Whipped cream without a mixer?

Question

Is it possible to make whipped cream without a power mixer? How? Can it be made with a stick blender?

Asked by SarahVV

Answer

Whipped cream was made for centuries before the mixer was invented. :)

You can do it with simply a balloon whisk. Things that may help though:

• Very cold cream (not freezing)
• Very cold bowl and whisk (put them in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to using)
• Copper bowl

The process is simply to start slow until you see bubbles form, then speed up until you see the whisk begin to leave trails in the cream, then go full speed ahead until just before it starts to look soft and billowy. At this point you can add your sugar and continue whipping until thickens and firms up to form soft peaks.

Advice: Buy a hand-mixer at least! :)

Update - Yes you can whip it with a stick blender. I would be careful to avoid over- whipping with this method though. It might be easy to over-do it, and you'll start to make butter.

Answered by hobodave

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Why does whip cream dispenser sometimes produce “ragged” cream?

Question

Sometimes I make whipped cream in my ISI cream whipper and it comes out beautifully fluffy and smooth, and other times when I dispense it, the cream looks "ragged" for lack of a better description. Any ideas what factor accounts for the difference?

Asked by Michael at Herbivoracious

Answer

When I first got my iSi I had wildly inconsistent results, including exactly what you're describing. I'm not sure if you're just whipping cream or if you're whipping other cream-based preparations, but the most common reason for this happening is that the liquid going in isn't quite, er, liquid. Any solid particles of any kind will almost assuredly cause sputtering, which is why they recommend that you strain everything through a fine sieve.

Other things I've learned about the iSi whippers to help prevent these inconsistent results:

• Ignore everything the instructions tell you about how to charge it. They're somewhere between very misleading and complete nonsense. What I actually do is this:

  1. Screw on a charger as described.

  2. Shake it vigorously, as if it were a cocktail shaker.

  3. Let it rest for a moment, then shake again. Repeat the shaking 4-5 times.

  4. Finally, remove the charger and screw the cap back on.

  The instructions are full of ominous warnings about not being able to discharge it properly if you shake it too much because the nozzle will get blocked or something. Never happened. What's far more likely is that the cream doesn't actually whip fully or there are large air pockets. Do not err on the side of caution here; many "external" iSi recipes such as those you find in the HRC actually tell you to shake frequently as the dispenser chills. I'm not sure if I'd do this with cream (as opposed to a water-based foam) but I can't stress this enough, don't skimp on the shaking.

• If you need to chill it some more after charging, make sure to chill it on its side. The instructions are quite explicit about this and in this case they're actually correct.

• Shake it again after you chill it and before you dispense any. This is very important and conspicuously absent from the instructions. You shouldn't need to shake as much as the first pass, but some of the gas does seem to separate over time.

• Start by dispensing the cream very, very slowly, until you actually see some come out, then you can apply more pressure as needed. If you squeeze the trigger as hard as you can right off the bat, you'll just end up depressurizing the thing before any cream has a chance to come out. Every single time I've pulled too hard, I've ended up with spatters.

• Finally, make sure that you actually thoroughly clean it all between uses, including the tiny horizontal hole in the metal tube that you screw the tips onto (I forget what it's called) as well as the socket that piece goes into. Any blockages whatsoever, no matter how small, can cause at least minor sputtering.

Hope some of that helps. If you do all of that, you shouldn't have any sputtering issues. Last 7 or 8 times I've used mine, I haven't had any.

Answered by Aaronut

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How is long-lasting whipped cream made?

Question

Cakes made of whipped-cream by professionals last for a long time in a consistent, white state. However, from what I know, whipped cream tends to become yellow and return to a more liquid state in a few hours. I prepare whipped cream with just the cream and an electric mixer, so I assume there's some magic ingredient or process to keep the thing stable. Where's the trick ?

Asked by Stefano Borini

Answer

There are two levels to this question.  If you are using modern whipping cream as a starting point, then the trick for a longer lasting whipped cream is stabilization.  If this is some farm bought milk you are skimming the cream from, then you have the additional problem that your cream is not fatty enough.  Modern creams are concentrated with a centrifuge.

