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Now serving number: 34064143
If you are anything like me, then you love ice
cream. There is nothing like making your own, but the problem is, it just takes
too long to freeze and some things just don't like to freeze.
A while ago Scientific American
[April, 1994 pgs. 66-71] had an article call Cooking with Chemistry or something
along those lines. One of the recipes was one for using Liquid Nitrogen to make
Ice Cream.
Great!
Now as you all know, Nitrogen
is about 78% of the volume of the atmosphere and has a boiling
temperature of one hundred and ninety five point eight degrees below zero Celsius.
In plain simple English, it's cold.
The price is about two cents to
$2.75 per 100 cubic feet depending on purity, which isn't anything important
here, so get the two cent stuff. You will also probably need a container, which
you can rent/borrow from the people that you are buying the Nitrogen from. Don't
use a cooler, as it will not survive the trip.
Simple rules for handling Liquid
Nitrogen:
I could say DO NOT LET IT TOUCH SKIN but
someone will be a bone head and do it anyway. The truth of the matter is that
the human body is so hot to the Liquid Nitrogen that it will boil in your hand
with out any harm to you. However, the instant you contain the liquid Nitrogen,
like in a fist, you increase the pressure of the gas trying to escape. The pressure
builds up enough to give you a very bad freezer burn. Enough to need medical
attention, so take my word for it and don't.
Ingredients needed to make simple Vanilla Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream:
Milk
Heavy Cream (Half and Half will do nicely)
Real Vanilla (not that fake junk that's sold!)
Sugar
Liquid Nitrogen
Equipment needed:
Stainless Steel mixing bowl
Wooden mixing spoon
Gloves
A big sink or a level place out side.
First figure out how much you want to make. Multiply the total
amount of ice cream by five to get the amount of Liquid Nitrogen needed to freeze
the ice cream. A gallon of ice cream will thus need five gallons of Liquid Nitrogen.
Mix the Milk, Cream, Vanilla and sugar in the mixing bowl. The ratios should
be twice as much cream as milk and about 8 tbsp of vanilla for every gallon
of liquid. Sugar should be about 1 cup dry measure per gallon. If that's too
sweet then half it. I do not know how artificial sweeteners react to the cold,
so I don't recommend the usage of them.
Mix the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved into the milk and cream. Add
in any fixings (candy, coffee, other flavors). Move to the sink if you haven't
already.
Pour in the Liquid Nitrogen slowly and mix with the wooden spoon
until completely frozen, which should be about 10 minutes. Wear the gloves,
because it's going to be cold.
For a better freeze, prepare the icecream in a pressure cooker, and after adding
the Liquid Nitrogen, clamp shut for 5 minutes.
Eat!
If you want, you can add cookie dough or just about anything
else to the mixture. Don't worry, it will freeze (trust me, it has no choice
but too!).
Other flavors can be made by replacing or adding with the Vanilla with your
choice of:
Coffee (hot, strong and fresh is the best) - with a few whole beans - yum!
Cookie dough - either homemade or store bought will do.
Candy - A Milky Way is good in bits, as is Heath Bar.
Liquors - Don't worry about the low freezing point, Liquid Nitrogen is much
lower!