Lula’s Sweet Apothecary - scooponcones.com

the scoop on cones

This is a totally crazy idea. Add liquid nitrogen straight into a bowl with milk, cream, eggs and sugar and instantly freeze it into ice cream. Is it safe? Owner Seth Tapper says so, and we’re still alive to tell about it after having a delicious concoction of peach, ginger and cayenne pepper (we call it the “Hot Peach”).

Here’s how it works: Pick from a ton of fruit purees and flavor extracts to make just about any kind of ice cream you want. Choices include rosemary, burnt sugar and root beer.

Your selection is blended in a big metal bowl in front of you, then put under a pink KitchenAid mixer. The liquid nitrogen is poured in, making a lot of fog giving the ice cream a cool rock concert effect. If it gets too hard, a hair dryer is used to soften up the consistency.

The finished product tastes great, which is not surprising because it’s as fresh as possible. Also, there’s no preservatives.

The store, which just opened in October, is named after Tapper’s kids.

Even better: Mention scooponcones and you’ll get free chocolate chip toppings!

Hours: 5 p.m.-midnight, Tuesday-Saturday; 1 p.m.-7p.m. Sunday; Closed Mondays.

Price: $3 for fruit puree-based ice cream; $4 for extract-based ice cream. Prices going up by a dollar Oct. 31.