Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

It's been described as the five minute way to make amazing

ice cream. No cranking… no ice and rock salt mixtures… and
you can forget about those electric ice cream makers. All
you need is a little liquid nitrogen (-320°F), some creamy
ingredients, and an appetite for exploring the science of
food. Keep reading to learn the secrets for finding and
safely using liquid nitrogen to make one of the most trendy
desserts on the cooking show scene.

Experiment
Using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream is nothing new.
Science teachers have been making “instant ice cream”
much to the delight of their students for years (because
they love the sounds of ooohs & ahhhs that naturally follow
this amazing feat!). But making liquid nitrogen ice cream (or
Nice Cream as we call it) has become a craze that's
sweeping the trendy cooking shows and the avant-garde
chefs who practice molecular gastronomy. In pop culture,
molecular gastronomy is the merging of scientific tools and
techniques with culinary arts – using tools such as
centrifuges, liquid nitrogen, microscopes, or lasers in the
preparation of food items. So, it only makes sense that
making ice cream amidst clouds of smoke and a big
container of liquid nitrogen is the “in” thing to do among ice
cream aficionados.

Liquid Nitrogen Basics

The actual “how to's” of making liquid nitrogen ice cream

are quite simple, and you'll find the complete guide,
including tips and tricks, later in the article. However, let's
start with the most asked questions: What is liquid nitrogen
and where do you get it? Back to the chemistry lab we go…
You might remember from science class that most of the air
we breathe is nitrogen (about 78%) with 20% being oxygen
and the remaining 2% a potpourri of gases. Liquid nitrogen
is -320°F or -196°C (in other words, it's cold). While liquid
nitrogen is used for many temperature-related applications,
it's particularly useful for freezing foods because nitrogen is
odorless, colorless, and tasteless.

Safety First

Okay, there is one tiny little negative to using liquid nitrogen

to make ice cream… it's dangerous if you're not careful. If
you touch the stuff, you can easily freeze tissue and cause
severe damage. That's why it's not readily available to the
public, and you'll need to get some basic training on how to
handle liquid nitrogen before you get started. As Mr. Wizard
warns, “Never let liquid nitrogen touch your skin, and be
sure to wear your safety gloves and glasses, kids.” You
probably won't see your favorite celebrity chefs wearing
safety glasses or gloves, but it's a must for kitchen chemists
like you and me. Contact with liquid nitrogen can cause
injury … it can be dangerous if not used properly.

Here's the best advice… Go to your local high school or

university and pay a visit to the science department. Ask
around to find out who does the science demos with liquid
nitrogen each year for the students and ask if you can come
in as a spectator to watch. You'll learn a lot from watching
someone who has experience handling the liquid nitrogen
(and you're likely to learn a few cool tricks at the same
time).

Where to Buy Liquid Nitrogen

It's not as easy as running to the local grocery store to buy

milk. Liquid nitrogen must be stored and transported in a
special container called a Dewar, otherwise it will evaporate
very quickly. Your best bet is to search your local Yellow
Pages for a supplier of liquid nitrogen. You can also call a
pediatrician to find out where the doctor purchases liquid
nitrogen to burn off warts (now that's appealing when you're
talking about ice cream). Welders use liquid nitrogen as well
as some farmers (something to do with artificial
insemination). Try contacting the chemistry or physics
department of your local college or university to find out
where they purchase it. Because of liability issues, you
probably will not find too many people who are likely to just
give you a container of LN2 (short for liquid nitrogen), and
you'll need to buy it from a company who distributes it.
Many times these companies will let you borrow or rent one
of the 5-liter Dewars to transport your secret ice cream
making ingredient. You can budget about $1.50 to $2.00 a
liter and you'll need about 5 liters to make up a couple
quarts of ice cream.

The Recipe

There are hundreds and hundreds of recipes for ice cream,

so you'll just need to find one that you like. But one of the
benefits of making ice cream using liquid nitrogen is that
you can test the batch in just a few minutes. Here's a basic
recipe to which you can add anything to make your
signature Nice Cream.

Let's start by making a small batch of ice cream until you

master the mixing technique. The general rule is to use
twice as much cream as milk and sweeten to taste with
vanilla and sugar.

1. In the large steel bowl, mix one quart of Half and Half
with one pint of milk.
2. Add the vanilla and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. At this point, you can add anything you like – get
creative. It's easy to replace the vanilla with any flavor
you wish. Add chocolate chips, crunch up a candy bar,
toss in frozen berries, nuts, marshmallows, cookie
dough… whatever sounds good to you!
4. It's time for the liquid nitrogen. Put on your safety
glasses and gloves… do it! Your assistant chefs should
also be wearing their safety gear as well. You might
want to put the bowl in your sink just in case it
overflows (which it probably will) or spread out some
plastic on the table. It's impossible to measure how
much liquid nitrogen to add, so just pour about a quart
(that's equal to about 1 liter) of liquid nitrogen into the
bowl. Expect lots of cool fog and the sounds of oohs
and ahhs from the audience.
5. DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE… just yet. Let the liquid
nitrogen do its job of partially freezing the mixture. If
you stir too soon, the concoction will bubble over and
you'll have a mess (and you'll waste some of your ice
cream).
6. Stir the mixture with the wooden spoon. Some of the
cream will be completely frozen while other parts will
still be liquid. Keep stirring until you have a consistent
mixture, and then add more liquid nitrogen.
7. Let it freeze for a few seconds before stirring.
8. Stir, stir, and stir some more until you have a consistent
mixture.
 9. Keep adding small amounts of liquid nitrogen until you
have the perfect creamy consistency.

How Does It Work?

The Science Behind the Freeze

The secret to the creamy ice cream is all in the rapid

freezing of the mixture. The liquid nitrogen causes the fat
and the water particles to stay very small, giving the ice
cream its creamy consistency. The goal is to avoid ice
crystals – similar to what you get when you make ice milk.
According to food science experts, rapid freezing preserves
the nutrients in food (a quick-frozen vegetable that's three
months old will likely have a nutrient composition closer to
harvest levels than a five day old fresh vegetable. The faster
you freeze, the less you destroy tissue structures that could
lead to a more rapid loss).

Additional Info
Brain Freeze

One final thought… It's easy to get distracted by the plumes

of smoke and the excitement of making instant ice cream,
and you forget about common sense and safety. In the
teaching profession, we call it a “brain freeze.” Keep your
head above the clouds, take all of the safety precautions,
and you'll create an unforgettable memory… and some
awesome ice cream at the same time.