Dry ice is a solid form of carbon dioxide — the same carbonation that's used in your soda. A lot of people use it for October festivities and Halloween since it can be used in haunted houses or in "witch's brew" punch bowl. However, did you know that you can use dry ice in your everyday cooking? Read on to learn more about dry ice and some unique ways to use it in your kitchen.
What Is Cryogenic Cooking?
Cryogenic cooking is any type of cooking that subjects foods to intense cold temperatures to alter the taste, color, and/or texture. Dry ice is just one form of cryogenic cooking, and since it has a temperature of -109° Fahrenheit, it can be used to alter your recipes in interesting ways.
Are There Any Safety Tips to Keep in Mind?
Because dry ice is so cold, you do need to wear gloves when handling it. You'll want to use it in your cooking right away when you get it since storing it can be difficult. If you try to store it in a freezer, it could shut the freezer down since the freezer temperature is actually warmer than the temperature of dry ice. You don't want to store it in an airtight container since the gases can build up. You will also want to use it in a well-ventilated area.
What Types of Foods and Drinks Can You Make?
If you go online and search for dry ice recipes, you can find a lot of ideas. Here are just three ideas that you could try:
Chilly Rootbeer
Some people use dry ice in punch bowls with grape juice or pineapple juice, but there are lots of other drinks you can make. Chilly rootbeer is an easy recipe where you combine sugar, water, rootbeer extract, and dry ice. The dry ice will keep the drinks cool and add carbonation. Some people may want to mix club soda in to get more fiz.
Fresh Produce Snacks
Do you grow your own produce and like to store it in the freezer? One problem with freezing produce is that fruits and veggies can become soggy once they've been frozen for a while. To avoid this problem, you could consider placing your veggies and fruits on dry ice for about half an hour. While dry ice shouldn't be kept under pressure for a long period of time, adding produce to a cooler that's slightly ajar is okay. The dry ice will freeze the produce quickly, but you won't have to deal with the sogginess of long-term freezer produce. The dry ice produce can be used to dip in chocolate, as a side for yogurt, or as an ingredient for sorbet, smoothies, etc.
Fizzy Ice Cream
You don't need an ice cream maker to make this recipe. You can use a plastic bag and mallet to break down the dry ice. You can then stir your ingredients, like sugar, vanilla, salt, syrup, half-in-half, and heavy cream into a bowl while slowly adding the dry ice to it.
Now that Halloween is over, you are sure to find leftover dry ice and dry ice sales in stores. Reach out to a food and cooking service to learn more about cryogenic cooking and how to use dry ice.
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