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Posts tagged LN2

Liquid nitrogen ice cream base recipe

Sep14
2012 2 Comments Written by chefshane

I've been posting some of our most popular nitrogen ice cream recipes on the site, so here's a very handy ice cream base recipe.
This is the fresh custard that makes the ice cream rich and velvety.

You can use any custard, or thick liquid to make ice cream, even commercial custard and yoghurt.
We use only natural products for our liquid nitrogen ice cream – a classic cooked egg yolk, milk & sugar custard with no artificial preservatives or stabilisers.

Liquid nitrogen ice cream is the freshest, healthiest ice cream that you can ever eat – because it's fresh.
The speed of the deep-chill from liquid nitrogen prevents lactose crystallisation, and as it's not being stored in the freezer, there's no need for preservatives, stabilisers and emulsifiers to stop it turning icy over a month or two.

This ice cream base is also fine for traditional ice cream machines. The fresh ice cream lasts a week in the freezer if made naturally, but you need to be careful about additives like chocolate which can make ice cream very hard, or alcohol & sugar which can make ice cream very soft.

This is an ice cream base recipe – but it's also a classic custard "Anglaise" sauce in its own right.
To use it as a sauce, just add flavour, such as Baileys, or melt in a little chocolate etc

Ingredients for liquid nitrogen ice cream base recipe

300g Liquid whipping cream, thick  
500g Milk, plain,  
4ea   Eggs, 60g (each)
130g Sugar, white, plain

Classic method

1/. Bring cream and milk to the simmer but do not boil

2/. Mix egg yolk and sugar – whisk to combine immediately

3/. Slowly whisk in 30% of the hot milk and cream to the yolks and sugar

4/. Pour this egg sugar milk and cream mix back into the remaining milk and cream in the pot and heat slowly, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens

5/. Strain immediately and cool to 5 Degrees C in an ice & water bath 

6/. Store chilled in an airtight container

Second easier method

There's a second method to make this ice cream base recipe, which cuts the cooking time dramatically.

It's the 'scientific' method as detailed in the great book "what Einstein told his cook".

Instead of the pouring and slow-cooking and watching, the method is reversed. The mass of the milk is increased with the sugar, so the temperature differential is just sufficient to cook the yolks. The timing and speed of pouring and whisking is critical, but once mastered, it's a safe, reliable, fast no-fuss method.
Master it. Not many pastry chefs know this method, and it's a real time-saver.

Method 2

1/. Add the sugar goes into the milk and cream – NOT in the egg yolk. Heat milk, cream and sugar to a simmer but do not boil.

2/. While the cream & milk are heating, warm the egg yolks to tepid – ie remove the chill, but don't make them 'warm'

3/. Starting slowly, and taking 10-15 seconds in total, pour all of the hot milk and cream into the yolks, whisking well

4/. Continue whisking for 20 seconds, then strain quickly and immediately into a bowl.

    It should now be ready, at full thickness.

This method really works and is a huge timesaver. You may botch up a batch or two getting it right – main problem is warming the yolks too much. A couple of degrees too much, and you have scramble egg.

Here's our durian ice cream recipe. I've given two methods, one for liquid nitrogen ice cream and the other which I've adapted for a traditional ice cream machine.

I've also uploaded a video, photos and technique for toasted coconut liquid nitrogen ice cream from Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas Krabi in South Thailand.

Questions and feedback welcome. I'll respond as soon as I can, which is normally within a day or two.
Thanks for visiting chef-a-gogo.

Posted in Dessert, Sweet, Pastry & Bread, Fusion & Contemporary - Tagged , , ,

Mango Liquid Nitrogen martini recipe from Vietnam

Mar17
2011 5 Comments Written by chefshane

It's been an exciting week in the Lobby Bar. 
Our favourite San Diego US foodie is back at the resort, and he's inspired us into some wild  culinary creations that have now come to be known as "The Olsen Experiments".
The invention of this mango liquid nitrogen martini was only a matter of time

We've been selling lots of liquid nitrogen ice cream at the resort since opening.
We were the first to introduce the concept to Vietnam in August 2010 and it didn't take long to become a signature of the resort, and our top selling F&B product. 

Currently we're one of the few places in Danang that offers consistent, imaginative cocktails, nicely made. Last Christmas in 2011 we started making liquid nitrogen cocktails, and they really took off. As of now, we're still the only place in Vietnam to sell them

Safety with liquid nitrogen cocktails

Liquid Nitrogen is not meant to be consumed or drunk.
It bubbles and boils through the cocktail, stripping heat from the drink and returning back into the atmosphere. It's only for chilling.
The liquid nitrogen should be gone by the time the drink is sipped.

If nitrogen is pooling on the surface of the drink, then stir it in or swirl it in.

