Culinary Escapade

I am a bad, bad, bad blogger. I have been MIA for a few months. Truthfully, it could not really be helped. I have been relegated to working the dreaded overnight shift, so my energy was drained and all I ever wanted to do is sleep. Furthermore, without a lighting setup, I could hardly take nice pictures in the middle of the night. Besides, I was mostly eating junk. Thankfully those days are over and I am back in the land of the living.

What better way to get back into the swing of things, than to post something that is part science experiment, part cooking. Welcome to the world of molecular gastronomy. What makes liquid nitrogen ice cream worthwhile? Unlike conventional freezing, the rapid freezing from the liquid nitrogen creates smaller ice crystals giving the ice cream a creamier texture. You can achieve the same texture found in conventional ice creams using less milk fat.

So it was with an adventurous spirit and a desire for some serious fun that a group of Montreal food bloggers gathered on the campus of McGill University on a Sunday afternoon to experiment and have eat some ice cream. Now as much fun as it is to mess around with liquid nitrogen, it is dangerous, so do not attempt if you do not know what you are doing and do not have protective gear. Remember – safety first!

Do not come into contact with the liquid nitrogen, it will give you instant frostbite.
Do this experiment in a well ventilated area or outside (do not stand downwind) as the liquid nitrogen will deplete oxygen and potentially asphyxiate the participants
Do don protective gear

Here is the gear you will need in order to embark on this ice cream adventure:

- Protective face gear
- Heavy duty gloves
- Metal bowl
- Wooden spoon

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

5 litres liquid nitrogen
4 cups cream or half and half
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Any additional flavoring. We went with chocolate chips, but you can use fruit or something else. (thinking Bailey’s next time)

Method

- Mix all ingredients in metal bowl, except the liquid nitrogen.

- Your protective face gear or goggles and gloves go on now. Pour a small amount of liquid nitrogen directly into the bowl with the ice cream ingredients. Continue to stir the ice cream, while slowly adding more liquid nitrogen until it hardens. You can pour in remaining liquid nitrogen to fully harden the ice cream

- Allow the excess liquid nitrogen to boil off before serving the ice cream.