Whipped Cream Shortage?

[tvguy]

Pretty sure it comes in a squirt-can version too...I wonder if it also is part of the shortage?

And referring back to the OP, I'm still wondering why any restaurant that couldn't get nitrous oxide cartridges just didn't go ahead and whip up some cream instead of sending their desserts out incomplete?

You never know with restaurants. I suspect most just use canned whipped cream because it has a shelf live in the fridge of several years, where whipping it by hand is labor intensive, and has to be tossed out several times a day.
I'm still waiting for Panda Express to put scrambled eggs back in their fried rice. They started substituting corn for scrambled eggs when egg prices spiked, and now that they are back down, they haven't switched back. Funny thing is, the mom and pop chinese restaurants never did stop using eggs.

 

[DLgal]

You never know with restaurants. I suspect most just use canned whipped cream because it has a shelf live in the fridge of several years, where whipping it by hand is labor intensive, and has to be tossed out several times a day.

Huh? Canned whip cream does NOT have a shelf life of "several years." Not even close. It goes bad.

And restaurants that use real whipped up cream usually stabilize it with gelatin. It will hold its shape and keep for at least a week. Real heavy cream is actually cheaper than the canned stuff, volume wise. You can make a LOT of whipped cream with a pint of heavy cream.

 

[tvguy]

Huh? Canned whip cream does NOT have a shelf life of "several years." Not even close. It goes bad.
.

Next time you are in the store (that still has canned whip cream in stock), look at the expiration date. Probably years from now. It's sterile, and they use nitrous oxide as the propellant instead of air to keep it from going rancid or spoiling.
And if you Google it, you will find some interesting posts about it being good for years AFTER the expiration date.
We are in the middle of heavy rain and potential flooding. Some of the emergency food supplies are canned goods from World War II. Peanut butter, canned meat, crackers. They are still safe to eat if the can has not been compromised.

 

[AndreaDM]

Probably due to everyone buying that dang pie face game for Christmas!

 

[tvguy]

Huh? Canned whip cream does NOT have a shelf life of "several years." Not even close. It goes bad.

And restaurants that use real whipped up cream usually stabilize it with gelatin. It will hold its shape and keep for at least a week. Real heavy cream is actually cheaper than the canned stuff, volume wise. You can make a LOT of whipped cream with a pint of heavy cream.

Went to Target on my break. I was wrong. Small cans of Redi-Whip had an expiration of January 2018. Large cans, June 2018. So not YEARS, but at least a year. But, that is one of the advantages of canning food, keeping the air out prevents it from spoiling.

 

[usnuzuloose]

This. There is no shortage of whipping cream. There IS a shortage of the nitrous oxide used as a propellant in canned whipped cream. The shelves were pretty bare on Christmas eve, but I can see where demand would be heavy then. Seemed back to normal Sunday when I was at the store..

Really? I had no problem on this end of town. Hmmm wonder what happened there.

 

[DizBelle]

A sign above the dairy case at the supermarket the other night said there was a problem in one of the main nitrous oxide manufacturing plants, which may result in shortages of canned whipped cream. My market, however, still had a good supply.

Not sure what the restaurants' problems were; they COULD make their own.

Not just a problem but a fatal explosion at a plant in Florida.

 

[RedAngie]

Not just a problem but a fatal explosion at a plant in Florida.

Thanks for the info. The sign didn't explain, and I suppose the supermarket didn't want to share such tragic news.

I just checked my can of Shop Rite brand whipped cream. Expiration date of October 2017. I don't quite remember when I bought it, but I'm guessing at least six months ago. So yeah, at least a year.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Probably due to everyone buying that dang pie face game for Christmas!

It's the reason I purchased six cans!

 

[DLgal]

Next time you are in the store (that still has canned whip cream in stock), look at the expiration date. Probably years from now. It's sterile, and they use nitrous oxide as the propellant instead of air to keep it from going rancid or spoiling.
And if you Google it, you will find some interesting posts about it being good for years AFTER the expiration date.
We are in the middle of heavy rain and potential flooding. Some of the emergency food supplies are canned goods from World War II. Peanut butter, canned meat, crackers. They are still safe to eat if the can has not been compromised.

You know, I happened to check the expiration date of both a can I have in the fride and a new one at the supermarket today. In my fridge, use by June 14, 2017. The ones in the store are dated August 2017 use by. My can at home says "Perishable. Keep refrigerated at all times. Use by date stamped on package."

I have no idea why you would think that cream lasts "years." It doesn't. And you can't sterilize cream. It gets pasteurized but it will go bad eventually.

 

[pixiemomma]

I did admit to eating in chain restaurants.

LOL!

