Simple Tip: Chill Kitchen Tools Before Whipping Cream

July 16, 2009

While whipping cream for strawberry shortcake the other day, I was reminded of a helpful prep tip that I always employ: stay cool. Using refrigerated cream helps produce stiff peaks, but it's important to chill your mixing bowl and beaters — and even keep the kitchen frigid, if possible. When cream is whipped at a lower temperature, fat globules stick together to support the foam created by whipping in a large amount of tiny air bubbles. Therefore, beating cream at a cooler temperature will produce the largest amount of volume.

What are your best suggestions for whipping heavy cream?

8 Comments

2 years 7 weeks

Just the other day I ended up having a discussion over this, that person now, hates my guts. I do agree with you, never thought of chilling the beater. I don't know the reason why, but I have done it so many times that I learned whipping it at room temp, will take forever, in time I realized that the colder the cream was, the faster and better it turned out every time. From that point on, always froze everything, and even placed the cream in the freezer for at least 20 mins. Another thing I learned was, hand mixer good, hand whisking better, much much better.

3 years 44 weeks

I always chill the bowl, the beaters and the cream in the freezer. I don't know about the eventual volume, but doing this avoids that awful moment when well whipped cream becomes churned butter.

LittleMzFit 3 years 44 weeks

Yes, I was familiar w/ this trick. That's the only kind of whip cream we ever had (real thing! No coolwhip). Always used chilled stainless steel bowl & chilled beaters.

merie33 3 years 44 weeks

What really helps is using a large bowl. (if you're doing it by hand) If the bowl is too small you can't get enough air in your strokes and it'll take FOREVER to whip it.

Spectra 3 years 44 weeks

Use a stainless steel bowl and stick it in the freezer...it'll get jet-cold and help to stabilize the cream. Also, I add a tiny bit of Equal to mine...it somehow makes it more stable.

3 years 44 weeks

Are you sure about that? In school I was taught that whipping at room temp produced a higher volume, but less stable product, while whipping at a lower temp produced somewhat less volume but more stable product. ...Of course, now I'm trying to find information somewhere that says I learned it correctly and can't, so I have no idea who is right.

Soniabonya 3 years 44 weeks

Use a mixer. Either a hand mixer or a kitchen aid, use one. I don't have a mixer of any sort at my apartment and have been whipping cream the old fashioned way with just a whisk and bowl. Though it is a good arm workout :)

michichan 3 years 44 weeks

Use a clean, dry glass bowl! I don't have any cool scientific facts to support that one, but it does something.

Link Love

8 Comments

You Might Also Like