Playing With Ice

The power to quick-freeze foods with liquid nitrogen opens up exciting new horizons in the kitchen

By Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot Posted 08.05.2008 at 12:08 pm 7 Comments

A less common culinary use for liquid nitrogen is in grinding ingredients, particularly high-fat products, to create powders or purees. For example, fresh raw peanuts may be frozen in liquid nitrogen and put through a juicer to create a completely uncooked peanut butter that preserves all the flavor of the raw nut. Olives may be partially dehydrated, frozen, and ground into a fine seasoning powder that would not normally be achievable due to their high fat content. Cooked shrimp and other proteins may also be frozen and ground and used for various preparations.

Fruits and vegetables may be frozen instead of cooked to tenderize them. The freezing process creates ice crystals, which poke microscopic holes into the cell walls. When the ingredients are defrosted, they are slightly tenderized but still retain some of their original texture and their raw flavor. While in their frozen state the fruits and vegetables can be shattered, and the pieces then used for a dramatic presentation in a finished dish.

Shrimp Powder: Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot

Finally, liquid nitrogen is perfect for chilling down hot preparations quickly and efficiently. This minimizes the development of bacteria and harmful microorganisms in the food. A batch of spaghetti sauce or a pot of chicken curry can go from boiling to ice cold in five minutes' time. In terms of food safety, this is a very good thing.

What this all boils down to is that liquid nitrogen is a very useful tool to have in the kitchen. Playing with ice can be just as satisfying as playing with fire, under the right circumstances. To get you started, we've included a recipe for shattered raspberries with coconut-yuzu ice cream. You can make this ice cream traditionally and garnish it with fresh raspberries -- or you can find some liquid nitrogen and see what kind of magic it can do.

Dewars can often be bought on eBay or rented from companies who supply liquid nitrogen. If you live in the New York City/Long Island area, General Welding Supply Corp., 600 Shames Drive, Westbury, NY 11590, (516) 334-8200, is a reliable source for liquid nitrogen.

Previous Article: Can I Get Files From My Home Computer Remotely?

Next Article: We Have a Winner

Want to read more articles like this, plus tips and tricks, home hacks, DIY projects, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science and enter to win $5,000!

7 Comments

link to this comment

luke123abc

08/05/08 at 9:17 pm

this sounds like a very fun thing to do. i should try obliterating raspberries sometime or tenderizing my broccoli

link to this comment

bishop0123

from Webster, Tx

08/12/08 at 3:48 pm

I have heard that if you drop dry ice into rubbing alcohol you get an extremely cold liquid. Not as cold as liquid nitrogen, and you can't mix it with with food, but still interesting none the less.

link to this comment

pink__o

08/13/08 at 5:50 pm

At North Dakota State, we used to put marshmallows in a pool of liquid nitrogen and then give them to kids to eat in demonstrations. It's especially fun with the big ones becuase you blow "smoke" as you eat them.

link to this comment

drayegon

from Redding , CA

03/16/09 at 11:17 pm

If you had done this frozen a marshmallow and given it to a kid to eat just how long did it take you to get him to the hospital to get the pain out of his mouth from your not know what you were doing. Didn't you read just how cold it makes things and just what some of this stuff can do. You do not freeze something like a marshmallow as it is dry and when you freeze it it becomes very very cold about 200-F to be exact. It will if put in the mouth at that temp freeze itself to what ever it touches. Great story but just a story.

Sorry but not something to tell people to do.
dray

link to this comment

Carlsjc95125

05/26/09 at 8:34 pm

Drayegon,

You have made a very good point about what to put in your mouth. Knowing what and how long and how much you're cooling it in liquid nitrogen (LN2), is very important.
Thermo-insulated food foams like marshmallows cooled just a very short time in LN2 are not the same as a liquid frozen solid which may need to "warmed-up" in the freezer for 1/2 hour before they can be eaten safely. Frozen food foams should only have a very thin layer that is frozen will thaw in the hand or in the mouth very quickly. While eating something solid at LN2 temp -320F will cause really bad burns, in the mouth.

Carl

link to this comment

Canada Goose

07/25/09 at 3:03 pm

From BT YAHOO news Tuesday July 14 @08;58 am Zulu.

Blumental-style chef blows off his hands.

A German chef has blown off his hands while experimenting with a Heston Blumenthal style cooking technique.

The man, identified only as Martin E, was working on a recipe involving liquid nitrogen when there was a "huge explosion" according to the Berliner Morgenpost.

One of the 24 year old's hands was instantly torn off by the force of the blast, while the other was later amputated in hospital.

link to this comment

romaniamac1

10/21/09 at 4:11 am

playing with ice could be really dangerous :)

Maxson
-----------
www.emailextractor14.com/
www.emailextractor14.com/?page_id=121