Ingredientbeginnerdraft
Cream
Also searched as: double cream, whipping cream, single cream, heavy cream, clotted cream
In short: Cream is milk with a lot of fat. With enough fat it can be whipped, boiled without curdling, and makes sauces round.
Picture it
Like milk with an extra helping of fat droplets.
What Cream does
Tap a dot to see its connections.
What happens
When whipped, partly opened fat droplets link into a framework around air bubbles. That needs enough fat (whipping or double cream) and cold. A lot of fat also protects against curdling when boiled.
What the ingredient does
can be whipped into a foamFoams and whipping in air
thickens and rounds out saucesEmulsion
protects egg custards from curdlingProteins set (coagulation)
Rules of thumb
- For whipping, use full-fat cream, well chilled.
- For cooking, full-fat or double cream: lighter cream can curdle.
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Milch, Zucker, Schokolade