iSi Creative Whip

Drink Outside the Box

Find yourself with too much of a good thing this summer?  Perhaps that giant tuft of basil is turning a little  brown or those five pounds of cherries are developing some spots.  But they’re on sale now and it’s the height of the season!

At iSi, we say, if you can’t cook with it, drink with it!  Beverages nowadays are astounding: you can find every type of flavor, ones with sugars and without, electrolytes, carbonation – you name it, it’s out there. Why not try something on your own?  This summer, we challenge you to drink outside the box.

This summer, try a variation on one of Kathy Casey’s recipes, created by the clever folks at Food52, providing  a delicious use for those fresh cherries and basil.

Cherry and Thai Basil Soda by Food52
Ingredients for 1 pint Whipper
1 Bunch Thai Basil
500 ml cold water, then 800 ml cold water
1/2 pint cherries, sliced and halved
1/4 cup white sugar, to taste

Procedure:

The night before: remove the basil leaves from the stems and wash well.   Discard any brown/wilted leaves.  Add the leaves to the 500mL cold water and muddle/bruise with a wooden spoon or muddler.  Refrigerate overnight.

Once the cherries are rinsed, stemmed, and halved, add to the 800mL water and boil for about 45 minutes.  When the cherries are boiled and have lost most of their color, taste the juice and add sugar, about 1/4 cup, if necessary.  Filter the juice through a strainer; be sure to remove any pulpy bits (a fine sieve or gold coffee filter is best).  You want the juice as clear as possible.  Press out any remaining juice from the cherries.

Once the fruit juice is cool, strain the basil-infused water into the cherry juice.  Pour the juice into your pre-chilled iSi whipper, screw on one to two iSi soda chargers (however carbonated you’d like!) and shake well.  Refrigerate overnight.  Serve immediately and very chilled.

Note: You can use the Gourmet Whip Plus or Creative Whip for the above applications.  You could even blend the juices and add in carbonated water using our iSi Soda Siphon.

Or how about something slightly more adult?   Kathy Casey of The Liquid Kitchen shows you how to make a delicate and light cocktail incorporating lemon, mint and a touch of local honey using our iSi Gourmet Whip PLUS.  A perfect summer porch drink!

Photo by Food52

Whipped Cream 2.0

We love finding a “one size fits all”.  It so rarely happens anymore, but such a thrill when it does!  We like to think of our whipped cream as such.  Its applications are endless: topping off a root beer float or fruit compote, even an after dinner pie and coffee, the list goes on and on.  Some of our personal favorites show off whipped cream as the star: a key component in a strawberry shortcake or even as a filling in donuts, a specialty of ours we showed off at the Housewares show earlier this year.

We’ve made it incredibly easy to make whipped cream yourself at home. Using our iSi Gourmet Whip PLUS you can create any flavor of whipped cream you want.  Plus,  it’s dishwasher safe and we include a variety of decorator tips to satisfy any creative whim.  A bonus?  The cream can stay fresh for up to 10 days with fresh ingredients and storage in the refrigerator AND yields up to five times what you put into the whipper.  Additionally, you can use our iSi Cream Profi Whip PLUS which was practically built to serve whipped cream. Perhaps you’ve seen them in use at your local coffee shop.

The versatility of whipped cream is another reason why we love it so much.  You can make it lowfat if you wish, and you can flavor it about a zillion different ways (sugars, syrups, powders) – which is just how we served our donut holes at the 2012 Home and Housewares Show.  Using our stainless steel injector needles, we were able to add an organic chocolate powder and inject freshly made donuts with homemade whipped creams, right on the spot.  For us, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Fresh Whipped Cream

Ingredients for 1 Pint Whipper
14 oz. chilled heavy cream (38% butterfat)
2 oz. flavoring syrup

Preparation
Pour heavy cream and syrup into the iSi whipper, screw in 1 iSi cream charger and shake vigorously 4-5 times.

Serving Suggestion
Dispense fresh whipped cream over sliced strawberries or in a shortcake.  You can also use as a filling or a topper.

Flavor in an Instant

Sun Tea.  Mojitos.  Lemonade.  It’s what we have on our mind today as the Summer Solstice hit just this past week.  But as always, we are always thinking of ways to make them well…. just a wee bit better.

We need flavor.  We need versatility.  We don’t like limitations and we believe in endless possibilities.  Enter rapid infusion.  What we call “Performance under Pressure”.  Simply place any porous flavoring ingredient—lemon zest, fresh herbs, cocoa nibs, chilies, etc. in the iSi Gourmet Whip PLUS , fill with a liquid such as olive oil, vinegar, water or spirits, and charge it with an iSi cream charger – and bingo!  Now at your fingertips, instantly create cold or warm infusions, which would otherwise take weeks or sacrifice flavor.  Your good ‘ole Gourmet Whip PLUS is the ultimate solution for securing flavor and ensuring versatility and consistency.

In the video below, check out John Pomeroy, Purity Vodka Brand Ambassador, as he demonstrates the rapid infusion technique using one of our favorite infusible spirits: Purity Vodka.

