5 Things You Didn't Know About Whipped Cream

In this week's video from Panna, mixologist Jim Meehan reveals one thing you probably didn't know about whipped cream—that you can make it in a cocktail shaker. Here, five more fun facts about whipped cream.

1. It's old. Whipped cream has been around since the 16th century. It was included in recipes that date back to 1549 in Italy and 1604 in France. It was first called whipped cream in 1673, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Though, there is a record of crème fouettée—whipped cream in French—in a recipe book from 1629.

2. It used to be called "milk snow." In very old texts, it was referred to as neige de lait in French and neve di latte in Italian. Both translate to milk snow. A 1545 English recipe for "A Dyschefull of Snowe" is a variation on whipped cream. It includes egg whites and rosewater.

3. You can whip it with a branch. Up until the 19th century, recipes for whipped cream called for whipping the cream with a willow or rush branch in place of the modern whisk. As cool as it sounds, we don't recommend it as a practical whisk (or cocktail tin) alternative—it takes over an hour to make a batch.

4. Cream only whips at temperatures under 50 degrees. Any warmer and it becomes butter.

5. The world record for the tallest dollop of whipped cream on a mug of hot chocolate is 7 1/4 inches. Melissa Arkin and Casey McLaughlin set the record in 2011.