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Ingredient

heavy cream

A high-fat dairy cream, also labeled heavy whipping cream, with enough fat (36-40%) to whip to stiff peaks and to simmer or boil in a sauce without curdling. Used to enrich soups, sauces, and desserts, and as the base for whipped toppings and many custards.

Buying guidance

Check the fat percentage on the carton -- 'heavy cream' and 'heavy whipping cream' are the same thing, but 'light cream' and half-and-half are lower-fat and curdle far more easily in a hot, acidic sauce. Buy it cold with an intact seal, and warm it gradually into a hot mixture rather than adding it cold all at once.

Substitutions

  • Half-and-half -- thinner body and won't whip to stiff peaks, but fine for enriching a sauce or coffee.
  • Whole milk plus melted butter, about 3/4 cup milk to 1/4 cup butter per cup of cream needed -- rough stand-in for cooking, won't whip.
  • Light cream -- whips less firmly and curdles more easily in hot, acidic liquid; add it off the heat or warm it gradually.

Tips & common mistakes

Overwhipping turns cream grainy and then separates it into butter and thin liquid -- stop as soon as it holds the peak you want, and slow down as it thickens, since it can go from underwhipped to broken in just a few extra seconds of whisking.

Storage

Most grocery-store heavy cream is ultra-pasteurized, which lets it keep considerably longer unopened than regular milk or cream, sometimes over a month past the sell-by date if kept cold and sealed -- but once opened, it's on the same clock as any other dairy.

Used in 14 recipes