In kitchens all around the world, cooks are experimenting with liquid nitrogen. It is a dramatic and very useful culinary tool that can cool or freeze things in an instant. It is made of pure nitrogen in a liquid state. Daniel Rutherford discovered the element nitrogen in 1772. It makes up 78.1% of the earth's atmosphere by volume. In its gaseous state, nitrogen is odorless, colorless, non-flammable, non-toxic, and largely inert. Nitrogen is found in organic materials, foods, explosives, fertilizers, and poisons.
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
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