An important part of bar training is to get this right.
The liquid nitrogen is a fast way to chill drinks, One huge benefit is that the nitrogen is so cold, it can freeze alcohol.
We add just enough to form a delicious icy cap for the cocktail that can be eaten like sorbet.

Our liquid nitrogen cocktails

We have 5 liquid permanent nitrogen cocktails on the menu that we're really happy with.
Simmo's Waters is a watermelon based hangover cure, that works courtesy of it's innocent lolly-water taste and demonic possession by (bottled) spirits.

Smoking Passion is a triple passionfruit number, and the Pepper Spray Pig is a kick-boxing tom yum Bloody Mary with crispy bacon, bacon vodka and a bacon salt rim. It has the Heart Foundation's tick of distrust

This post is about a new liquid nitrogen martini using the Absolut Mango that Mr Olsen brought for us, and we ended up by fine-tuning another great mango  cocktail and we also created this Thai green curry chicken pizza recipe.

Liquid nitrogen mango martini ingredients

10ml    lychee liqueur  
50ml   Absolut Mango vodka
30g     very ripe mango cubes (in season)
25ml   liquid nitrogen
20ml   pineapple juice, freshly squeezed 
5ml     lime juice, freshly squeezed

Method

  1. Peel and dice ripe mang flesh into chunky cubes, and skewer onto cocktail sticks. 3 cunks per  stick
  2. Add lychee liqueur into each glass and swirl to coat the sides
  3. Put the skewer  of ripe mango chunks into the glass
  4. Pour in the Mango Absolut over the ripe mango 
  5. Pour in the liquid nitrogen, slowly until a thin disk of frozen vodka forms on top. Don't pour too much or it will shatter the glass or 'boil' the alcohol to frozen  solid 
  6. Top with a little fresh pineapple juice and lime juice floating on top. 

Now is probably the time to get out the boxing gloves and fend off comments and criticism from the martini purists again.

Once again, there's not a touch of gin or vermouth to be seen, and it's "hold the olive, James"!

I already admit culpability and kowtow to the Martini Mafia.
Anything other than gin, vermouth and olives, (stirred) is a heinous crime.
Basically, I'm a drinks criminal. I know that.
I'm from New Zealand, not Manhattan, so give me a bit of leeway.

The Rules are meant to be broken

The whole idea of a martini is a very cold, premium spirit (Normally premium or super premium gin) ever so slightly diluted with water that melts from the ice cubes during the chilling process.

A mixology guru and good friend has a strict philosophy of 'stirring exactly sixteen times', counting down each deliberate stir to get the perfect dilution and chill on the cocktail before it is poured into the glass.

Normally you'd add vermouth to the empty glass, swirl it around and toss it out before straining your iced spirit into the glass, and then garnish with the old green olive.

The optional next step is to stand there in a suit, posing provocatively and giving one of those piercing looks as you hold the glass in the prescribed fashion, sipping with an aristocratic pout.

In this version we don't use ice, so there's no dilution.
To get the chill we use Liquid Nitrogen which bubbles into the glass at 196 degrees C below zero, and pours over the top in a convincing display of uber-coolness. And I mean the temperature, not the fact that it looks amazing. Which it does.

Pour in a half ladle of liquid nitrogen and amongst the billowing vapour,  a wee disc of frozen vodka will appear, as the nitrogen is cold enough to make vodka'ice'.
This icy 'lid' will float on top of the drink, signifying that the temperature is just right.

We added a splash of freshly squeezed pineapple juice which was nice, but after experimenting, we enhanced this with a little lime juice. It really works.

The trick now is to give it to the drinker as quickly as possible!
It's chilled to perfection and still smoking.
And talking about espresso, try this awesome espresso martini recipe. This is a huge hit for both starting and finishing the night.

Posted in Drinks & cocktails, Fusion & Contemporary, Gluten free, Quick & easy - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11 compelling reasons to try liquid nitrogen ice cream

Sep29
2009 5 Comments Written by chefshane

Liquid nitrogen ice cream. Why?

