The Science Behind Lulu's Ice Cream
Photo by Vicky Gu
Meet Luisa Santos: a senior at Georgetown and the founder of Lulu's Ice Cream. Lulu's uses local, organic and seasonal ingredients to ensure the highest quality ice cream. What truly makes Lulu's unique is its freezing technique – its use of liquid nitrogen allows Lulu's to make the freshest ice cream, while simultaneously creating a rich, natural flavor and smooth texture.
Photo by Vicky Gu
Luisa's motivation to found Lulu's came from her love for food. She's "a huge ice cream foodie." However, Luisa just recently discovered the benefits of using liquid nitrogen. "I tried a shop in Miami that uses this way of making ice cream with liquid nitrogen and the result is clear–it's the best ice cream you'll ever have. For one, the texture is much smoother. I also saw an opportunity to make this kind of ice cream even better by including local, organic and seasonal ingredients. So you know it's the highest quality, and it is also made to order so you are getting the freshest ice cream."
So, why liquid nitrogen?
Luisa explained that Lulu's "flash freezes the ice cream with liquid nitrogen; you don't actually eat the liquid nitrogen." Here's the break down: liquid nitrogen is -321°F, and, therefore, when it comes into contact with the ice cream base, the liquid flash freezes it. This process creates much smaller ice particles and a smoother texture. Luisa explains, "The cool thing about Lulu's specifically is not only that our ingredients are organic and local, but it is also fresh because we make the base a few hours before we freeze it."
Photo by Vicky Gu
Lulu's uses simple, fresh ingredients for its ice cream bases. Luisa described the process, "Making the bases begins with getting our delivery from the local creamery; most of our recipes range from 3 to 5 ingredients. They're really simple and back to the basics. We mix our cream base with a flavor, usually from a fruit. The only other step in the process is pouring liquid nitrogen on the base while it's mixing, which freezes the base in a matter of seconds."
Photo by Vicky Gu
Lulu's has partnered with education organizations to excite kids about learning, while also supporting sustainability through its use of compostable materials, support of local farms and use of seasonal ingredients. Not only does Lulu's make you "feel good about what you're putting in your body," but the ice cream is fresh, organic, rich and smooth.
Try Lulu's at the Georgetown University Farmer's Market and follow @Lulus_IceCream on Twitter to get up to date information on pop up locations.
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