Caramelized Cream

Having never been a big fan of drinks with cream I wasn't exactly gripped by the idea of "caramelized cream". However I went away and gave it some thought. With the light of a new day came an open mind and some inspiration.

The main reason for my disdain of creamy alcoholic drinks is their taste. Cream, for me doesn't impart a great deal to any drink beyond thickening and texturising. Flip that on it's head though and why not add flavour to cream whilst retaining the texturising effect.

We can thank Ideas in Food, for the news. The recipe goes like this.

Add o.5% baking soda to the cream. This will have the effect of expediting the browning process. The mixture was added to a mason jar (it is essentially a jam jar pictured below) and the lid loosely screwed on. An inch of water was then added into the bottom of the pressure cooker and turned on at a high pressure for 2 hours. Once the pressure had naturally dissipated the cream was left looking brownish in colour and with rich deep nutty notes.

Essentially what you are doing here is cooking the sugars in the cream and "caramelizing" them to release the deeper, sweeter flavours.

An alternative method to try, is placing the cream in a airtight jar or sous vide bag and then cooking in a water bath for around 15 - 20 hours until brown. The cream will curdle however this can be addressed simply by blending the mixture. This method is time consuming but cost effective.

The resulting product can potentially be used to add a new dimension to a cocktail. Perhaps a Caramelized White Russian, or a Irish Coffee with a distinct edge. Let us know if you come up with anything exciting!