The Hour

Get yourself some ice, a spoonful of cream and maybe even a couple of vanilla pods and you have all the ingredients for some fantastic ice cream, or do you?

Well, according to one Midlothian restaurant, a little bit of liquid nitrogen is the missing ingredient needed for a top-notch dessert.

Adapting the ideas from Heston Blumenthal who pioneered a technique which merged the chemistry lab with the kitchen, the addition of this chemical is now used to create unique ice cream and cocktails.

Craig Minto, one of the chefs at the family business The Sun Inn in Dalkeith, has been trained to work with this chemical.

“Take some ice cream mix and put it into a bowl,” the 29-year-old explained. “Add liquid nitrogen in slowly, stirring at the same time so it doesn’t get clumpy.”

The liquid nitrogen, which boils at -196 °C, reacts with the ice cream before evaporating into the air, freezing one-scoops-worth of ice cream mixture within 15 to 18 seconds.

While reacting with the mixture, the liquid nitrogen makes a fizzing noise and produces lots of misty smoke, adding a theatrical element to the process.

“One of the chef’s will go out to the table and cook it,” Craig said. “It is a bit of theatre in the restaurant, it is a different angle, it is not something you see everyday.”

As well as using the chemical for ice cream, the restaurant has also begun using it to create show-stopping cocktails".

Mixing the liquid nitrogen into the orange juice, Craig explained: “Because it is so cold, it just solidifies everything it comes into contact with.”

Once the slush has been created, it is transferred into a glass and then mixed with some good old champagne, voila!

Caution: Children should not attempt to make this at home.

For more information, visit The Sun Inn website.