Food Grade Liquid Nitrogen

How Food Grade Liquid Nitrogen Makes Food Fantastic!

Liquid nitrogen
You may know liquid nitrogen from your favorite science show where the gas pours out of a test tube and cascades onto the table. The smokiness that spills over is the nitrogen gas evaporating. Nitrogen turns to its liquid state when nitrogen molecules are compressed and cooled through condensation. Liquid nitrogen has a temperate of -320 °F below zero, which is why it instantly freezes anything you combine it with.

Food grade liquid nitrogen is generally used to freeze food items at a rapid rate to maximize freshness when storing or transporting produce to your local grocery stores. Although it is used as a preservation component, it is also used to make creative foods and dishes with a twist!

Ice Cream
When you want ice cream frozen quickly, many people choose to make it with liquid nitrogen. Not surprisingly, many local ice cream parlors specialize in using liquid nitrogen to prepare their ice cream as the concept rises in popularity. In the traditional ice cream process, ice crystals form and expand in order to freeze the mixture, which can cause the ice cream to have a grainy texture. When it comes to using liquid nitrogen, the process produces smaller micro crystals. As a result of the quick freezing, there is less oxygen (air) in the ice cream mixture, which leads to a smoother and creamier consistency.

Freezing Ingredients
In recent years, many chefs have been taking their crafts to the next level by experimenting with molecular gastronomy. Molecular gastronomy is a method of transforming food into different shapes, textures and tastes by mixing science with food ingredients for a unique dining experience.

Making ice cream with liquid nitrogen has been a growing trend, but there’s new culinary focus on freezing ingredients and crushing them to create new consistencies that couldn’t be accomplished normally. For example, freezing raspberries with liquid nitrogen to make raspberry droplets. If you were to freeze raspberries in the freezer and then attempt to crush them, they would essentially turn into raspberry pulp because only the outer layer was frozen. With a quick liquid nitrogen freeze, the entire food is frozen and you can break off individual pieces. The same goes for any other ingredient you flash freeze (bananas, cheese, honey, etc.) and you can turn them into powder as a topping or as a flavoring in dishes.

The Choice for Freezing and Chilling Food
Liquid nitrogen is a reliable and efficient gas used throughout the food industry. Whether you are food distributor, preserving food long-term or creating new whimsical food creations in the kitchen, Air Source Industries has you covered. Ask us about food-grade liquid nitrogen by calling our experts at (562) 426-4017 or get a quote online.