Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Recipe

Liquid nitrogen is very, very cold. When you pour it over mixed ice cream ingredients it freezes your ice cream in minutes, as opposed to hours in a freezer. The best recipes for liquid nitrogen ice cream are the fattening ones because the fats in cream or half-and-half help keep the ice crystals small so the ice cream will be smooth and rich. The liquid nitrogen hits the warmer liquid that will become the ice cream, causing the nitrogen to boil away. Air is mostly nitrogen anyway, so if you think about it, nitrogen is a really safe coolant to use. Now... gather your materials and let's make ice cream!

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Materials

at least 5 liters of liquid nitrogen
gloves and preferably goggles
large plastic or steel bowl or bucket (no glass, please)
4 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 quart mashed strawberries
additional half cup of sugar if you are using unsweetened berries
wooden spoon
wire whisk

Don't like strawberry ice cream? Fine. Leave it out and add vanilla extract for vanilla ice cream or chocolate syrup for chocolate ice cream. Substitute other types of mashed fruit, if you like. Be inventive!

Make Ice Cream

1. Use your whisk to mix together the cream, half-and-half, and sugar in the bowl or bucket. Keep mixing until the sugar has dissolved. If you are making vanilla or chocolate ice cream, stir in the vanilla or chocolate syrup. Add any other liquid flavorings you are using.
   
   
2. Put on your gloves and goggles. Pour a small amount of liquid nitrogen directly onto the ice cream ingredients. Stir the ice cream as you continue to add more liquid nitrogen. Add the mashed strawberries once the ice cream starts to thick. Keep stirring.



3. When the ice cream becomes too thick to the whisk, switch to a wooden spoon. Some people like to use a drill with a mixer attachment. Whatever works, right?
   
   
4. Remove your spoon once the ice cream becomes to hard to stir. Pour more liquid nitrogen over the ice cream to fully harden it. Allow the nitrogen to boil off before serving the ice cream.
   
   
5. Dig in!