​​The Simple Addition For Stiffer Whipped Cream

Sometimes store bought is just as good as homemade. One ingredient that this doesn't apply to though is whipped cream. The store bought stuff just doesn't hold up against a freshly whipped batch of cream. It's luscious, light, and just a bit sweet to perfectly compliment any dessert that it's paired with. You can also use it to top your coffee for a simple morning luxury.

One of the biggest problems with making whipped cream, according to Mom Intelligence, is that it needs to be made on the spot, or it will end up deflating and separating. According to Blue Flame Kitchen, cream is able to be whipped into a fluffy topping thanks to its high fat content. Air bubbles are trapped between the fat as it is whipped, but as time passes, the water and fats will separate. Water is more dense than fat so after a while it will appear to weep as the water separates, and appear to be loose. 

Luckily, Southern Living reports that there is an easy fix for this problem — and it might be something you already have in your pantry.

The reason that store bought whipped creams seem to last forever is that they use compounds called stabilizers, per Southern Living. These are substances used to literally help food stabilize and keep the same texture and shape over a long period of time. PacMoore says that some common stabilizers used by food manufacturers are things like pectin, lecithin, and carrageenan.

Meringue powder makes for a great stabilizer at home because it is fairly shelf stable and it only takes a small amount to help your whipped cream from losing its luster (via Southern Living). Jessica Gavin reports that meringue powder is mostly made of pasteurized and dried egg whites along with a few other ingredients like corn starch, another stabilizer. Whipped egg whites are the substance that gives strong peaks to meringues used for dishes like Baked Alaskas, Key Lime Pie, or chocolate pavlova. They serve the same purpose in their dried form when added to whipped cream. Southern Living says to add 1 teaspoon of meringue powder for every 2 cups of heavy cream once it's been whipped up into soft peaks.