HYDERABAD: You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. After all it’s everyone’s go-to leisure dessert or favourite midnight snack. Be it sorbets, gelatos or ice creams, frozen desserts are a popular choice in any part of the world. We patiently stand in line to get our flavour- and toppings-packed bowls of indulgence, as the confectioner beats dallops of ice cream on a large, cold metal slab. Wee look on in awe as he cuts cuts, folds and beats our dessert into shape. We wonder how this equipment adds value to an already delectable dish.
Meet the anti-griddle -- an appliance with a thin film of crystalising ice that instantaneously freezes food. The icy sheet helps confectioners blend flavours and give texture to a dish. You can make a solid or semi-frozen creation by ‘cooking’ the dish on it.
Nakul Chandna, corporate general manager of Ohris which runs one of the iconic ice-cream parlours in the city, Eatmore, says the anti-griddle gives a crunchy layer with cool, creamy centres. “It is a rectangular working space and goes down to -34˚C. It is used to flash-freeze food.
Usually, you have to wait for around 30 minutes to chill the food in the fridge, but with an anti-griddle, it’s faster. You can use an offset spatula to work with or use a plastic or silicone utensil to avoid scratching the surface.” The anti-griddle is used to make ice creams, sorbets, vinaigrettes, for freezing sauces, foams, purees, cremes and fruits. The possibilities of making frozen food on it are endless, says Nakul. Using an anti-griddle at live counters adds to the culinary experience, he says.
Pavan Gudamemni, manager of Cafe Sandwicho, says using an anti-griddle, you can combine brownies, jelly or other toppings with an ice cream to make a sundae. “You can mix multiple flavours, which is not easily possible otherwise at such a quick speed. It can also be used to roll up ice creams or create freeform shapes like piping thick liquids to decorate a cake. It all depends on its freezing point, thickness and timing.”
Pavan goes on to explain how it is used. “You start off by applying a thin film of vegetable oil, let the anti-griddle freeze till it reaches -30oF, place the ice cream and let it freeze. Then, take it off with a spatula and plate it.” Creamstone, the brand that comes to mind when we think of the anti-griddle, uses a marble slab to which a machine is fixed. “The machine controls the temperature. We mix the ice cream as per the customers’ choice. We can also make shapes out of the dessert,” says Franklin, the manager.