National Whipped Cream Day — 5 January

Whipped cream is a sweet treat that we’ve been creating for centuries. As air is beaten into milk with a high enough fat content, the fats trap the air in tiny bubbles. With enough bubbles, the cream loses its liquid qualities and starts to hold its shape. The earliest recipes for whipped cream date back to Italy in the mid 1500’s. Not actually called “whipped cream” until the late 1600’s in England, early recipes dubbed the confection “snow milk” and recommended beating heavy cream with a willow branch until foamy. Now that we have sanitized whisks and modern food processing machinery, whipped cream is widely available in a range of flavors and textures. You can find chocolate whipped cream, mint whipped cream, and tubs of whipped-cream substitute that never goes flat. Then there’s heavy whipped cream, which has a higher fat content for a richer taste and sturdier peaks. Whether you like the convenience of whipped topping from a can or the sweet satisfaction of whisking up a homemade batch, be sure to celebrate the joys that whipped cream has brought you personally —and to all of us around the world —on National Whipped Cream Day this January 5.