Wausau food: Liquid nitrogen ice cream now sold inside Biggby Coffee

WAUSAU - With just a little bit of milk and steaming liquid nitrogen, you can have freshly made ice cream in whatever flavor you want.

Milkster Nitrogen Creamery opened inside the Wausau Biggby Coffee at 320 E. Bridge St on Friday. It's the first liquid nitrogen ice cream shop in the Wausau area and possibly the second currently open in the state.

Tom Belongia owns the Biggby Coffee locations in Wausau, Rib Mountain and Marshfield. He opened a Milkster Nitrogen Creamery in Marshfield last summer. He said he plans to open the ice cream shop in his Rib Mountain location too, although he's not sure when yet.

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Belongia said his tagline is "It's the ice cream your grandma would make if she had a Ph.D. in science."

Each cup of ice cream is individually handmade — there aren't any pre-frozen tubs of flavors to browse and sample like in a more traditional ice cream shop.

That just means ice cream made using liquid nitrogen is more fresh, Belongia said, since it's not kept in freezers and shipped all over. The small ice cream shop inside the Biggby Coffee doesn't even have freezers, he said.

The liquid nitrogen, which is minus-321 degrees, is added to the milk to make instant, smooth ice cream. Fans of the summer sweet will notice a much more creamy texture than traditional ice cream.

To make mint chocolate chip ice cream, Belongia pours a little bit of milk into a kitchen mixer. He throws some fresh mint leaves into a container and adds liquid nitrogen. That causes a steamy reaction, looking something like dry ice on a concert stage.

Mix that concoction with the milk and stir in some chocolate chips, and you've got yourself a fresh cup of cold, steaming ice cream.

Belongia said they can make any ice cream flavor this way, you just add whatever you want into the milk and liquid nitrogen base.

Once in Marshfield, a woman asked for mojito-flavored ice cream and they were able to make it, he said.

The opening menu has flavors like cereal milk (made with fruity pebbles), Ferrero Rocher and Nutella. There's also Biscoff voyage, 24 carat salted caramel, old fashion vanilla bean, rich chocolate truffle, mint and chips, tart strawberry and cookies and cream.

Aside from the ice cream, there's liquid nitrogen sorbet available in strawberry and mango flavors for those who opt for the dairy-free option. Soon they'll have almond milk to use as a replacement in any ice cream flavor you want, still made with the liquid nitrogen.

The menu will rotate to add new flavors, Belongia said. Look out for the infamous pumpkin spice flavor to come in September. For others, he plans to buy fresh fruit from the Wausau Farmers' Market this summer to add into any of the creations.

Basic toppings include strawberry puree, Nutella, espresso grounds, coconut shavings, Biscoff cookies and more. You can also add a "syringe flavor shot" of Nutella, caramel or strawberry.

Milkster Nitrogen Creamery has eight locations throughout Michigan. There are also locations in South Carolina and Kentucky, according to the company's website. The only other Wisconsin location is the one in Marshfield that Belongia owns.

Milkster Nitrogen Creamery is open from noon until 9 p.m. and will eventually maintain the same hours as Biggby, opening earlier in the morning. It will remain open during the winter. You can purchase a pint to take home, too.

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Got a question or tip? Contact reporter Megan Stringer at (715) 207-1571 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @megstringers.