i have found for cooking heavy whipping cream is best. cook slow and temper (this is when u add some of the hot liquid to the cream to bring it up to temp.) before putting in a hot liquid. if it is cooked to long and too hot it will break up or separate. i also know it can dry up, but just follow these rules and it should be okay. cream picks up flavors pretty quick. i would thin 15 or 30 mins. is long enough to let the cream sit with ingredients, althought when i was making souffles and other desserts the cream was not a factor unless i beat it too long (it would dis-solve to nothing), didnt have a clean, cold bowl or cream was warm.
light whipping cream is between 30 and 36% butterfat
heavy whipping cream is between 36 and 40% butterfat.
the colder cream is to start, and the colder it stays as you whip it, the easier and better it whips.
when whipping cream, add the sugar when the cream is mostly whipped, and the cream will whip to a higher volume. adding the sugar at.
to prevent cream from curdling when adding to coffee, use fresh cream. as cream ages, its lactic acid content increases. acid can curdle cream. the acid in coffee, along with coffee's heat, favor curdling of cream.
here are some facts and tips on using cream or milk in hot dishes.
1) the lower the butterfat (milkfat) content, the more likely cream is to separate.
light cream is between 18% and 30% butterfat
when adding cream or milk, it is best to heat it up a bit before adding it to another hot liquid. it is partly the difference in temperature that causes milk or cream to curdle. the beginning results is lower volume.
freezing cream : freeze only heavy cream containing 40% or
more butterfat. heat to 170 to 180of for 15 minutes. for storage longer than 2 months, add 1/3 cup sugar per quart of cream. cool quickly. place in moisture-vapor resistant containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
cream whipped after freezing and thawing does not become as stiff as never-frozen cream. individual whipped cream garnishes can be satisfactorily frozen by whipping cream before freezing. place dollops of whipped cream on baking sheet and freeze. once solidly frozen, remove dollops and store in the freezer in freezer containers.