icream - Store in Chicago Makes Ice Cream in 55 Seconds

[DonRocks]

Tarver King did this in front of us at Ashby Inn and we couldn't believe it.

icream

[Joe H]

Tarver King did this in front of us at Ashby Inn and we couldn't believe it.

icream

I am going to have to make ice cream for him. A 45 year old White Mountain freezer with rock salt, ice and a hand crank speaks for itself as does Lewes Dairy heavy cream, cream top Trickling Springs whole milk, unsalted Vermont butter and free range egg yolks. Knowing how to time making caramel from scratch helps, too along with toasting pecans in the same Vermont butter before folding them in. And, forty minutes and a strong forearm for the cranking as well.

Then packing the canister (which has never had a speck of soap in almost a half century) with rock salt and ice and covering all of this with burlap for two hours to ripen. Then another two hours into a freezer.

I'll put this up against any taste of any dish in the world. I made it on Monday night and thought that if I had learned how to make it in junior high school I would still be a virgin.

[ALB]

I've been there! It was a good place to take people when I lived in chicago and it was very cool to watch. The downside is the flavorings all come from extracts and flavorings etc so you don't get the great real fruit in them or deeper flavored syrups and flavorings. But it is really fun to watch and they have a lot of choices.

[darkstar965]

My first reaction to this, based purely on Don's headline, was to not even click on it to read. 55 second ice cream is about technology and entertainment, not about flavor or quality.

But then I read it just because it was Don.

I'm torn. But not that much.

Pretty sure I'm in Joe H's camp here. And without the patience to research it to find out what credible authorities think of it relative to truly high quality ice cream or gelato (i.e., like Joe H described or made at a declining number of farms and specialty shops or spots like Dolcezza), I'm just not sure.

Points for the figurative coolness of it to be sure. And, noted that they're using cane sugar to sweeten rather than HFCS. But, agree also with ALB's soft criticism of the flavoring agents, lack of real ingredients and coloring agents. I'd also bet this business succeeds so kudos to the young woman who founded it for creativity and enough tenacity to see it through to an opening.

Ice Cream (also gelato, milkshakes, etc.) are one of My Things. Guessing this can't possibly make my cut but next time in Chicago, will give it a try. Of course, I'm sure it'll be announced here in DC within 12 months too.

[Joe H]

angelo brocato's caramel pecan in New Orleans.

[ol_ironstomach]

Aw, you gotta show up to the DR picnic more often, Don. I spun individual servings of dry ice ice cream at the spring picnic what, four years ago, with Jake's assistance in flaming off certain flavors. Jose Andres was serving his nitro concoctions before that, and of course liquid N2 ice cream is a science geek favorite that goes back generations . We used to raid spent Dewars behind campus labs for dregs. I still have an urge to combine dry ice and pop rocks (unencapsulated, if I can get it to work) for a future picnic.

There are a couple of shops around the US now that specialize in cryo ice cream on demand, including one that offers a choice of refrigerant (liquid N2 or dry ice).

[darkstar965]

Aw, you gotta show up to the DR picnic more often, Don. I spun individual servings of dry ice ice cream at the spring picnic what, four years ago, with Jake's assistance in flaming off certain flavors. Jose Andres was serving his nitro concoctions before that, and of course liquid N2 ice cream is a science geek favorite that goes back generations . We used to raid spent Dewars behind campus labs for dregs. I still have an urge to combine dry ice and pop rocks (unencapsulated, if I can get it to work) for a future picnic.

There are a couple of shops around the US now that specialize in cryo ice cream on demand, including one that offers a choice of refrigerant (liquid N2 or dry ice).

Dave--to the best of your knowledge, has cryo ice cream ever been conceptualized as a commercial retail shop before recently? Re: the liguid nitrogen or dry ice 'choice' - well, of course! Between freezing method, color, and flavoring agents, will be fun for those inclined to figure out maximum number of possible options.

[ad.mich]

Reminds me of this stunt/event in Georgetown a while back.

[DonRocks]

My first reaction to this, based purely on Don's headline, was to not even click on it to read. 55 second ice cream is about technology and entertainment, not about flavor or quality.

[That's why it's in News and Media and not in the Chicago thread!]

Incidentally, Tarver's was excellent because it was made with really high-quality flavors. I suspect Dave's was, too. Clearly it doesn't take anything but a knowledge of how to do it and the correct equipment (unlike scrambling an egg which is much more difficult).