Whipping Cream Science

[Chappers]

I was whipping some cream by hand at the weekend to put on some scones (yummy!) and as I was whipping away I was thinking to myself that I could get the job done quicker if only I knew what I was doing.

By this I mean...am I trying to get air into the cream OR am I simply agitating the cream so that the structure changes? Am I supposed to be stirring or aerating?

[oldwoman]

Your`e changing the structure. If you over whip you end up with something akin to butter.

[heathfield]

Aerating. Lift the whisk up as you whip to mix the air into the cream. If you simply stir, it'll stay as ordinary cream. The faster you go, the quicker it whips, as this allows more air to be drawn into the cream behind the wires of a whisk., or the tines of a fork.

[Donquixote]

It's all down to the fat content of the cream: it needs to contain a certain percentage of fat in order to hold the air as whipped cream. This is why single cream will not whip.

[Chappers]

Thanks guys, now I know which technique will produce the desired effect quicker...which means less of a tired arm for me!

[Champagne]

Or if you buy an electric whisk you'll never have to think about such complexities again!!

[Donquixote]

...by the way, the best (most efficient) way to whip cream is to make a figure-of-8 pattern with the whisk. That's how i was taught at catering college, anyway!