This food tour is brought to you by the letter N. It stands for nitrogen, the chemical element that’s having a moment in the culinary world.
Lately, everyone from baristas to bartenders to chefs is exploring the culinary applications of nitrogen — in gas and liquid form — and finding that it can be a game-changer for transforming texture, altering temperature, saving time and adding entertainment to the dining experience.
Picture a pint of Guinness on draft: velvety, creamy and with a pillowy foam head. The beloved Irish dry stout gets its silky effervescence from the nitrogen gas that mixes with the beer when it’s poured.
Guinness Draught has been around for nearly 60 years, but it was only last summer that nitrogen-infused coffee, known among the java set as nitro coffee, brewed up a storm.
Like nitrogen beer, this chilled coffee is usually served on tap (although canned versions exist), with the nitrogen lending the black coffee a smooth, creamy texture.
"It seems like there is cream, but there's no cream, in there," said Alden Eavenson of local Wanderlust Coffee (wanderlustcoffee.com), whose nitro coffee can be found on tap at Octane Coffee in Tech Village, Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points, My Parents Basement in Avondale Estates and Truck & Tap in Woodstock.
Taproom Coffee (1963 Hosea L. Williams Drive N.E., Atlanta. 404-464-5435, taproomcoffee.com) offers both a nitro iced coffee and a nitro coffee infused with hops. For the latter, called Beerspresso, the hops lend a citrusy brightness while the nitro gives the cold, nonalcoholic drink a thick, creamy mouthfeel without carbonation. Taproom Coffee launched the product last summer as a way to celebrate its concept as both coffee and beer bar.
When coffee isn't enough of a wake-me-up, Ration and Dram (130 Arizona Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 678-974-8380, rationanddram.com) has the answer. Here, a jolt of alcohol is added to the restaurant's housemade nitro coffee in a couple of brunch cocktails.
The newly launched Speedy Gonzales is a chilled drink inspired by an Italian caffe corretto. But, rather than add grappa to a shot of espresso, this heady sipper gets smoky mezcal, plus a Mexican version of the bitter aperitif Fernet and a touch of agave, before getting topped with nitro coffee.
For something lighter, take part in the End of Apartheid, a mix of the South African cream liqueur amarula, Jamaican rum and nitro coffee, finished with a dollop of amarula-spiked whipped cream.
While nitrogen gas lends beverages a creamy smoothness, liquid nitrogen is perfect for freezing food, because it clocks in at minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit, plus it’s odorless, colorless and tasteless.
They've taken advantage of these properties at Flip Burger (1587 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 404-352-3547; 3655 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 404-549-3298, flipburgerboutique.com) since the concept launched in 2008. Order popular milkshake flavors like Nutella and burnt marshmallow or Krispy Kreme (or wait for spring when new flavors like red velvet or s'mores debut), then watch the staff make ice cream in an instant as they pour liquid nitrogen over liquid vanilla and milk, plumes of smoke rising from the glass.
Thanks to the wonders of liquid nitrogen, adults can get their shake spiked with alcohol (and it’ll still be thick instead of runny) or hold the sundry altogether and get a stiff martini that’s ice cold.
Cocktailians who want a liquid nitrogen tutorial can find it at Grain (856 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-881-5377, grain-bar.com). Here, the bartenders employ nitro muddling, whereby they add an herb or fresh produce to a shaker tin, pour in the liquid nitrogen to flash freeze the herb, and then muddle it into fine shards.
Nitro muddling begets heightened, brightened flavors, explained bar manager Amy Burns, because more of the food’s surface area touches the liquid when the cocktail is shaken. Order the Ma Petite Collins, a mule-like drink of vodka and ginger beer, to experience the enhanced notes of nitro-muddled mint.
At Grain, liquid nitrogen also is used to instantaneously chill cocktail glasses. It’s a practical solution for a small watering hole that lacks storage area to chill glasses in a freezer. In addition, liquid nitrogen makes the glass far colder than if it were chilled the old-fashioned way, so the drink stays cold longer.
If liquid nitrogen in your glass isn't enough, couple that cocktail at Grain with a snack that also sees LN action: popcorn. Chef Davis King prepares a mix of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and popcorn coated with buttery, sugary caramel, then chills it with liquid nitrogen to turn it into hard chunks. "People expect popcorn to be hot, but it's cold," King said. "It's a great texture, because it's frozen. It's a really nice crunch."
Coffee, cocktails, crunchy snacks. What’s next for nitrogen?
Well, nitro tea is a thing in other parts of the country, but it hasn't arrived in Atlanta yet. However, a few folks at progressive coffee shops perked up when asked whether they might offer it.
“It sounds intriguing and very doable,” replied Taproom Coffee owner Jonathan Pascual. Karl Injex of Huge Cafe likewise mused about its potential. “A nitro chai would be really interesting, mouthfeel-wise,” Injex said.
Meanwhile, some chefs are mulling over food applications for liquid nitrogen. Ryan Smith of Staplehouse, who was recently named a James Beard semifinalist for best chef: Southeast and the restaurant a semifinalist for best new restaurant, hopes to begin working with liquid nitrogen in the spring. Beyond yearning to make a la minute ice cream or sorbet, Smith fancies the idea of using liquid nitrogen to flash freeze flour.
“It would be incredibly fresh,” he said. Currently, he buys 30 pounds of farro flour at a time, but as that sits in the freezer, it risks going stale or picking up aromas. “There are tiny applications and benefits to it,” Smith said.
You thought molecular gastronomy was yesterday’s news? Think again.
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