Stabilizing whipping cream

[oli]

I would like to know, of those of you out there, that use gelatin in whipped cream, when do you add your melted gelatin - at the beginning, middle or near the end?

T

[Gifted Gourmet]

lots of ideas on this topic

you have to heat gelatin in order to dissolve it. Add hot gelatin to your whipped cream and you will defeat your purpose and deflate the cream.... soften the gelatin by sprinkling it on cold water and waiting a bit. Then heat the mixture enough to get it to dissolve (but keeping it below boiling, which reduces the gelatin's holding ability). Allow it to cool to roughly body temperature, and then incorporate it into the whipped cream.

[oli]

The process of melting the gelatin, I've got that, no problem, but I was wondering when, at what stage, do you pour the gelatin into the whipped cream -when it's at soft peaks or before that? I've heard someone pouring the gelatin in before you've even begun beating the cream, so thats why I am wondering from you guys who have done this many times before.

T

lots of ideas on this topic 

you have to heat gelatin in order to dissolve it. Add hot gelatin to your whipped cream and you will defeat your purpose and deflate the cream.... soften the gelatin by sprinkling it on cold water and waiting a bit. Then heat the mixture enough to get it to dissolve (but keeping it below boiling, which reduces the gelatin's holding ability). Allow it to cool to roughly body temperature, and then incorporate it into the whipped cream.

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[Gifted Gourmet]

Beat the cream with an electric mixer at high speed until it starts to thicken, about 1 minute. While still beating, pour the gelatin mixture into the cream in a very thin stream.

So after it is already semi-whipped is my answer ...

[mckayinutah]

It took me several months to get the technique down, but this is what I do:

I whip my cream till it is almost stiff. I then melt my softened gelatin in a saucepan, and add about an equal amount of whipped cream to the melted gelatin to somewhat " temper" it. I then mix together and put back over heat if it is not smooth and mix until smooth, then turn my mixer on high speed and add the melted gelatin/whipped cream mix to the 3/4th whipped cream. I usually then lift my bowl up some using my hands to make sure that if some of the gelatin has gotten to the bottom of the bowl, that it will be mixed in. I also will lower my bowl some to incorporate any gelatin that doesn't want to seem to mix in and stays at the top of the cream.

This method works pretty well for me. I mix most of my cream on a 20 quart mixer and I unfortunately have a more difficult time adding melted gelatin to a kithenaid 5 quart mixer, as the gelatin on that mixer seems to like to stay on top and not incorporate very well, and I usually do end up with some "gelled" ( as I call it ) globs of gelatin, but usually not much.

I must also add that any quantity of cream over 2 quarts that I attempt to add gelatin to just does not work for me. I find doing several smaller amounts is better.

Hope I have helped some,

Take care,

Jason

[ladyyoung98]

same thing everyone else has said..its always worked for me and frankly i learned that through trial and error until i got it right

[K8memphis]

Here's the easiest way.. go to soft peaks with like one cup which is 1/2 pint of whipping cream and add 2 tablespoons piping gel and a little powdered sugar like two tablespoons and go to stiff peaks. However, I have recently been convinced by my cake buddies to just use the whipped cream without all the falderal, that it will hold up as well as the stabilized stuff--and they were right.

(Well yeah and add some vanilla too :)

Edited June 12, 2005 by K8memphis (log)

[chiantiglace]

you can also get whipped cream stabilizer. A tsp of that to a quart of cream sets you up good and you dont need the gelatine. Make sure your gelatine is hot but not boiling and poor it in at soft peaks is what I do. If its stiff peaks sometimes it seems to rest ontop of the cream taking longer to seap in and dissolve before cooling thus setting. Continue whipping on high until stiff peaks form.

[digigirl]

I just recently read a tip on stabilizing whipped cream that I am looking forward to trying.

Rather than adding gelatin, just put marshmallow (don't know how many, though) into your whipped cream a while before you are ready to use it and let it dissolve. Then whip as needed. Since marshmallows do have gelatin in them, I thought this sounded like a reasonable tip.

Has anyone tried this before?

[Wendy DeBord]

O.k............I have to admit this topic is something I've never understood. Regular whipped cream when done properly/well is extremely stable. When I began as a pc I bought into the whole needing to stablize it thing. I tried the different methods and purchased stablizers. NONE made any notable difference or ANY improvement.

As far as I'm concerned any need to stablize whip cream is sort of a myth, a totally unnecessary step done out of fear. I'd sort of like to address this and any issues involved to persuede all that this is not a necessary additive.

What's happening for you that you feel the need to stablize your whipped cream? What are you scared to use it on or do with it that compels you to want to stablize it?