  1. LN2 ice cream is so FRESH. It's only 2 minutes old when you eat it.
  2. It's made in 60 seconds to 3 minutes – so it's fast. It can be done artisan style, or scaled up for groups 
  3. Making the ice cream is a pretty awe-inspiring show with thick plumes of vapour billowing everywhere
  4. The -196ºC temperature stops lactose crystallisation, which = the smoothest ice cream physically possible.
  5. Health. Ingredients are all natural – no preservatives, stabilisers, emulsifiers or artificial additives needed  
  6. Can be adjusted to almost any diet: vegan, vegetarian, diabetic, low GI, allergies, low fat – almost anything.
  7. The ice cream can be adjusted to personal taste, sampled and changed as you go
  8. LN2 is cold enough to freeze alcohol, caramel and sweet syrups – difficult to do with 'normal' ice cream
  9. Guests love it. It's become the most popular selling item at Boudoir Kazakhstan, Centara Grand Beach Resort Krabi, and now at Pullman Beach  Resort Danang
  10. Money. It doesn't cost a lot, and it gives far better texture and taste in ice cream than using a $10,000 ice cream machine. 
  11. If you need a LOT of ice cream – no problem. Make one very big batch :-)

Liquid nitrogen ice cream is one of my 'signatures' and I've been making it table-side in my hotels and restaurants since 2007.
It became a firm favourite when I tried making it for the first time in "Boudoir", located of all places in Almaty, the "City of Apples" and the old capital of Kazakhstan.
Boudoir was a lounge bar restaurant and our clients were insanely wealthy Kazakhs, the designer-dressed 'social set', the diplomats, bankers, oil tycoons and the expat business leaders.

We charged a small fortune, and specialised in live mud crab "Singapore peppercrab" style, stunning oxygen foam "cocktails", and of course the liquid nitrogen ice cream.
Kazakhstan is also pretty famous (or infamous?) for their huge consumption of horse meat, which is on display at the central market

To make Liquid Nitrogen ice cream you need liquid nitrogen of course.
The keep liquid nitrogen (also known as "LN2") you need a special vented insulated container made especially for liquid nitrogen.
This stops it evaporating to quickly, and is safe to store and handle. The container cost is pretty high – over $1000 for a big one, so that investment puts a lot of people off.
LN2 can be VERY dangerous under certain conditions, and it must NEVER be put into a sealed container, or a "non-approved" container.
As it warms, it expands rapidly, so if it has nowhere to expand to, it can explode!
Here's an article I wrote on LN2 ice cream with a little more detail

The place you buy the liquid nitrogen from will usually sell the storage 'dewar', or maybe can loan/hire/rent one to you.
This is essential in a country with OHS laws!
We didn't have that issue in Almaty, so we picked up our LN2 in a local Kazakh Thermos flask with an ill-fitting cork lightly sitting on the top, allowing us to keep the LN2 for 48 hours. The glass inside the thermos would shatter from temperature shock every few weeks, but at $7 each it was more of an inconvenience than a financial problem

It turned out to be a huge success, and these days I have proper equipment – a 45 litre liquid nitrogen storage dewar, a 3.8 litre portable LN2 dewar, service trolleys, bowls, whisks and some sexy carved marble ice cream bowls that we designed specially.
We keep them in the freezer and the ice cream doesn't melt so quickly

As I mentioned in point 11:  If you need a LOT of ice cream – no problem. Make a very big batch 
I wasn't joking. We often do just that. It looks cool, and it's a LOT of fun.

Now we offer 21 flavours on my liquid nitrogen ice cream menu which is a popular treat as we're located right on the beach in central Vietnam.
Once again, this is a best seller, and almost everyone who stays here tries it.

It's still going strong in Centara Grand Beach Resort Krabi, and you can even make it yourself at home using a product called 'dippin dots

This is a 'must try' food, and once you try it, you'll love it.

 

Posted in Dessert, Sweet, Pastry & Bread, Exotic meats & ingredients, Fusion & Contemporary, Gluten free - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Toasted coconut liquid nitrogen ice cream LN2

Sep29
2009 Leave a Comment Written by chefshane

Today I gave some of the chefs in my brigade an introduction to using super-cold liquid nitrogen (known as LN2)…..to make ice cream.

We introduced a dedicated liquid nitrogen ice cream menu a few weeks after this video was shot, and we ended up with 
 five great flavours made at the table by our Thai chefs and service staff.
 The chefs were hyped up by the demonstration, and couldn't wait to start this in the restaurant.

We did a few demo runs with me making the ice cream, and then we did hands-on training focused on safety, handling, 
and getting the texture and flavour just right.

Interestingly I was the first to introduce liquid nitrogen ice cream to Kazakhstan, the first to introduce it to South Thailand, and also the first to introduce it to Vietnam. Where next?  ;-)

This version is made with toasted coconut, coconut palm sugar, whipping cream and coconut milk.
 You can make a Vegan version by replacing the dairy whipping cream with thick coconut cream.

Like to find out more about liquid nitrogen ice cream? here's a post about why it's so good
Still keen to know more?
Check out this ezinearticle about Liquid nitrogen ice cream,
or fast forward to August 2012 and have a look at
my current LN2 ice cream menu
at Pullman Beach Resort Danang in central Vietnam

Posted in Exotic meats & ingredients, Fusion & Contemporary - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
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