Food & Wine USA - (12)December 2020

128 DECEMBER 2020

BACKSTORY

TRADITIONAL WHIPPED CREAM is just that: unsweetened heavy cream

beaten until soft peaks form. is is the kind of whipped cream you

would get at a gelato shop in Rome or a café in Vienna, and it’s been

used in recipes for hundreds of years—versions of whipped cream

show up in European writings dating back to the 16th century. e

whipped cream that Americans are accustomed to is sweetened

with powdered sugar; the French refer to this as crème chantilly.

Sweetened or not, it wasn’t until the mid-1900s that whipped cream

became a key ingredient in American desserts, thanks to inven-

tions that made it a convenient topping that was

instantly available.

In the 1940s, Aaron “Bunny” Lapin, an inventor

from St. Louis, started selling Sta-Whip, a whip-

ping cream substitute made of light cream and

vegetable fat. In 1948, Lapin put his product inside

aerosol canisters and called it Reddi-wip. Milkmen

distributed Reddi-wip throughout St. Louis, and

by 1954, distribution was nationwide, and Lapin

became known as the “Whipped Cream King.” e

next year, Lapin patented Reddi-wip’s touch-and-

press nozzle—the key to the product’s success—but

he had already made millions. By the end of the

20th century, Reddi-wip was a mainstay in Ameri-

can homes, with the brand making up half of

aerosol whipped cream eaten in the U.S.

Whether it’s whisked by hand or squirted from

a can, the key to whipped cream is in the reaction

between butterfat and gas. Whipping cream is

essentially the process of incorporating air into liquid. When cream

is whipped with a whisk or shaken with nitrous oxide inside an

aerosolized canister, air bubbles get trapped inside the liquid. e

butterfat in the cream forms protective shields around the bubbles,

suspending them in the liquid for a fluffy effect.

While Reddi-wip became known for its single-use cans, reusable

canisters with nitrous oxide chargers were the rage in Europe, popu-

larized to this day by Austrian company iSi. A “charged” whipped

cream dispenser in the fridge not only makes quick work of finishing

your holiday desserts, but it also performs equally well with full-fat

canned coconut milk for a nondairy version. NINA FRIEND

Not all whipped cream is created equal—

the history behind this fluffy dairy product

is richer than you might think.

BY THE NUMBERS

$500

Amount that

the average U.S.

family was paying

per year in the

1950s for dis-

posable cans of

Reddi-wip (about

$5,390 in today’s

dollars)

8

Number of Reddi-

wip flavors cur-

rently available:

Original, Choco-

late, Fat Free,

Extra Creamy,

Non-Dairy Coco-

nut, Non-Dairy

Almond, Sweet

Foam Coffee

Topper, and Nitro

Coffee Creamer

2016

The year in

which there

was a whipped

cream shortage

in the U.S. due

to a shortage of

nitrous oxide, a

key component in

aerosol whipped

creams

7.25"

The world record

for the tallest

dollop of whipped

cream to top a

mug of hot choco-

late, set in 2011 by

Melissa Arkin and

Casey McLaughlin

9

Number of

whipped cream

portraits drawn

by Betsy Davis

in two minutes

in 2010—also a

world record

NOW WATCH ME WHIP

Not a fan of cream from a can?

Whip it the old-fashioned way

with a hand or stand mixer. For

best results, chill the bowl and

beaters for 20 minutes in the

freezer, and use cream straight

from the fridge; the butterfat

emulsifies faster and holds its

shape longer when chilled. If you

overbeat the cream and it starts

to clump, don’t panic! Add a little

more cream, and mix gently until

it comes together. Pro tip: To

make whipped cream without any

special equipment, fill a glass jar

one-fourth of the way with heavy

cream, seal with a lid, and shake

until the cream has thickened.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIRAGEC/GETTY IMAGES