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"Fast" Ice Cream With Dry Ice


KennethT

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So I tried this again the other night and came up with a slight problem... I started with base that had been sitting in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then added, a bit at a time, powdered dry ice (that had been sifted through a strainer to remove any pea sized pieces) and stirred with a wooden spoon - total freezing time about 5 minutes...

I then served it straight from the mixing bowl. The result was extremely creamy soft serve consistency...

The problem was that it came out slightly carbonated - so it was creamy but had a pricklyness to it... does anyone have any thoughts as to a way around this? I wonder if I let it set in the freezer for a bit if it would lose the carbonation?

edit - something happened when I hit the post button before... sorry!

Edited by KennethT (log)
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I think "carbonation" is inevitable if you mix CO2 into your ice cream.

This is why "cream whippers" use N20 (nitrous oxide) and NOT CO2.

This matters even if it isn't cream you are whipping.

Kenneth, I see you've posted on the current 'Foam' thread, but for anyone else...

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1611146

CO2 in the mix will give carbonation, and a taste of 'soda water' (English) or 'seltzer' (US).

Liquid Nitrogen is just, umm, Nitrogen and pretty tasteless. Thats one reason it works for ice cream.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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While the prickliness may have been unexpected and perhaps undesirable given what you were aiming for, could it have been an interesting and pleasant "surprise" in its own right? One could conceivably have an "ice cream soda" all in the same preparation. This could be a new version of a root beer float.

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While the prickliness may have been unexpected and perhaps undesirable given what you were aiming for, could it have been an interesting and pleasant "surprise" in its own right? One could conceivably have an "ice cream soda" all in the same preparation. This could be a new version of a root beer float.

It's true - it actually wasn't unpleasant at all... and most of the guests really liked it and even commented about how they thought the prickliness woke up their tongue... I tasted it just before plating, realized the carbonation, and, when serving, introduced it as a Vanilla Cream Soda ice cream because I think perception can be highly influenced by expectations...

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I think "carbonation" is inevitable if you mix CO2 into your ice cream.

This is why "cream whippers" use N20 (nitrous oxide) and NOT CO2.

This matters even if it isn't cream you are whipping.

Kenneth, I see you've posted on the current 'Foam' thread, but for anyone else...

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1611146

CO2 in the mix will give carbonation, and a taste of 'soda water' (English) or 'seltzer' (US).

Liquid Nitrogen is just, umm, Nitrogen and pretty tasteless. Thats one reason it works for ice cream.

I wish I had access to liquid nitrogen - that would make the fast ice cream without the carbonation effect... but I have no idea where to get it, and I have no dewar flask for storage... I had thought that I'd use dry ice since I can get it pretty easily and just store it in a cooler...

I had thought about the carbonation (cold + CO2 = carbonation) but hoped that it might dissipate before serving... in my prior experiment, upon first tasting, it was definitely carbonated, but after setting in the freezer overnight, it lost the carbonation - and expanded the container a bit! I was hoping that the small dry ice particle size would incorporate faster, and also "uncarbonate" faster too... but no such luck...

edit - also, I was hoping that since I wasn't adding the CO2 at any pressure (other than normal atmospheric) that not much would be incorporated into the mixture... I was hoping that the CO2 would just bubble off as I stirred... which happened for the most part, but some did dissolve into it... If no one has done it already, I may at some point do an experiment where I make the ice cream, then taste every hour or so to see if it loses the carbonation over time...

Edited by KennethT (log)
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Kenneth, just to add to my previous remarks that gas solubility INCREASES with decreasing temperature.

This is in contrast to the typical solution of solids in liquids, where reducing the temperature reduces the solubility.

If you want to use CO2 in the mix, then work with the acidity. Otherwise, best I think to keep it outside the ice cream mix.

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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  • 1 month later...

Dry Ice , take 2:

Slid a big bag over the Kitchenaid bowl and put about a pound and a half of dry ice in it.

Made up a coffee / chocolate base :

1 cup heavy cream ,1cup milk ,1/2 cup of really strong coffee.

1 egg yolk , 1/4 cup caro syrup about the same of sugar

1/2 cup or so of powdered chocolate(Ghiardelli) .

Once brought up to heat ,I dropped it into the mixer bowl (Big Mistake!)

Used up all the dry ice before it set :sad:

If I had cooled it before dry icing it , it would have likely set . Two hours in the home freezer set it and made a tasty (but slightly grainy) ice cream.

Methinks if stuff a baggie inside the whisk with more dry ice to cool things faster , this might work.

TIA

Jorge

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