[mkfradin]

Wendy, can you let us know how you keep your cream from weeping? I'd love to skip the stabilizing part b/c it just adds more work for me, but my cream starts to fall apart after about 6 hours or so. Using gelatin gives me a day or two to unload the dessert.

[mckayinutah]

Wendy, can you let us know how you keep your cream from weeping?  I'd love to skip the stabilizing part b/c it just adds more work for me, but my cream starts to fall apart after about 6 hours or so.  Using gelatin gives me a day or two to unload the dessert.

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I have the same problem. Cream whipped till stiff ( and left in the mixing bowl to use later) is soup 2 -3 hours afterwards, although if I pipe it on a cake in a rosette it stays stiff.

Jason

[chefjillm]

The only time I stabalize cream is for a cake, I would rather be safe then sorry.

I make a gelatin base, 1 c water to 1 sheet of gelatin. Bloom, dissolve and store in the fridge. Then when I need stabalized cream I dissolve 1-2 oz of this stuff with some sugar and mix it into 16 oz of cold cream. Put on the machine and whip to desiered peaks. The largest batch I have tried was 2x's so I dont know if it would work for large amounts but I cant see why not. I have found that as long as I just melt the gelatin without getting it to hot then this works fine. The gelatin/water mix melts really quickly so it never gets really hot and it whips very well.

[chiantiglace]

alright, so that nobody loses it here, i'll provide you all with an experiment. Whip a quart of whipped cream. Divide it into 3 parts. One part put into a plastic container and wrap in plastic, refrigerate. Secound place into a similar plastic container, then put a stainless steel utensil, like a spoon in it, wrap with plastic and refrigerate. Lastley leave the remaining whipped cream in the bowl and wrap with plastic, refrigerate. Now time how long each takes to break down or "wheep". If your experiment comes out like me and a colleagues of mine, the plastic should hold atleast a day and half whil the one with the spoon should be done in 12 hours. The one in the bowl probably about 3-4 hours.

Good luck, have fun.

[Wendy DeBord]

Ah........good experiment Chiantiglace. Thats a good point, and it might be effecting some peoples whipped cream technique and how it lasts. There's still another group of people that aren't getting the cream whipped to the right stage. So theres more then one possible cause that's giving you problems.

The thing I see most often when I watch other people whip cream is they really don't know when to stop the mixer. They don't really know when it's not enough or when it's too much........I've seen cream that falls into a puddle when scooped and the person making it thought that was stiffly whipped cream. (that's what they were taught)

I think that one of the things that throws people off is being told that when you can see the whisk make clear cuts thru the cream it's done. Well technically, that will give you a very soft set whipped cream. You can see the whisks path thru softly set whipped cream.

When whipping correctly, it's more like you can stop your mixer and the cream will stay in place leaving a clear path from where the whisk just cut thru.

Then on the opposite end you have to over-mixers. They whip their cream until it's so over whipped it's turning into a chunky texture (not smooth, but not clumps). It's firm, it does leave a clean path with the whisk, but over mixed doesn't hold well either. It's beginning to turn into butter and your squeezing all the water out of the cream so the water wants to seperate......henseforth the cream weeps and doesn't hold.

Properly whipped cream lasts for 2 days on cakes in the cooler, not a moment less and technically even longer. It lasts for 4 plus hours frosted on a cake sitting at room temp.. Whipped cream with added stablizer doesn't last any longer! Isn't any stronger, either! If your whipped cream can't hold on a cake for two days in the cooler with-out showing signs of sagging your not whipping your cream correctly.

If your holding your whipped cream in a bowl as in Chiantiglaces above post mentions, and it doesn't hold..........you've got to be undermixing or not handling it right.

Would anyone like to do a 'demo' thread on properly whipped cream? It wouldn't take too much effort and would be something very helpful. Please pm me if your interested.

[onehsancare]

A demo thread is a GREAT idea.

I just wanted to share this family bit--in my family of origin, whipped cream was just whipped cream. I married a man with two sons, and we've added another to the mix, and they all expect vanilla and sugar in whipped cream.

Our solution: whipped cream is whipped cream, and

WIMP cream is doctored up.

Funny, the guys don't enjoy the phrase as much as we do!

[CanadianBakin']

Just wanted to add that I would love to see a demo.

[chiantiglace]

Give me a week and I'll see what I can do

[kthull]

I'll chime in on the need for a demo, but can you really show us how far to whip in a picture? I truly hope so, as I'm a 2-3 hour weeper.

[Wendy DeBord]

It might be a bit difficult to photograph well.......... seeing that your looking at a all white item. But I think the differences are very clear to see.........so hopefully Chiantiglace with have the photographic capiblities.

