Heavy whipping cream can be freeze dried but it’s important to cool off your trays beforehand because the cream is sensitive to heat. In the typical Harvest Right freeze dryer, cooling the chamber ahead of time is a mandatory part of the freeze dry cycle, so you won’t miss this step.
You can feel free to either spread the whipping cream on the trays to fit the maximal amount in the freeze dryer at one time or another option is to put uniform sized dollops on the trays for either pre-measured additions to a recipe or they also make a great snack.
How Do You Freeze Dry Heavy Whipping Cream?
Heavy whipping cream can be freeze dried with a normal cycle in your typical Harvest Right freeze dryer. The freeze time can run for the usual 8-12 hours with the entire cycle between 20-30 hours. We find that we can start freeze drying whipping cream after breakfast one day and be ready to package it (or snack on it!) after supper the next day.
As we mentioned before, there are actually 2 methods to actually put your whipping cream on trays and freeze dry it. The first method is to just spread it all over the tray. This method is best for scrapping it all out, grinding it into a powder and being able to add it to recipes.
The second way to apply the whipping cream to the freeze drying trays is in dollops. If you’re careful to make the dollops a uniform size, they still make a great recipe addition but in this fashion, they also make a tasty bite size treat!
Can You Dehydrate Heavy Whipping Cream?
Heavy cream can be dehydrated but not at home. Heavy cream is dehydrated by spray drying. Spray drying is a commercial process that we discussed previously when we explained how to freeze dry milk and how powdered store bought milk is different than freeze dried milk.
In much the same way, store bought, powdered heavy cream is much different than freeze dried heavy cream or whipping cream. Because the spray drying process involves heat, the shelf life of store bought, powdered heavy cream is not as long and the final product is slightly cooked in the heating process and the flavor is of the cream is not maintained.
Not surprisingly, as with milk, freeze dried heavy cream and whipping cream are a superior product in flavor, nutrition and shelf life when compared to store bought, powdered heavy cream. However, in both cases, it is simple to rehydrate both store bought and freeze dried cream using water in a 1:1 ratio to the weight of the powdered cream.
How Do You Preserve Heavy Cream?
For the home user, there are 2 ways to preserve heavy cream. Option one for preservation is to freeze the cream. For frozen heavy cream, the usual recommendation for shelf life is about 3 months. Our favorite trick for freezing heavy cream is to freeze it in ice cube trays and pop out one cube of cream whenever you need it.
Option two for preserving cream at home is to freeze dry it. There are many advantages to freeze drying heavy cream. The main advantages are that you’ll have nearly unlimited shelf-life of 25 years or more if stored properly, you’ll maintain flavor and texture, it rehydrates easily, and best of all, you can either freeze dry the liquid heavy cream or you can make whipping cream and freeze dry that too.
What is the Difference Between Heavy Cream and Heavy Whipping Cream?
There’s no difference between heavy cream and heavy whipping cream, they are in fact, the same thing. According to FDA requirements, heavy whipping cream is an acceptable alternative nomenclature for heavy cream and the product must contain no less than 36% milkfat.
Conclusion
As we’ve learned, heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are the same and only differ in name. Heavy cream is a great option to be freeze dried but should be handled cold to avoid melting. Freeze dried cream makes a great recipe addition or snack and freeze dries in around a day.