Purity Pineapple Rain:
Ingredients for 1/2 Liter Whipper
Fresh cubed pineapple
2 oz Purity vodka
1 oz simple syrup
2 oz soda water

Procedure
Place two ounces of fresh cubed pineapple into a 0.5L iSi Gourmet Whip PLUS with 2oz Purity Vodka (iSi recommends using the highest quality vodka for this recipe) . Charge with two iSi Cream Chargers, swirl and then let sit for two minutes. Rapidly release the gas by venting in an upright position, and allow to sit until bubbling subsides. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Add simple syrup and top with soda. Garnish with the Purity-infused pineapple cubes and a pineapple leaf.

Lemon Thyme infused olive oil.  Cherry flavored vodka.  Mango water.  From something as simple as flavored olive oils to infused cocktails, the possibilities are endless.  Especially during these hot summer months, the addition of fresh fruit or herb flavors in beverages are delightfully crisp, refreshing and flavorful.

So, what will you infuse today?  Tell us about your infusion creations in the comments section below.

Creative Condiments

We here at iSi are all about innovation.  We love to find the extraordinary in an otherwise ordinary recipe.  But come the summer months, especially Memorial Day weekend, we love nothing more than to toss off our aprons, get out of the kitchen and kick back with a burger and beer just like everyone else.

Well, why can’t we have both?  After all, there’s a reason ketchup and mustard make a lethal combination, the ultimate definite of umami.  Mustard, that tang is unmistakable and at the end of the day, nothing binds those flavors together better than an old fashioned mayonnaise.  With cheese on top, please.

With all respect to these flavors, this Memorial Day, we politely encourage you to ditch the old plastic containers of condiments, and add a little DIY twist.

Our recipe for Mustard Sauce gives not only a fabulous depth of flavor but a creamy mouthfeel with the addition of heavy cream.  You can also choose to take it up a notch with a bit of a veal stock reduction, for an added wow effect.

What about mayonnaise – served warm?  It’s one way to ensure your burger is served piping hot.  Ours calls for two different oils and a dash of mustard.  In addition, our classic gorgonzola mousse, or Chef Richard Blais’ recipe for Cheese Wizard are two ways to evenly distribute a cheese flavor, without the messy melting or seizing problem.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous or have some prep time, why not a wasabi or avocado espuma?

We’ll leave fashion to the um…professionals.  We’ll stick to the food.

Mustard Sauce

Ingredients for 1 Liter Whipper

640 ml water

200 ml heavy cream

40 g Dijon mustard

6 g mustard powder

125 ml veal reduction ( optional)

Veal reduction

100 ml veal stock

50 g butter

1 tbsp flour

Procedure:

For the veal reduction: Melt butter, add flour and cook over high heat for a few minutes.  Whisk in veal stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

For the sauce:  Bring all ingredients, including the reduction, to a boil and strain into a 1 L iSi whipper.   Screw on two iSi cream chargers and shake vigorously after each one.  You can serve this immediately warm or refrigerate.

Warm Mayonnaise

Ingredients for 1 Liter Whipper

10 eggs (room temperature)

400 ml sunflower seed oil

100 ml olive oil

1 tsp mustard (medium hot)

2-3 tbsp white wine vinegar

salt, sugar, white pepper, lemon juice to taste

Procedure:

Whisk eggs and mustard into a large bowl.  Combine oils and add in drop by drop, then whisk in a steady trickle into egg mixture.  Season to taste with vinegar, salt, sugar, white pepper and lemon juice.

Strain sauce through the iSi funnel and pour into a 1 L iSi whipper.  Screw on two iSi cream chargers and shake vigorously after each one.  Allow mixture to settle for fifteen minutes prior to serving and store in warm water bath in a bowl to keep warm.  Refrigerate after use.

Note: You may also add pureed garlic to make a warm aioli sauce.

Cheese Wizard by Chef Richard Blais

Live from the International Home + Housewares Show 2012!

Welcome to our new home at the International Home + Housewares Show 2012!

You may have seen our booth last year, which was nice, but our new glowing counter looks like we’ve landed the Starship iSi in the middle of McCormick Place in Chicago—and that’s kind of how it feels too. With demos and tastings of futuristic-sounding food and drink—like microwave chocolate sponge cake with peanut butter chips, carbonated grape, and whipped cream (below)—it might seem like we’re back from the future, but it’s just our easy take on a classic PB & J with milk, any kid’s favorite after-school snack.

For a little more grown up tastes, we also served “Virgin Mary” infused celery sticks with blue cheese wiz (below). The celery sticks show off the new Rapid Infusion Technique, which you may have seen in the New York Times as Bloody Mary celery sticks.

Our hot, new, most coveted item at the show is hands down the Flex-it Mini Measuring Cup (below).

But our personal favorite at the show is meeting friends, old and new, and showing what you can easily do at home too. We’ve been so busy that we were only able to catch most of our show team together for a quick “class photo” — and yes, that’s Rick Agresta, whom you met last year! If you’re coming to the show, please stop by our booth—we’re in our usual spot (#S1224). If you did, please let us know what you thought in the comments below—and on Facebook. Thanks!