 

[DisAuntie]

Next time you are in the store (that still has canned whip cream in stock), look at the expiration date. Probably years from now. It's sterile, and they use nitrous oxide as the propellant instead of air to keep it from going rancid or spoiling.
And if you Google it, you will find some interesting posts about it being good for years AFTER the expiration date.
We are in the middle of heavy rain and potential flooding. Some of the emergency food supplies are canned goods from World War II. Peanut butter, canned meat, crackers. They are still safe to eat if the can has not been compromised.

I have canned whipped cream (Land O Lakes heavy whipped cream) in the fridge, bought last week. Expiration is July 2, 2017.

 

[kidshop]

you know you can get the whipped cream contraption for home use with the nitrogen cartridges...I bought one at a thrift shop this summer and we have had a lot of fun with it. In fact I just used it for my coffee! It lasts a long time in the fridge, maybe 3 weeks. the cartridges run about .50 for 2 pints of cream. It tastes really really good.

 

[tvguy]

You know, I happened to check the expiration date of both a can I have in the fride and a new one at the supermarket today. In my fridge, use by June 14, 2017. The ones in the store are dated August 2017 use by. My can at home says "Perishable. Keep refrigerated at all times. Use by date stamped on package."

I have no idea why you would think that cream lasts "years." It doesn't. And you can't sterilize cream. It gets pasteurized but it will go bad eventually.

Rediwhip owns the patent on sterilizing cream. It is heated briefly to 280 degrees. But some people don't like it because of that.

https://www.google.com/patents/US3050914

http://www.wackyuses.com/weirdfacts/reddiwip.html

http://www.foodrenegade.com/just-say-no-to-uht-milk/

 

[bcla]

Cool Whip Original is made of water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (including coconut and palm oils), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skimmed milk, light cream, less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, and beta carotene (as a coloring).

After reading what is in Cool Whip I am surprised that anyone would buy it. I just use heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract in my whipped cream.

It makes me nauseous. A bunch of vegetable oil based milk-product substitutes make me queasy. About the only stuff that doesn't is non-dairy creamer. I tried Mocha Mix nondairy frozen dessert once. The smell was just weird, almost like it was made with rancid oil.

There's really no substitute for whipped cream in a can on ice cream. Blended whipped cream is heavier.

 

[bcla]

Went to Target on my break. I was wrong. Small cans of Redi-Whip had an expiration of January 2018. Large cans, June 2018. So not YEARS, but at least a year. But, that is one of the advantages of canning food, keeping the air out prevents it from spoiling.

Pressurized in a can works wonders if the contents are sterile, even without preservatives. I used to wear contacts, and there used to be pressurized sterile saline in a can. It was pressurized with nitrogen, and the pressure kept anything from entering the can, unlike a squirt bottle that would suck air back in. I don't think pressurized nitrogen would work for whipped cream though.

 

[ronandannette]

you know you can get the whipped cream contraption for home use with the nitrogen cartridges...I bought one at a thrift shop this summer and we have had a lot of fun with it. In fact I just used it for my coffee! It lasts a long time in the fridge, maybe 3 weeks. the cartridges run about .50 for 2 pints of cream. It tastes really really good.

I'd imagine (although admittedly I have no way to know for sure) that most restaurants have this type of equipment too, instead of just buying endless cans. It's super easy to use one - just put heavy cream, sugar and vanilla (or not) in the canister and clip in the NO cartridge - voila!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I saw an article like a month or two ago.

In that article it said nitrous oxide was being sent as a priority to dentist's offices and whatnot (i.e. medical usage) as it is also used as "laughing gas".

I suspect shortages might be regional or even company-based. When we went to Walmart near us the week of Christmas Reddi-wip was plentiful.

 

[bcla]

I guess with the talk about pressurized whip cream, it reminds me of a story I heard about a certain bear in Yosemite. This one was nicknamed "Snaggletooth" for its specialization of opening canned food with its teeth. It's teeth were partially broken as a result.

What finally did in Snaggletooth was the time it scored a can of pressurized whip cream. When rangers finally captured it, they found that the exploding can had completely shredded its mouth, with jagged pieces of the can lodged in its mouth.

 

[bcla]

I'd imagine (although admittedly I have no way to know for sure) that most restaurants have this type of equipment too, instead of just buying endless cans. It's super easy to use one - just put heavy cream, sugar and vanilla (or not) in the canister and clip in the NO cartridge - voila!

Not too expensive I'd think. The one I found was pretty cheap in bulk. It said the gas was made in Belgium and the cartridge was assembled in Austria. They look like the CO2 cartridges I remember that could be used to inflate bike tires.

Looks like the industry name is "cream charger".