Interesting Food - Whipped Cream
Laughing Gas is used in canned whipped cream. (Yes, nitrous oxide, aka "laughing gas, is a recognised food additive, usually seen as as E942 on labels. In aerosol whipped cream, it dissolves into in the fatty cream until it leaves the can, when it becomes gaseous and creates foam. Used in this way, it produces whipped cream four times the volume of the liquid, whereas whipping air into cream only produces twice the volume. If air were used as a propellant, oxygen would accelerater ancidification and nitrous oxide inhibits such degradation. Carbon dioxide cannot be used for whipped cream because it is acidic in water, which would curdle the cream and give it a seltzer-like 'sparkling' sensation. However, the whipped cream produced with nitrous oxide is unstable and will return to a more liquid state within half an hour to one hour. Thus, the method is not suitable for decorating food that will not be immediately served. I can honestly say I never experience any urge to l...