Snow

[cbarre02]

Winter months bring so much snow...

I was wondering if any one has tried to make snow (besides shaved ice). I was thinking of using a Flavorful liquid (at 33 degrees) and spraying it form a Wagner onto a frozen sheet pan.

Has any one had any experience with spraying any thing besides chocolate (or paint) from a Wagner? What about melted compound butters, or other fats?

Just another thing to think about on those cold winter days... it's either food or the lingering Christmas bills.

[alanamoana]

i don't have experience spraying anything other than chocolate, but here's my experience with that which may apply to your question:

the machine "freezes" or clogs up readily when the chocolate mixture isn't warm enough...but i assume that's from the fat.

the machine generates a lot of heat through friction so if you're doing something cold that doesn't have fat (which could seize the machine) you'd have the problem of it possibly heating up your product.

i guess the only thing to do, is to give it a try

oh yeah, and let us know what happens

wait a minute...i have an unused wagner in my closet as i write this....

[Michael Laiskonis]

So, I thought that other thread about cooking with snow was silly and strange, but making snow is an idea that I can definitely buy into!

Given you find a reliable method of production, and then storage, what do you think you might actually do with it?

[Louisa Chu]

I was there when Albert Adria accidentally made snow - too cold canister/contents into the Pacojet - looked just like snow. Not what he wanted but you could see his brain just turning when he saw it.

[cbarre02]

If the Wagner method works (which honestly I have no idea if it will) I thought of spraying ice cream bombes with this, as it could add an even lighter texture and look to the bomb. Or flavoring it with bold acidic flavor (citrus, ginger, pineapple), serve it with barley frozen fruit bruniose. Even could be used as an intermezzo course. Could also be floated on a gelleed liquid: Gelleed root beer (with the spices broken down in to layers), and float vanilla snow on top for a variation of root beer float.

Granted this is just an idea, and I have not yet even begun to explore the possibilities. That is one of the great things about this forum, is to share ideas. I have even given thought of using the Wagner in savory dishes. Spraying a mayo enriched raw tuna salad (that has been in the freezer for about 20 min) with some concoction of coconut oil, coconut milk, and wasabi. I think that this is an under utilized tool, and the chocolate application that it produces isn’t all that tasty.

This could be one instance that yellow snow is okay to eat.

[cbarre02]

So last night it was very cold... and snowing like crazy. So I thought that I would give the snow thing a try. I did a little research on how artificial snow is made, and it turns out that it is made the very same way that I described with the Wagner sprayer. Water just above freezing is forced through an atomizer in to 15 degree or below, and it freezes before it hits the ground (hopefully). In artificial snow there is a bacteria added to the water to encourage crystal formation at a lower temperature.

We I didn't have the bacteria, and I’m not about to mess around with things like that. So I just put in some cold water, and set the canister outside for about 20 minutes. Hooked it up to the gun, and started it up... well I can't believe it but it worked. The snow accumulates very fast and holds well in a frozen 6-inch hotel pan. I didn't try it with flavor or the addition of sugar (which I think is going to mess up this formula a little... who knows), but nonetheless there it was snow.

When I woke up in the morning there was four inches of the stuff on the ground, and I never hated "SNOW" more.

[twodogs]

snow and snow like substances can be made as noted in the paco jet. the key is overfreezing. the introduction of essential oils into the liquids or bases frozen will then allow for flavored but pure snow. also tomato water and other clarified vegetable juices should work to flavor snow

i'm noting a trend clouds, snow, ...i want to see culinary lightning

cheers