cooking with cream?

[Tenuvil]

I tried a recipe this week that involved making a cream sauce using heavy cream (I substituted half and half for calorie reasons). The recipe calls for reducing the cream by half. As I was heating the cream sauce, I began preparing another part of the dish. After a few moments I looked and the cream mixture was boiling away merrily. I pulled the pot off the heat but the cream mixture had kind of turned to a thin liquid and fine curds. I ended up using it in the recipe, and while the taste was good, the texture definitely seemed off.

Is this avoidable when simmering or reducing a cream based sauce? What is the best way to handle this going forward?

I'll attach the recipe in a new thread if anyone else wants to try it...it was really really good despite the cream disaster :/

[Pherr the Dorf]

First thing you need to do when making a cream sauce is use CREAM, you need fat content, half and half will not cut it. You can make a bechamel by using flour and butter to make a roux then using half and half, the roux will keep it from breaking but honestly make the dish heavier then a cream sauce.

Basic Cream Sauce
2 People

8 oz heavy cream
2 oz chicken stock or white wine
1/2 tsp white pepper (maybe alil less I never measure this shit)
2 tsp salt
pinch nutmeg
1 tbsp butter

put in pan, heat, boil, reduce, serve, eat!

[Arborealus]

Hrmmmm while I agree with Pherr, real butter and cream are god, I have subbed half and half a lot w/o probs...

If you left it boiling that is probably part of the problem with half and half always reduce the heat once you hit boiling or you'll drive the water off the milk solids/oils too fast...yielding curds and whey...which tastes right but looks well you saw that...

you can fix that usually in a jam by adding 1 tbsp of boiling water per cup sauce in a blender and blend until smooth...But better just to reduce the heat immediately once it comes to a boil and slow the speed of reduction...

It can be done faster but you will have to pay exclusive attention to the sauce to keep hot spots from developing...also leaving a metal utensil in the sauce pan can cause a hot spot...thus i tend to use wood or composite tools for cream sauces or beurres...

what else was in the sauce with the cream?

[Arundel Pajo]

Pretty much what they said - you want to watch it and not really let it boil, as that will cause it to break up with a quickness. When you have a cream sauce on, try to have your other items at such a stage where you can focus most of your attention on the cream. In my experience, a cream sauce is easiest as a last stage sort of thing.

[Tenuvil]

what else was in the sauce with the cream?

butter, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, rosemary, Marsala wine, and cayenne pepper

oh yes and a metal utensil

[Arborealus]

what else was in the sauce with the cream?

butter, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, rosemary, Marsala wine, and cayenne pepper

oh yes and a metal utensil

I'd definitely not salt and pepper until it's reduced completely though that prolly didn't break it...I was wondering if you were adding acids (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) which will will break cream or egg rich sauces...

[Tenuvil]

Thanks for your feedback, you guys rock. I'm going to try this again next week using heavy cream, lower temps and non metal implements.

[vn_Tanc]

a chef friend showed me a traick one. a cream sauce had srarted to curdle so he whipped it off the heat, let it cool a little, then added a little more of the original cream to the sauce and stirred it back together. Hey presto - uncurdled sauce.

[Tenuvil]

Will keep that in mind for next time...unfortunately I had no additional cream to try this with

[Drolgin Steingrinder]

I usually don't throw out the cream container until I'm all done, that way if I need a little more liquid but I don't want to ruin things (or if I want to smooth out a slightly grainy sauce) I can pour a little cold water into the cream container, shake it VIGOROUSLY and use that to stabilize things.

[Laliana]

leaving a metal utensil in the sauce pan can cause a hot spot...thus i tend to use wood or composite tools for cream sauces or beurres...

LOL, I remember this conversation with you about the cream sauce I still haven't mastered.............YET!

[Pherr the Dorf]

The only way a cream sauce will break is if you overreduce it. When the color changes from white to "cream" (pardon the pun) and the bubbles become the size of a penny, turn that bugger off (electric stove... move it to a different burner)