Cream chargers have been steadily increasing in popularity since their inception in the mid-20th century. Because of their ability to safely and effectively aerate liquids by injecting pressurised gas (nitrous oxide, often referred to as N2O) into them, they’ve found use in a wide range of industries, the bulk of which are in the food and beverage industry.
For starters, what is the purpose of cream chargers, and how are they used?
Cream chargers may be used for a range of culinary tasks
Cream chargers see the most of their use in the kitchen, where they contribute for the overwhelming majority of their total consumption volume. These are some of the applications you can try out in the privacy of your own home, broken down briefly:
Whipping up the cream
The most well-known and often used use for cream chargers is for whipping cream. The nitrogen dioxide in a cream charger canister reacts with the fats, gelatines, and other stabilisers in the cream to generate a frothy consistency. Whipping cream by hand is possible if you have access to N2O, but a cream charger is significantly more efficient and requires far less work than doing it by hand.
Mousses and other sweet treats are on the menu
Forgive the pun, but crafting the perfect mousse is no cakewalk for anybody who has attempted it for any length of time. With a cream charger, whipping cream becomes a simple matter of ensuring that your peaks are just the right firmness for your recipe.
Drinks containing alcoholic beverages
Traditionally, foams and espumas are made by shakin’ egg whites in a shaker, however this method is time consuming and needs a great amount of work on the bartender’s part in order to create. In addition, egg white foam is typically unpleasant to the nose since it lacks any flavour. In a busy bar, the ability to quickly and easily add zing, aroma and flare to your drink is crucial, and utilising a cream charger provides this flexibility.
Add the flavour of an item to alcoholic beverages, cooking oils, sauces, syrups, and marinades. With the previous idea in mind, you can also use cream chargers to flavour your choice of booze.. Furthermore, this strategy is not limited to the use of alcohol. The infusion process in oils, sauces, syrups, or marinades may be accelerated using a dispenser that uses N2O to infuse the necessary components.
Caffeinated drinks
Even though both cream chargers and soda streams operate on the same basic principle, cream chargers utilise nitrogen oxide while soda streams use carbon dioxide (CO2). Your cream charger is an excellent tool that can be used to make a variety of flavorful carbonated drinks.
Online, ISI provides a wide range of recipes for those who want to learn more about how to use cream chargers in the kitchen, while more advanced hydrocolloid culinary experiments may be found here. Please go here if you are interested in learning more about these subjects.
