]

I personally enjoy 70/30 as well but recently have been trying 100% and find with some flavors stick and stick well. i assume this has to do with the solubility of those terpenes. I have also found that some flavors are better right after a homogeneous solution is obtained. Im assuming this has to do with the evap. point of the "desireable" terpenes and reaching a point in which undesirables have left the solution or at least become less dominate from an observational stand point.

imma figure this out mark my words!

 

[brandon555]

This might just be a crackpot theory, but I sometimes think it's the sweetness of vg in and of itself that 'mute's flavor. Sort of like ethyl maltol can be a sweetener/flavor enhancer in small amounts but too much and it starts to work against itself. I used to vape Hangsen tobacco concentrates at 6-8% in 90pg/10vg base with my mini 510s and ego batts. When I started sub-ohming and went to 70vg/30pg I could barely even taste it at that percentage and basically had to double the flavoring.

I agree about steeping also. It's a bit of a misnomer. In fact I think whats more important is thoroughly mixing the liquid and letting it breathe and evaporate off any alcohols in the flavoring. I've had liquids that tasted like crap unless they sat in a cabinet for 2-3 weeks "Steeping", but I've also achieved the same results by warming the juice up in a warm water bath, shaking the piss out of it, and letting it breathe with the cap off for 30-60 minutes.

 

[aoxomoxoa1825]

not at all crackpot my man, a lot of gustatory cells can be "fooled" take for instance a bitter flavor is easily masked by a small amount of salt.

 

[aoxomoxoa1825]

Felt this article i found was appropriate as far as > aging < your juice. It covers the maillard (may- yar) reaction, both the desirable and the undesirable (and possibly carcinogenic) outcomes and under which circumstances said results occur. Though this is non-enzymatic "browning" so does not apply to the natural enzymatic reactions due to exposure to oxygen that takes place in fruits and vegetables. This may partially explain why aging <<(there it is again, what is he doing... changing the world one word at a time ) improves some flavors and makes little difference or can in theory spoil others.