

Infusion Profusion: Game-changing Fast-‘n-cheap Technique - tptacek
http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/08/11/infusion-profusion-game-changing-fast-‘n-cheap-technique/

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tptacek
Just in time for the weekend!

Backstory: go read this McGee article - <http://j.mp/9AFtRz> \- but
long->short: there's a trendy technique for creating intensely flavored drinks
called vacuum distillation/infusion. Temperature and pressure are obviously
closely related; by messing with pressure, you can distill flavored alcohols
at much lower temperatures, which greatly intensifies flavor.

This article, by the Dir/Technology at the French Culinary Institute, gets
results that are often comparable to what people are getting with $2k-$5k vac
machines --- using a cheap ISI cream whipper you can get off Amazon (or, I
guess, at Williams-Sonoma) for $60. _In one minute._

So for instance, if you wanted to make a mojito, you could infuse rum with
lime zest and mint and start the cocktail with an intensely flavored perfectly
clear liquid.

It apparently works with other (non-alcoholic) liquids too. I can't wait to
try this. (Erin wants an ISI whipper anyways, to make aerated chocolate).

There's apparently even _science_ involved! ---

 _Well done! You’ve rediscovered nitrogen cavitation and put it to novel use.
Cavitation is used in cell biology labs to gently disrupt cells in a vessel
ominously called a “nitrogen bomb” (as the gas here is nitrogen). The usual
explanation is close to what you surmised: under pressure, gas penetrates the
cells, then forms bubbles to disrupt the cells when the pressure is suddenly
released. Your use of the technique looks a lot more interesting than my
experiences with it in a lab._

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cperciva
_by messing with temperature, you can distill flavored alcohols at much lower
temperatures_

I'm guessing you mean "by messing with _pressure_..." here.

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tptacek
Doh! Thanks!

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patio11
I have to try this for iced teas...

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silentbicycle
I haven't tried the method described in the article yet (great post!), but
I've done slower extraction methods. They works especially well for things
that are either fatty or excellent fat/oil solvents. Quite a few flavors are
oil-based, or have a significant oil component, and they don't mix as well in
just water.

Vodka and cream are particularly easy bases for infusing flavors, so you're in
luck if you're into cocktails and/or ice cream.

Butter works, too, but liquids are easier to work with. Sugar also holds
flavors nicely - that may be the best route for iced tea, if you don't mind it
being a bit sweet. Vanilla sugar is classic, but for iced tea, spearmint
leaves may be better. (And mojitos, of course.)

Either steeping in vodka (for a few weeks) or gently heating in cream will
extract flavors. For butter, just mix it with minced herbs or whatever. For
sugar, chop/grind/mince whatever and keep it in a jar full of sugar for a few
weeks.

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tptacek
Since the technique relies in part on the solubility of N2O in water, I'd be
surprised to find out that cavitation worked well in oil.

~~~
silentbicycle
I wasn't talking about extracting _in_ oil, but extracting oil-soluble
flavors: clove, mint, vanilla, rosemary, cardamom, garlic, bacon, coffee,
capsaicin, etc. Cream and vodka both have plenty of water.

I haven't tried cavitation (yet!), but I've done extraction by slower
processes.

