Celebrate the day by whisking up some whipped cream or buying some Reddi-Wip and putting it on one of your favorite desserts. You also could make a dessert where whipped cream is one of the main ingredients.
National Whipped Cream Day is celebrated on the birthday of Aaron S. "Bunny" Lapin, one of the founders of Reddi-Wip whipped cream. He created Reddi-Wip in 1948, and applied for a patent for "dispensing valves for gas pressure containers" the following year, receiving the patent in 1955. Reddi-Wip began being nationally distributed in 1954, and Lapin sold the company in 1963. Today it is owned by ConAgra foods, and is the second most eaten brand of whipped topping in the United States.
Whipped cream is made by taking heavy cream—of at least 35% fat—and aerating it until it is light and fluffy. Reddi-Wip is created by using nitrous gas. The injecting of gas such as this under high pressure using a whipping siphon is one of two ways to aerate heavy cream. The other way is to use a speed blade, whip, whisk, or mixer. While doing so, the cream becomes about double the volume of the original cream. The higher the fat content of the cream, the easier whipped cream is to make. It is also best to use ingredients and equipment that are cold.
Whipped cream first came about in the sixteenth century, and was originally called "milk snow." Until the end of the nineteenth century it was whipped with willow or rush branches, and foam on the surface was skimmed off. It then became easier to whip because of the invention of the centrifuge, which increased the fat content of the cream that went through it.
The English word "whipped cream" first came about in 1673, and today it is also called crème chantilly. Whipped cream is often sweetened or flavored with vanilla, sugar, coffee, chocolate, or oranges, and some whipped creams include egg whites. Non-dairy imitations exist as well. Whipped cream is used to top fruits, pies, ice cream—such as sundaes, cupcakes and cakes, milkshakes, jello and puddings, hot chocolate and coffee, and waffles. It is also used in recipes such as layered cakes and cream puffs.
National Whipped Cream Day is being observed today! It has always been observed annually on January 5th.
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