LN2 party report

[wotw]

This weekend, I held my Baitcon-inspired LN2 ice cream
party, using a single 160 liter tank of LN2. (More below
on the ways this made a difference.)

On Saturday, a total of 6 guests made a total of 4 flavors.

On Sunday, a total of 20 guests made a total of 17 flavors.

Most of the flavors were orginal, though I did make two
batches of Laurie's Wafer Thin Mint, one of them with the
(inadvertent) addition of vanilla extract (I picked up the
wrong bottle). A slim majority thought the vanilla was an
improvement, thereby proving once again that democracy
doesn't work. The original recipe is perfect and cannot
be improved upon.

We had Bubble Gum, M&M Smorgasbord, M-N-Oreo Delight, and at
least two additional flavors loaded with M&M's, Reese's Pieces,
etc. (13 of the 26 guests were children). We had Bananaberry,
Mixed berry, Orange Cranberry, Chocolate Raspberry and Raspberry
Chocolate. We had Chambourg, Green Tea, and an improvised
Lime Sorbet that was to die for.

Things I learned about LN2:

1) When you are dispensing from a hose, as opposed to
pouring, you tend to get a *lot* of splatter due to
the high pressure delivery of LN2. Many experiments
were attempted to control this splatter, including
opening the valve less, opening the valve more, holding
the hose higher above the mix, holding the hose closer
to the surface of the mix, submerging the hose in the
mix, covering the bucket with plastic wrap, leaving a
hole just big enough for a stirring implement, etc.
Nothing works.

2) A whisk can be a very good stirring implement. Or a
very bad one. We tried several experiments, making
batches with a whisk vs. a large spoon. It definitely
made a difference, but the difference seemed unpredictable.
Sometimes the whisked version was far better; sometimes
far worse.

(We were inspired to try the whisk by keith_m043's
helpful suggestion to fold in the LN2.)

Thanks to everyone who helped with suggestions, and thanks
yet again to JB and the concom for their inspiration.

Comments

[blackanvil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the lN2 as it comes out of the hose is hard to control; at Baitcon, we use a smaller dewar (my 20-liter one) to hold and pour the lN2 from during the ice-cream making process.

Glad to hear you had fun!

--doug

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Glad you like the Wafer Thin Mint so much! :)

[ian-gunn.livejournal.com]

OK, I'm responding to this way late but I have useful information for you.

I'm amused by the idea of making ice cream with LN2. I've worked with LN2 a fair amount in the lab environment. All the large capacity LN2 tanks I've used have a sintered bronze filter at the end of the dispensing hose. That filter reduces the splattering considerably. It won't get rid of it completely but enough to work with easily. Even with the filter though it is still easier to dispense to a small dewar that you can pour from.