At Smitten in San Francisco.
Since it’s such a cool idea, we just had to try it, but beyond the geek factor, the ice cream was really great! My wife thought it was the best she had ever had.
They make a big deal about how the liquid Nitrogen makes the ice crystals really small, but whatever the reason, the ice cream was really smooth, and the flavors were great.
Photo of the machine in operation.
It’s not difficult to make it yourself, if you can get a supply of liquid nitrogen (which is only about a dollar a liter if you can get it). Mix together milk, cream, sugar, and flavorings, then pour in liquid nitrogen and stir until it gets too hard. Much quicker than those old crank machines with the salted ice in the outer bucket.
I’ve got a stainless-steel thermos…
Nitrogen can be dangerous (as in lethal) if the environment becomes too rich in it. Apparently, you don’t even realize what’s happening.
I was thinking about the danger, but the Smitten is outside, in a 5-sided structure, so I suspect that it’s a pretty safe operation. I wonder if they have oxygen sensors?
Does it have a screw-on lid? If so, you absolutely do not want to use it to transport liquid nitrogen. As it boils, pressure will build up enough to explode.
And yes, there are hazards to working with liquid nitrogen. It can be handled safely, provided you know how to mitigate those hazards, but you do have to know how:
1: The cold can burn you. Do not allow any part of the body to remain in contact with liquid nitrogen for more than a moment. Wear heavy gloves, long sleeves, long pants, and closed shoes. Stir with a wooden spoon, not metal.
2: If sealed in a container, it can explode. Store it only in a container with a loose-fitting cap, or no cap at all.
3: The evaporating nitrogen can displace the air. Use it only outdoors, or in a large space with good ventilation.
It sounds scary mostly because it presents different sorts of hazards than what we’re used to, but overall, it’s not really any more dangerous than a lot of things you do in your kitchen.
I’ve had it (not from there, there’s a place that does it in the mall in Japantown). Tasted like ice cream. Didn’t seem any more or less remarkable than regular ice made with simlar quality ingredients.
safety goggles too.
you want to cover it so that you will see white vapor coming out.
Smitten is a fun gimmick but if you want to try amazing ice cream, head down to Bi-Rite just a few blocks down the road.
We had Ice Cream at Three Twins, and it was also excellent. The guy there mentioned Bi-Rite as one of the three gourmet Ice Cream shops in the area.
I make LN2 ice cream all the time (I have a cryogenic dewar). I’d say that LN2 is no more dangerous than a deep fryer. Like a deep fryer, take safety seriously but you don’t have to be paranoid. I’ve done a fair amount of research into the dangers and the only one that you need to be especially careful about is this one:
This one is no joke. A “chef” (at least that’s what the news reports called him) blew off parts of his hands when he screwed on the cap of his thermos tight. If you get a certified cryogenic container than the dangers are minimal.
It makes great ice cream, especially with a little alcohol.
We were going to build nitrogen extractor at the maker space I belong to specifically make ice cream, but it was nixed because of the whole “sudden state change” problem. Given the number of intentional sudden state changes that are intentionally set there, I reluctantly conceded it was a bad idea.
Really good ice cream, though.