Whipped cream

For the band, see Whipped Cream (band).

A cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream from a pressurized can.

Whipped cream is cream that has been beaten by a mixer, whisk, fork, or whip until it is light and fluffy. Whipped cream is often sweetened and sometimes flavored with vanilla, in which case it may be called Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly (pronounced: [kʁɛm ʃɑ̃tiji]).

Food chemistry

Cream containing 30% or more butterfat can be mixed with air, and the resulting colloid is roughly double the volume of the original cream as air bubbles are captured into a network of fat droplets. If, however, the whipping is continued, the fat droplets will stick together destroying the colloid and forming butter; the remaining liquid is buttermilk.

Confectioner's (icing) sugar is sometimes added to the colloid in order to stiffen the mixture and to reduce the risk of overwhipping.

Milk resists the whipping and does not hold the air bubbles well. Light whipping cream contains 30% to 36% butterfat^[1] and holds air bubbles when whipped. Heavy cream contains 36% or more fat.^[1]

Methods of whipping

Cream is usually whipped with a whisk, an electric or hand mixer, or (with some effort) a fork.

Whipped cream may be sold ready-to-use in pressurized containers; when the cream leaves the nozzle, it produces four times the volume of cream, twice the volume produced by whipping air into it.^{[citation needed]} Using this technique, it may also be prepared in reusable dispensers, similar to a seltzer siphon bottle, using inexpensive disposable cartridges. The whipped cream thus produced is unstable, however, and will return to a more or less liquid state within half an hour to one hour. Thus, the method is not suitable for decorating food that will not be immediately served.

Uses

A slice of pumpkin pie topped with a whipped cream rose

Whipped cream is a popular topping for desserts such as pie, ice cream, cupcakes, cake, milkshakes and puddings.

Crème Chantilly

Crème Chantilly is whipped cream sweetened with sugar and often flavored with vanilla. A legend claims that it was invented by François Vatel, maître d'hôtel at the Château de Chantilly in the 17th century;^{[citation needed]} however, the name "Chantilly" is not recorded until 1784, when it was served to the Baronne d'Oberkirch at the Hameau de la reine in the Parc de Versailles;^[2] the name Chantilly was probably used because the château had become a symbol of refined food.^[3]

See also

• Cool Whip, a brand of imitation whipped cream

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "2005 CFR Title 21, Volume 2", U.S. Food and Drug Administration, GPO.gov, webpage: GPO-2005-CFR
2. ^ "Naissance de la crème chantilly", Tables princières à Chantilly, du XVIIe au XIXe siècle, exhibit at the Musée Condé, 16 September 2006 - 8 January 2007 [1]
3. ^ Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. 'cream'.