A couple of months ago, while on a “crew trip” to Hong Kong, we walked past this sidewalk kiosk which was causing quite a ruckus. Hong Kong always seem to have people lining up for good restaurants, noodle places, shops, etc., so a line in and of itself wasn’t sufficient to stop us in our tracks after a very hearty dinner.
But with some 40-50 people milling around, watching young Chinese crew members dressed in shorts and t-shirts printed with suits and neckties (huh?!) playing with fire (oops, no I meant liquid ice) sending smoke billowing both inside and outside the kiosk, DID make me incredibly curious. We decided we needed to FORCE ourselves, note the word FORCE ourselves to order a few scoops of liquid nitrogen made ice cream in the name of “research” and broadening our food experiences… :)
They had only four flavors on offer (they change every two weeks) and two of those were already sold out, so we ordered two cups of mango and two cups of apple crumble. Each cup cost roughly US$5-6, quite expensive even with the theatrics, high rent and snazzy kiosk (you can buy a pint of Haagen Daz for that amount)! You get a number, your order is made fresh, and after say a 10 minute wait, you are called to claim your cup(s) of ice cream.
In a standard Kitchen Aid mixer (plastered with the Lab’s stickers) with paddle attachment, you add good cream to the mixing bowl…
…then some stewed apples (probably heavily sweetened)…
…some liquid nitrogen from an insulated pitcher (the kind you might use for coffee or a cold drink…
…and you mix it all up, sending clouds of cold vapor everywhere. Essentially, the incredibly cold liquid nitrogen transforms the cream and fruit instantly into ice cream! The process is supposed to yield an incredibly smooth and creamy ice cream, and I thought it met some of those claims, but I also worried that the quick production time meant there wasn’t enough “churning” of cream going on.
I have to admit, I was intrigued and amused by the set-up, but it was a tad too gimmicky for me (then again, at 50, I must have been one of the older customers in line).
The apple crumble flavor was good (topped with if I recall correctly, some almost freeze dried textured crumble, but I think the emphasis was more on the show, the process, rather than the quality of the ice cream.
The mango ice cream was a slightly less appealing for a couple of reasons… the mangoes paled in comparison with our own back home, and they oddly topped the final produce with bits of pomelo, huh? Overall, it was a rather novel experience. But that’s it. A novel experience.
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It’s more of a novelty really and yes, they add pomelo to their mango desserts like those served in Hui Lau Shan and other similar sweet shops.
Alton Brown showed this technique quite a while back, saying that the liquid nitrogen made for much smaller ice crystals. I think he was making avocado ice cream and even mentioned that avocado ice cream is very popular in the Philippines
Do I see MM-experimentation in the future? Food Channels feature nitrogen-cooking more now…
Natie, I would if liquid nitrogen were readily available in Manila… but I suspect it isn’t and it is rather expensive. And if folks aren’t really careful with it, we could have a frozen assistant cook in the kitchen… :)
…we could have a frozen assistant cook in the kitchen…
Ain’t necessarily so as this clip explains:
httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v2cBZpfY2A&list=UUxD2E-bVoUbaVFL0Q3PvJTg
Hi MM. You may try the Iscreamist in Magiting St. Teachers Village QC. Their desserts are not that expensive and a lot of customers in their store. They give you a cup of liquid nitrogen, just be careful because it can cause burns. Try the Dragon’s Breath. :)
Footloose, how cool is that, and however do you find these videos? I wouldn’t have thought to even google freeze person with liquid nitrogen… :) Kaye, thanks for that tip, but apparently it doesn’t burn people according to the video…
Here is an article on the safeness of liquid nitrogen. Read the comments as it also contains some info on food grade liquid nitrogen
https://modernistcuisine.com/2011/10/is-liquid-nitrogen-safe/
Here is another artcle:
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19870668
My friend who recently launched her artworks had this among her food nibbles that night, and I especially liked the one with rhum. Interesting concept.
MM…try Air Liquid? Philippines in Taguig.
I really want to try making ice cream using liquid nitro after we had some in the same shop in Hk. I have been wondering where to buy liquid nitrogen though. CIGI?
Air Liquide or BOC/Linde/Cigi (Pasig). Two main producers/distributors of gases.
there is similar shop getting good reviews named KOOL KIDS in Megamall
The mango sago dessert I’ve had in Maxim’s Palace in HK had pomelo bits in them. HongKongers probably like the combination.
mango ice cream or sherbet and pomelo is a typical taiwanese dessert combination, i think.
There’s an ice cream booth in Midnight Mercato that serves ice cream using the liquid nitrogen method as well. Haven’t tasted it yet though.
A similar approach would be to use crushed dry ice and mix it with the ice cream base. Be careful not add to much of the base in the mixer since adding dry ice could cause it to bubble over. The ice cream will taste very fizzy initially, but mixing it longer will take the CO2 out eventually.
But would it not border on the frivolous to use dry ice this way as using it to create fog to contrive romantic ambience when we are all frantically trying to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere? Using nitrogen on the other hand would seem beneficial if not benign since it will be welcome addition to the nitrogen cycle that we all are part of ourselves.
Footloose, I don’t think the source of CO2 in dry ice is from the burning of fossil fuel. They use the same CO2 source that soda companies use to make soft drinks. Brewing beer and making bread are just some of the processes that create CO2, and they’ve never been accused of causing global warming.
I once saw a show on Discovery (or was it National Geographic?) channel where they used a fire extinguisher!
Ample apologies to ice cream lovers. I can see now how ice cream can be essential to them since bread and beer, specially beer, have been mentioned.
It really is for show. The liquid nitrogen ice cream they sell at Mercato wasn’t that good given its price, but I do have to admit I liked the ice cream made in ‘The Iscreamist’
I love the HK Toast flavor, yummy!
MM, liquid nitrogen is available in the philippines long time ago as it was commonly use by electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. There are some retail shop that sell it by liters good enough to experiment :)
On the US West Coast, there is A la’ Minute. Give them a try if you are in the Southern California area.
https://www.alaminuteicecream.com/
httpss://www.facebook.com/alaminuteicecream