Has anyone tried using dry ice for rapid cooling of stock or other food items? I am looking at starting a food business where the customers are particularly vulnerable to disease and, as a scientist, I'm paranoid about bacteria.
The bottle-of-ice idea sounds great but I'd be worried about contamination (yes, it could be washed but...). My current thought is to put the giant pot of stock (or small containers of finished product) in a water bath containing dry ice. This would prevent any contact between potentially contaminated items and the cooling food. A ladle in simmering stock will be virtually sterilised. But once the food starts to cool it's best to have nothing touch it. I'm waiting for price quotes and delivery options for the dry ice but, in the meantime, I wondered if anyone had any experience with this.
Thanks in advance,
Paul
The bottle-of-ice idea sounds great but I'd be worried about contamination (yes, it could be washed but...). My current thought is to put the giant pot of stock (or small containers of finished product) in a water bath containing dry ice. This would prevent any contact between potentially contaminated items and the cooling food. A ladle in simmering stock will be virtually sterilised. But once the food starts to cool it's best to have nothing touch it. I'm waiting for price quotes and delivery options for the dry ice but, in the meantime, I wondered if anyone had any experience with this.
Thanks in advance,
Paul