Freezing heavy cream

[letscook]

When I buy buttermilk I always have leftover and don't want to throw out.
I was told you can freeze it. I have had great results with it.
I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions.

I have the same problem with heavy cream. Can you freeze heavy cream?
Has anyone done it? Does it change texture or taste etc?

Thank you

 

[pacanis]

uh-oh. I just remembered that I have half a cup of lite coconut milk in the fridge somewhere...

Good question. More should be written on what freezes well and how it changes or not. I drink milk in my coffee (usually), so if I have any kind of cream getting close to it's demise it goes in my coffee... or chicken gravy, mashed potatoes, something.

 

[cave76]

I've frozen whole milk with no problems except there MAY be a slight change in taste, but for cooking, o.k.

I've frozen half and half with less success. And heavy cream with even less success. It must be the fat content.

If the heavy cream is ultra-pasteurized and unopened it will keep for a LONG time just in the fridge. I've done that. Opened cartons? Still keeps a long time. I've done that too.

That's just my personal experience.

 

[taxlady]

I have tried freezing heavy cream. When it thaws out it tastes fine. It has a funny texture. I don't know what you can do with it. It wouldn't make whipped cream. It can probably be used in something where you don't mind it looking curdled/lumpy.

 

[Zhizara]

Heavy cream would never make it to the freezer in my house. It would either be used up in coffee, or even poured in a glass for a truly decadent treat.

 

[taxlady]

Heavy cream would never make it to the freezer in my house. It would either be used up in coffee, or even poured in a glass for a truly decadent treat.

I find that if I put it in coffee there are little globs of fat floating in the coffee.

On the other hand, I could use it up making a brandy Alexander.

 

[cave76]

Here's another way to use heavy cream. I've made this before and it's great.

"Russian Cream

4 Cups Cream
2 Cups Sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon gelatin
2 Cups Sour Cream
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Blend well and stir over medium heat until sugar and gelatin are THOROUGHLY dissolved. Cool and then, mixing quickly, add the Sour Cream and vanilla until well blended and smooth. Pour into mold or bowl and chill for four hours or overnight.
12-16 servings.

I saw versions of this recipe many places... suggested serving ideas included serving with fresh strawberries, berries, fresh peach slices, etc. I served it with raspberry sauce over the top. Of course, it's delicious just plain!"

RUSSIAN CREAM

 

[taxlady]

4 cups of heavy cream is never what I would call "left over". I usually buy heavy cream in a 500 ml (~2 cups) container.

 

[pacanis]

I wonder if the floating fat is a temperature thing, Tax? I don't see cream floating around when I put it in my coffee... but then I always add the cream before the coffee. Maybe that makes a difference.

 

[cave76]

4 cups of heavy cream is never what I would call "left over". I usually buy heavy cream in a 500 ml (~2 cups) container.

But the recipe CAN be divided by two, probably even by 4 (maybe).

 

[CWS4322]

A friend used to combine a can of frozen juice with a pint of whipping cream and freeze it. It was a lovely dessert...

 

[cave76]

A friend used to combine a can of frozen juice with a pint of whipping cream and freeze it. It was a lovely dessert...

That sounds easy enough for even me to do! And delicious.

 

[taxlady]

You can whip heavy cream and then freeze blobs or something prettier. Works well as decoration.

 

[CharlieD]

To the OP. We have problem getting heavy cream here. So whenever we are so lucky to find some we buy as much as we can afford and freeze most of it, leaving out some for immediate use. We had some seating in the freezer for more than 6-7 month, works totally fine after it is defrosted.
As the matter of fact we used to have to freeze milk, milk doesn't freeze as well as heavy cream.

 

[jennyema]

I've read that the higher the fat content the better dairy products freeze.

 

[Mad Cook]

When I buy buttermilk I always have leftover and don't want to throw out.
I was told you can freeze it. I have had great results with it.
I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions.

I have the same problem with heavy cream. Can you freeze heavy cream?
Has anyone done it? Does it change texture or taste etc?

Thank you

It will freeze fairly successfully if you whip it first but it's the thawing that can get you into trouble. When it's defrosted it will "fall" if you stir it. I learned this to my cost in Spain when asked by Spanish friends to make an "English" trifle. I wanted to put whipped cream on top and I could only buy frozen whipped cream in sort of pellets. I thawed them, stirred them together and got a runny mess which wouldn't come together again. It sort of separated.

The best thing to do (according to my freezer recipe book) if you are going to want whirls of cream to go on top of something is to pipe it onto a baking parchment line sheet pan and freeze it open then pack them in a rigid box. Put them in place before they defrost. If you want it for something like a pavlova you could just freeze spoonsful in the same way.

However, this chap says that you can freeze it in it's runny state and whip it when it's thawed
Can I Freeze Cream? | David Lebovitz

 

[CharlieD]

The best thing to do (according to my freezer recipe book) if you are going to want whirls of cream to go on top of something is to pipe it onto a baking parchment line sheet pan and freeze it open ...

I think we are talking about different things here. Heavy cream is a liquid.

 

[Mad Cook]

I find that if I put it in coffee there are little globs of fat floating in the coffee.

On the other hand, I could use it up making a brandy Alexander.

I can only drink cream with coffee if the cream is floating on the top of the coffee. Of course, if the coffee has Tia Maria in it it's even better. Hic!

(Diverging a bit - have you ever had Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur with cream floating on top? Divinely inspired combination! It was a bit of a craze in the 1960s over here)

 

[dragnlaw]

I used to buy whole milk when it came on special. (Used to way back when!) I would freeze the bags. Then mix it half and half with reconstitued powdered milk.

I'll explain for those of you who are sitting there saying... "Wha?? Bags??"

In Quebec and eastern Ontario, we can buy our milk in 3 plastic bags (that total up to 4 litres). Yes we can get it in plastic bottles and cartons as well, but when you want a gallon ... you get 4 litres. I'll post pictures later.

In the meanwhile, with 4 kids in the house I used to buy powdered milk, and mix it with whole milk. Due to refridgerator space I would freeze the extra bags. I found when you defrosted them the cream separated but a whiz in the blender took care of that.

You could give your cream a zap in a blender or hand held mixer - you would just have to be careful to stop before "butter"....

 

[taxlady]

Too bad powdered milk costs more than fresh milk nowadays.