Comment by hellotheretoday | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hellotheretoday | Hacker News Reader

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hellotheretoday

C02 and water makes carbonic acid, which creates an acidic/bitter taste. This is fine and even desirable in some things like soda and beer but in whipped cream it’s pretty gross. The bubbles are also less stable which is why you get popping carbonation instead of something more akin to a smooth foam head on a nitro brew

N2o doesn’t react with water and the bubbles are more stable so it is a far superior choice for whipped cream. Those bubbles dissolve in the fat of the cream under pressure then upon release aerate the cream resulting in a lighter, fluffier product. That’s why propane wouldn’t work (plus imo propane also imparts an off flavor and I don’t want to eat it despite it being generally recognized as safe). N2o also inhibits bacterial growth, both through replacing oxygen in the canister (which all 3 would do) but also because it’s bacteriostatic. Probably other stuff too

This law is dumb. Make your own whipped cream! A siphon is like $50 now. It makes whipped cream super fast without needing to whisk a bunch and you can also use it to make pickles really fast. You can also use it to carbonate fruit slices and make cocktails if you get c02 chargers

Thanks for the detailed answer.

> Make your own whipped cream! A siphon is like $50 now.

Is that really cost effective compared to buying bottled whipped-cream though?

I bought a siphon to make whipped cream (and other recipes) a couple of weeks ago. Fresh cream from it tastes a lot better than from the store bought canisters. Not sure what the reason is, but I'm guessing the store bought canisters contain additional chemicals to extend the shelf life.

At .50 EUR per N2O load (plus the siphon) it is somewhat of a luxury of course. But if you're into cooking, I think it's a reasonable investment. I'm looking forward to trying a Hollandaise recipe next. It's much easier to make in a siphon than using the traditional technique over a water bath.

> I'm looking forward to trying a Hollandaise recipe next. It's much easier to make in a siphon than using the traditional technique over a water bath.

What? How does that work with a siphon? How are the eggs yolks cooking then? Or is using the siphon giving you the same texture without actually cooking the yolks?

They are cooked by the hot butter and you can also put the siphon into a hot water bath for a short amount of time.

To be fair, the texture is not exactly the same as traditional hollandaise. But it's much easier to get it right.

It’s mainly because they use shitty cream. Try adding xanthan gum and/or a carageenan to stabilize the whipped cream and keep the peaks stiffer longer. Will also extend shelf life a bit and make it taste a bit creamier.

The other thing you can do with these is reduce the fat content a bit as they will make it taste creamier with less fat thus giving you a similar tasting product for less calories. However, this could also explain why your home made product is superior as side by side full fat will generally still taste better. I still think most major producers cheap out on their cream supply though and use low quality cream that tastes mediocre regardless of fat content though.

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