Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream is an annual tradition in Mad Science, a theme community housed in the second and third levels of Foster. Each year, puzzled Reedies peer into their cabinets, wondering why the vanilla, the chai powder, and the cocoa mix are all marked with “N2”. They are rewarded for not using the ingredients when the first Hum 110 paper is due, and the common room is full of nitrogen gas and various flavors of ice cream.
Students gather to “ooh” and “aah” over the smoky sweet treat.
This year, there were a couple of hitches. We had to make a quick run up the hill to Safeway to get more cream and milk, and then another trip over to Commons to borrow enough bowls to feed everyone, since the event was open to the Reed community. The liquid nitrogen, however, had arrived days before, and sat on the counters in sealed, intimidating canisters. But finally, the moment had come, and an old steel stockpot was filled with milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and liquid nitrogen. There were more than a few gasps as the gas billowed out, and excited faces tried to make out the results of the “experiment”. When the fog cleared, they were rewarded with slightly less-than-frozen ice cream, in flavors including vanilla, chai, and chocolate!
Vanilla and chocolate and chai… oh my!
