Culinary use of Liquid Nitrogen has been around for many years and is usually linked to instantly freezing ice cream or sorbet for sweet desserts. To entice our guests at the Grand Opening of our newest venue, we decided to incorporate liquid nitrogen into a savory feta foam hors d'oeuvre with fried olives and dried figs using a liquid nitrogen freezing griddle. Adding a twist to familiar ingredients, guests had the opportunity to enjoy an extraordinary bite full of flavors, textures, and temperatures.
The concept developed when we decided to fuse liquid nitrogen with a savory hors d'oeuvre idea. We have several liquid nitrogen freezing griddles called Teppans that we purchased on the tradeshow floor at Catersource. By pouring liquid nitrogen into the Teppans and inserting the metal griddles, these griddles instantly freeze whatever comes in contact with their surface.We found that cheese hors d'oeuvres tend to be very popular in our region, so we developed a feta mousse that could be piped out of a whipped cream dispenser onto the freezing griddle. This technique formed a frozen base that complemented the rest of the creamy mousse texture and created one unique bite. To create more flavor and balance to this idea, we added honey, and a choice of dried figs or fried green olives that guests could choose from. Serving this hors d'oeuvre on a small bamboo spoon worked well because it made it effortless to grasp and eat.
The originality comes from the surprise of textures and temperatures that cater to your senses with just one bite. The guests also have the opportunity to interact with the attendant to choose from different toppings. Witnessing the feta foam freeze instantly before their eyes generated excitement and fascination. We wanted this hors d'oeuvre to be different from the rest and memorable for the guests.