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Modern adaptation

Rapid-infused fresh botanicals in spirit

rapid infusion · fresh botanical bitters · whipper infusion

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Fresh herbs and citrus peel infused into spirit in about a minute in a cream whipper charged with nitrous oxide. This is extraction only: it is not ageing and not preservation.

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Photograph of Rapid-infused fresh botanicals in spirit.

A minute in a whipper

Rapid infusion uses a cream whipper charged with nitrous oxide. The gas is dissolved into the spirit under pressure and then vented, and the herbs and peel give up their aromatics in a minute or so. Dave Arnold published the standard recipe on Cooking Issues in 2010, using white rum, coriander leaves, Thai basil and orange peel. iSi credits Arnold with the discovery of rapid infusion with its system.

The procedure is extraction only. It is not ageing, it does not detoxify, and it does not preserve the spirit.

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Timing and the tests

Arnold's timing tests set one minute as the best result. Two minutes was slightly bitter, and three minutes was bitter and grassy. Room-temperature liquid extracted better than cold. Tripling the batch to 360 mL gave a better balanced infusion that was weaker, and a second charger restored its strength. Two chargers in 120 mL was harsh.

The iSi Rapid Infusion route is slower. Its instructions call for at least two hours of rest after the charge, with the vessel below its maximum fill line.

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What this record leaves out

The iSi Rapid Infusion instructions name oil, vinegar and spirit as liquids. This record covers spirit only. A garlic or herb infusion in oil is low-acid and has no oxygen, which is the botulism concern in the Pacific Northwest extension guidance on infused oils, and its keeping limits are not established here.

The sources give no keeping time for the infused spirit, and crushed green herbs may brown over time, according to Arnold. No longer keeping period is recorded here.

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History

iSi credits the US mixologist Dave Arnold with discovering rapid infusion with the iSi system. Arnold published the standard recipe in 2010.

Ingredients

Yield 120 mL · Scaling: source batch only

White rumroom temperature
120 mL
Coriander leaveswhole, not crushed
3 g
Thai basil leaveswhole, not crushed
8 g
Orange peel
8.5 g

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Pressurised whipper and charger

The whipper is charged and vented under pressure, and the maximum fill line must be observed.

Hazard source
Infused oil at room temperature

Garlic and herb infusions in oil are low-acid and oxygen-free, which is the botulism risk the Pacific Northwest extension guidance addresses. Oil is therefore not a route in this record.

Hazard source

Use only N2O cartridges approved for the whipper, and vent the gas quickly.

Control source

Rapid infusion is extraction, not fermentation, ageing, detoxification or preservation.

Oil infusions are not covered by this record.

  1. Put the room-temperature rum into a 1-litre cream whipper and add the herbs and peel.
  2. Close the whipper and charge it with one N2O cream charger. Swirl for 30 seconds.
  3. Let it stand so that the total infusion time is 1 minute.
  4. Vent the gas quickly, open the whipper and strain out the solids.
  5. Separate route, iSi Rapid Infusion attachment: put the spirit and solids at room temperature into the vessel below its maximum fill line, charge, swivel gently, rest at least 2 hours, then vent quickly with the lever. Use the same spirit-only limit as above; oil infusions are not described here.

Conditions

Yield120 mL
Active time1 min

Places

No source in this record establishes a place.

Related

Equipment

  • Food-rated gas whipper

    A food-rated pressure canister with a dispensing head and gas-cartridge holder. Cream whippers aerate or dispense foods and, with a compatible rapid-infusion attachment, can speed botanical flavour extraction into liquid.

Read more

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