Scientists lighten ice cream in a flash

September 21, 2005|By Christopher Hall, New York Times News Service

BOONE, Iowa — For a pair of Ph.D.'s in chemical engineering named Will Schroeder and T.J. Paskach, August meant scooping ice cream all day for 11 days at the Iowa State Fair.

But they didn't mind. They're on a quest for the perfect ice cream.

Schroeder and Paskach have harnessed the latest high-tech toy for the world of avant-garde cuisine. They are the founders of Blue Sky Creamery, which makes smooth, dense and flavorful ice cream using liquid nitrogen (minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit) in a flash freezer they invented and patented.

"The faster you freeze ice cream, the smaller the ice crystals and smoother the texture," Paskach said recently at a business park outside this small town. He was standing next to a boxy, four-foot-high contraption that sputtered loudly and emitted clouds of vapor as it churned out cappuccino ice cream. (Other flavors include chocolate, vanilla, black raspberry, lemon, caramel and some seasonal ones like pumpkin pie.)

Flash-freezing eliminates the need for eggs and extra butterfat, which add smoothness to ice cream made in conventional freezers, he said.

"I wouldn't call our product a health food," Paskach said, "but it has about one-third less fat than other premium brands and a much cleaner finish."

Schroeder, 32, and Paskach, 36, were graduate students at Iowa State when they built a flash-freeze ice-cream-making machine for a campus festival in 1999.

They took an upgraded machine to the 2000 Iowa State Fair, where they served 32,000 scoops, and have returned every year since. They now have ice cream shops in Ankeny, Iowa, and Lakeville, Minn., and distribute to markets in five Midwestern states. The product is difficult to find in the Chicago area, though mail-order is a possibility via