During the seventies, which is when I was growing up, it was difficult to be single mother in the workforce. Alas, I didn’t grow up eating a lot of home-cooked meals such as Alice prepared for the Brady family. It was usually stuff opened from a can and heated such as Campbell’s beans with boiled Oscar Mayer ballpark franks cut up. That was it and mostly likely, I heated it up on the stove and served it to my mother since she just got home from work. Nothing bad about it, it was just how life was.
Occasionally, around the holidays, she would make turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes. Nothing too complicated and maybe a store bought frozen dessert to be garnished by Cool Whip, that sweet, seemingly innocuous topping that came in a tub. (It wouldn’t last too long. Once my mother was asleep, I was standing in the kitchen, refrigerator door wide-open, scooping spoonfuls into my mouth.).
Once I moved to New York City to go to school, I started to waiting tables. The first restaurant job I had, as a waiter, was at a Cajun restaurant in Tribeca. It was part of our opening side-work was to daily prepare the whipped cream for the nightly desserts. If the kitchen staff wasn’t busy, they would make it for us, if asked kindly. If they were swamped by preparations of the specials or didn’t want to help us that night, we had to do amongst ourselves. Using a freezing cold metal bowl, two quarts of heavy cream, a couple of teaspoons of powered sugar, vanilla and a hint of bourbon. We would then pass it around among the three or four wait people. We would whisk it for about 5 minutes each, beating it in a frenzy. Our arms would ache after we were finished but we all scooped a dollop of the stuff into our mouths, to perfect the taste, adding a little more sugar or cream to get it right. I learned how to make proper whipped cream. The real stuff is made of heavy cream (from a dairy cow), sugar (from a stalk), and vanilla (from a bean)
Its interesting to know that “whipped cream” isn’t something from 1952 with “Leave it to Beaver” and Jello fruit salad. It has a real history and originated in France (natch!) in the 16th Century to decorate pastries and cakes. It’s original name was “Chantilly creme” which if you read enough bodice-rippers (romance novels), it’s always in some sex scene.
My confession is that I never knew until I was 19 that whipped cream actually was real cream….I always thought it came out of that white plastic tub or a canister.
How to make Whipped Cream:
1. Use a metal bowl which is preferable (ceramic is okay too) and get it wet. Don’t dry it and put it into the freezer. We want the bowl freezing with ice crystals. I have also seen sous or pastry chefs double-bowl it using ice in the bottom bowl and then placing a smaller bowl on top, then pouring the cream into the smaller vessel. (Restaurant tips.)
2. Use cream that has also been chilled, either directly from the fridge or you can also put it in the freezer for about a minute. (Another restaurant tip.)The colder it is, the easier and faster it’ll be to whip. Pour the cream into the cold bowl.
3. Using an electric hand-held mixer, starting whipping the cream. You are trying to get air into the liquid which will make it fluff up. (You could use a whisk but that’s ridiculously hard and tiring…why do that to yourself?)
4; Stop whisking when you see peaks forming. Add about a tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar per pint of heavy cream. At this point, you can add a dash or two of vanilla extract and/or a liquor like bourbon, Cointreau, Midori (for color and flavor), Campari…if you are feeling festive and gay. Add more sugar to make it sweeter, less if you just want to taste just the cream which is also just as good. Keep whisking until the cream makes stiff peaks but be cautious, if you whisk to long it will the liquid to butter.(In elementary school for a science class, we poured cream into a empty milk jug. With the thirty or so students passing and shaking the bottle, it turned to butter. That was fun!)
I learned a lot about cooking working in restaurants. It was illuminating to make whipped cream. I don’t think I ever told anyone that….but now I have….I feel relieved.
HA!
