I’ve always been ice cream’s biggest fan – photos of me as a kid usually starred mint chocolate chip smeared all over my face, hands, shirt, mom’s shirt, you name it. So when I first approached Lulu’s Nitrogen ice cream stand at the Farmer’s Market, I was more than dubious about how close it could get to the real thing.
Safe to say I stand corrected.
Photo by Justin Schuble
Lulu’s adds a whole new spin on how we think of ice cream today. As one girl working the stand started to fulfill my coconut ice cream order, the other explained how the process worked. The cream bases are made the night before, with only local and in-season ingredients used to add flavoring. She poured in the base for the vegan coconut, and brought out a hose to add liquid nitrogen to the mix. Since the liquid nitrogen is about -320 degrees, the ice cream freezes immediately. She hurriedly clarified that this step is not dangerous at all, no masks are needed, and kids especially love it.
Photo by Justin Schuble
“There are no emulsifiers, no additives, no stabilizers. Just…ice cream.” The biggest appeal of Lulu’s nitrogen ice cream is its fresh and organic approach to the process. When you walk up to the stand, you get exactly what you order in minutes, and you watch them do it the whole time. When you buy a pint of ice cream, there is very little connection between producer and consumer. Lulu’s brings these two together.
Photo by Justin Schuble
Once they handed me my double-scoop cup, I got to choose from a variety of toppings – granola, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips – and I got to put them on myself, so no one had time to judge me for the double-extra-mountain of chocolate chips that I usually have to request. Watching the liquid nitrogen brings us all back to our sixth grade science classes, except this experiment is edible, accessible, and a lot more fun. While the release of Ben and Jerry’s new cookie core flavors is a tough act to follow, Lulu’s has enough potential and the motivation to be up for the challenge.
Photo by Justin Schuble
For more, follow Lulu’s on Instagram at lulus_icecream, or check out the other places that Spoon has spotted nitrogen ice cream.