To get good whipped cream, whip it cold until it doubles in volume and you get firm peaks.  Stabilize the whipped cream by hanging it in a cheese cloth in the refrigerator or by adding gelatin. To use the gelatin, dissolve 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin into 2 tablespoons of cold water. Work out the lumps. After the gelatin expands, mix in a quarter cup of cream and heat the mixture to dissolve the gelatin.  Cool over ice and mix a bit.  Complete 2 cups of cream and proceed as you would to finish your whipped cream.

Answered by papin

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How fast can one whip cream?

Question

Let's say I whip a bowl of cream manually at a slow paced ~3-4 beats per second. The cream would be ready whipped after say 10-15 minutes.

Then I whip an identical bowl of cream at a faster pace of around 6-8 beats per second. The cream would be ready quicker, maybe in 3-5 minutes.

Does this mean if I whip the same bowl of cream with 100 beats per second, it would almost instantly turn into whipped cream? (maybe butter, but let's leave that out of the equation).

I guess it boils down to a somewhat obscured question about the chemistry and mechanics behind the cream whipping, which governs how fast cream turns into whipped cream.

Cheers

Answer

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/season1/Chocolate/ChocolateTranscript.htm

As Alton describes. As you beat the cream bubbles of air get worked into the mixture. The beating makes the bubbles smaller and smaller until the fat globules touch and the mixture becomes stable.

As you mentioned- if you whip it a little more then the fat will coalesce and squeeze out all the water and air and you have butter.

Time is a factor in this process (when done mechanically) in that it is required for homogeneously sized and distributed bubbles. The fats have to stay plastic.

The fact that it can be done very quickly is easily seen with whipped cream chargers. The gas is pressurized into the cream- upon release expands into the tiny bubbles we need.
How does a whipped cream charger work?

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Why does chilled equipment help when whipping cream?

Question

Why a does chilled mixer bowl help when making whipped cream? Does it have any effect on how long the cream stays whipped?

Answer

Basically, cream whips better when it's cold. If cream were stored warm, the advice would be to cool the cream. Since it's already cold, the advice is to cool the equipment (as warm equipment will increase the temp of the cream).

Mild science: the temperature effects the size of the bubbles that form, how fat clings to itself, whipping time, and overrun (air cell structure / air phase volume). In other words how light and fluffy it will get and how long it is likely to stay that way.

Warning, heavy science from Influence of whipping temperature on the whipping properties and rheological characteristics of whipped cream:

The effects of whipping temperature (5 to 15°C) on the whipping (whipping time and overrun) and rheological properties of whipped cream were studied. Fat globule aggregation (aggregation ratio of fat globules and serum viscosity) and air bubble factors (overrun, diameter, and surface area) were measured to investigate the mechanism of whipping. Whipping time, overrun, and bubble diameters decreased with increasing temperature, with the exception of bubble size at 15°C. The aggregation ratio of fat globules tended to increase with increasing temperature. Changes in hardness and bubble size during storage were relatively small at higher temperatures (12.5 and 15°C). Changes in overrun during storage were relatively small in the middle temperature range (7.5 to 12.5°C). From the results, the temperature range of 7.5 to 12.5°C is recommended for making whipped creams with a good texture, and a specific temperature should be decided when taking into account the preferred overrun. The correlation between the whipped cream strain hardness and serum viscosity was high (R2=0.906) and persisted throughout the temperature range tested (5 to 15°C). A similar result was obtained at a different whipping speed (140rpm). The multiple regression analysis in the range of 5 to 12.5°C indicated a high correlation (R2=0.946) in which a dependent variable was the storage modulus of whipped cream and independent variables were bubble surface area and serum viscosity. Therefore, fat aggregation and air bubble properties are important factors in the development of cream hardness. The results of this study suggest that whipping temperature influences fat globule aggregation and the properties of air bubbles in whipped cream, which alters its rheological properties.

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Can ruined whipped cream be rescued?

Question

If you whip mayonnaise too long and ruin it, you can restart with a new yolk and reuse the ruined mayonnaise.

Is there a similar way to rescue whipped cream that has been whipped too long?

Answer

I don't think so. In the mayonnaise case, all that has happened is the fat has come out of emulsion and gathered together again, so you can re-emulsify it. In the whipped cream case, you've started to create large fat crystals (butter). I guess technically it might work to heat it up to melt the butter, re-emulsify it into cream and then beat it again, but I don't think it would be worth the effort. You could go ahead and finish churning it into butter and buttermilk if you want to avoid wasting the cream.

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