If not, hey......... anyone can add post their photos too.

It would be helpful to see photographs from members who have been struggling with this item too. Let us see your whipped cream at mutiple stages. In the bowl, on the item, what it looks like when it weeps and how long that takes.

Last, I do need to add (and I've mentioned this several times here at eG) that the fat content in your heavy cream is crucial. I have had manufactured heavy cream that would NOT whip, period..........because the percentage of fat in it was too low. I suppose they shouldn't have labeled it heavy cream, but it was. That unwhipable cream came from the same manufactor that on the next (and previous) shipments of cream were all fine...........just a lower fat batch slipped thru.

[chefjillm]

Okay, I dont get many chances to do cakes at the restuarant so as I said I always put gelatin in to be safe. My question is, if the cream isnt stablized, what happens when you cut the cake? I am always concerned about everything squishing out as I try to cut it.

Also, we use an extremely high fat content cream, it even has chunks of fat occasionally when you pour it from the container. It whips up nicely, but it almost looks chunky as soon as it starts to whip. The first time I saw anyone whipping cream out here (San Francisco) I thought they just didnt know how to whip cream. I do find that it starts to weep after a few hours but I just use a hand whip to lightly bring it back during service. Sometimes it gets overwhipped during service and I have to thin it with a little cream or pitch it. Usually we can get cream to last for 1 1/2 days but we go through enough that we tend to rewhip everyday. It only takes a second so I dont find it to be a big chore.

[oli]

Okay, I dont get many chances to do cakes at the restuarant so as I said I always put gelatin in to be safe.  My question is, if the cream isnt stablized, what happens when you cut the cake?  I am always concerned about everything squishing out as I try to cut it.

Also, we use an extremely high fat content cream, it even has chunks of fat occasionally when you pour it from the container.  It whips up nicely, but it almost looks chunky as soon as it starts to whip.  The first time I saw anyone whipping cream out here (San Francisco) I thought they just didnt know how to whip cream.  I do find that it starts to weep after a few hours but I just use a hand whip to lightly bring it back during service.  Sometimes it gets overwhipped during service and I have to thin it with a little cream or pitch it.  Usually we can get cream to last for 1 1/2 days but we go through enough that we tend to rewhip everyday.  It only takes a second so I dont find it to be a big chore.

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Well, I think its my style of strawberry cake, that I don't have to worry about squishing. I cut 2 genoise cakes in two, so I have four layers. One layer has just strawberries and its juice, followed by another cake layer soaked with berry juice and a layer of custard, followed by another cake layer with berries and finally topped with last cake layer. I just use the whipped cream on the outside.

[nightscotsman]

The type of cream does make a difference if you're whipping. We have two brands of cream in the cooler - one is a regular pasturized heavy cream brand found in all the local supermarkets, and the other is Challenge brand ultra-pasturized. Both have the same fat content. Contrary to what you might think we use the Challenge when we want a stiff, stable whipped cream. The regular stuff will not whip as stiff no matter how long you beat it. The ultra-pasturized does contain some thickeners and stablizers to compensate for the extra heating process, so that might have something to do with it.

We also don't use added gelatine or stabilizers. We add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip to very, very stiff. Rosettes on cakes and toppings on key lime tarts are stable for a least two days, though we rarely keep anything around that long.

I used to think that you had to add gelatine to keep whipped cream from watering out, but I'm in Wendy's camp now. Though if the cream had to be firm enough to be sliceable like a mousse, then I would use some gelatine.

[chefpeon]

I used to think that you had to add gelatine to keep whipped cream from watering out, but I'm in Wendy's camp now. Though if the cream had to be firm enough to be sliceable like a mousse, then I would use some gelatine.

I agree with that. But I will say, that the ultra pasteurized stuff Neil was talking about that he uses for whipping, is something Mary HomeBaker won't be able to find in the grocery store. I love that ultra pasteurized stuff.....I've never had to use a stabilizer in it...I'm lucky I can get it from my supplier at work. Once, I was in a bind and ran to Safeway for their heavy whipping cream.....ha....the stuff seemed like milk compared to my UP stuff! It didn't hold well at all. I think anyone who uses the stuff that grocery stores term "heavy whipping cream" would probably need to consider a stabilizer.

What Wendy said about the fat content....yeah......nothing under 40% butterfat for me!

[kthull]

I use a store brand that's 36% butterfat (Dean's, don't know if it's available nationally or just the midwest) and it's plain old cream. Then there's the organic cream that I'd like to use (we're big on organic items at home) but they all have carageenan and sodum citrate (or somesuch)...that whips really stiffly, but I don't like that it's got additives. Should I just get over it?