Whipped cream

Whipped cream is high-fat dairy cream that has been beaten until it becomes light, fluffy and able to hold its shape. It is commonly sweetened and flavoured, and it is a staple topping for desserts and hot drinks.

History

Ancient sources say little about it. Galen mentions a dish called aphrogalo, or 'frothy milk', without further detail, and some modern writers consider it a possible forerunner, though there is no clear evidence that it was whipped cream.

The earliest clear evidence dates from the sixteenth century, under names such as milk snow or cream snow. It appears in Rabelais (Paris, 1531) and in recipes by Messisbugo (Ferrara, 1549), Scappi (Rome, 1570) and Lancelot de Casteau (Liège, 1604). Until the late nineteenth century cream was whipped by hand with willow or rush twigs, and the foam was skimmed from the surface. Centrifugal separation, widespread by then, made it possible to obtain cream rich enough in fat to whip easily.

The French name is recorded in 1629 and the English 'whipped cream' in 1673. In the eighteenth century, desserts of whipped cream shaped into pyramids, flavoured with coffee, liqueurs or chocolate, were already common. The whipping siphon with nitrous oxide was developed in the 1930s, with patents that were later disputed, paving the way for aerosol cream.

Culture

Whipped cream tops cakes, ice cream and fresh fruit, as in strawberries with cream, and it is served on Viennese or Irish coffee. Its light texture makes it a finishing touch rather than a dish in its own right.

The term crème Chantilly often refers to the same preparation, usually sweetened with icing sugar and vanilla. It is linked to the Château de Chantilly in France, although the attribution to François Vatel is unsupported, and the connection between the name and whipped cream is not documented until the eighteenth century.

Today it is sold ready to use in pressurised cans, in sweetened or flavoured versions, and vegetable-based imitations are widely available for those avoiding dairy or seeking a longer shelf life.

Trivia