Single cream

[Gruney2 Profile]

Every month, the daughter of one of my Friday night pint pals, and I alternate to suggest a recipe from "Delicious" magazine to make, and then compare notes. It's a bit of fun. This month, she has chosen a dish with a butter bean gratin, which involves 300mls of single cream The dish provides for four servings.It will be baked for 20 mins.

I don't particularly want to get involved with reducing quantities, and was thinking about what to do with the excess - a pork chop next day? You get the idea. I don't think I'll be wanting to have it three days running - so here's my question. I know you can't successfully freeze single cream per se, but was wondering if I could get away with it in a dish such as this gratin - I know beans freeze successfully. Any thoughts please?

[Earthmaiden Profile]

It sounds as though it would go with chops, sausages and that kind of thing. I wonder if it 'serves 4' generously or not.

I think I'd see if I could scale the recipe down if I didn't want a lot of leftovers. Do you and your friend both try the dishes? I'm only asking because that'd be two portions gone already.

[Suffs Profile]

I sometimes use single cream in macaroni cheese or cauliflower cheese and they both freeze and reheat perfectly fine. I'd go for it.

If it did split when you took it out of the freezer then you could whizz it up in the liquidiser and make a creamy bean soup

[Gruney2 Profile]

Do you and your friend both try the dishes? I'm only asking because that'd be two portions gone already.

No EM - the idea is to cook the dish, independently, and then compare notes. She shares with her parents, so doesn't have my problem
.
Thanks for the confidence boost, Suffs - part of the objective of having this monthly exercise, is to learn a new technique or use a new ingredient. Freezing this gratin, if it comes to that, fits in well.

[Suelle Profile Website]

I think the dish would freeze OK - it sounds as if the cream is part of a sauce.

I think it's only double cream that you are advised not to freeze because the high fat content can affect the texture when thawed.

[Suffs Profile]

Double cream freezes just fine, as long as you whip it first. If you don't it gets a bit 'grainy'

[Pampy Profile]

I've never had a problem freezing things with cream in them but I think you have to be very careful reheating them because they can easily split if over heated - the sauce invariably heats up faster than the solid part of the dish. Definitely defrost the dish before reheating and stir regularly.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I find cream freezes perfectly well for the purposes of making a custard. As Suffs says, it can come out grainy but nothing a hand blender can't fix. The same principle applies to egg yolks, they go to blobs of jelly in the freezer but make perfectly good custard for tart fillings if liquidised with the dairy produce after thawing.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Cream in a sauce or a quiche filling freezes fine so I’d expect the gratin to be ok - assume you would be freezing after the 20 minutes baking, and freezing a cooked dish in which cream is an ingredient isn’t the same as trying to freeze a pot of cream

[Seatallan Profile]

Cream does have a tendency to separate after freezing IME, but I've found it's fine if you're using it for cooking purposes.

[Gruney2 Profile]

Thanks for your help, everyone.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I´d agree with Suffs here. It´d be great with a pasta dish, baked or not.
And a few sage leaves??

[Gruney2 Profile]

That's a great idea, Kkd - thanks.

[PatsyMFagan Profile]

I recall that you could buy cream frozen into individual portions ... a great idea if you cook for one, or just never know when you need/fancy some cream.

It has since disappeared from the freezer cabinets

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes, Kerrygold frozen cream used to be available, looked like bits of jigsaw, you took out as much as you needed to use, and there was another brand that came in little cylinders, not quite as good imho

Maybe we should lobby Iceland

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I remember the cylinders.

I don't remember the brand.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I remember the cylinders.

I don't remember the brand.

I'm not sure either, might have been Dairy Crest in one of its incarnations

[scullion Profile]

you can buy rodda's clotted in individual portions (40g) that can go in a freezer if that's any help.

[PatsyMFagan Profile]

you can buy rodda's clotted in individual portions (40g) that can go in a freezer if that's any help.

Outside of Cornwall ? I've never seen it in my local Tesco

[Stokey Sue Profile]

In my Morrison’s and other shops, it does freeze fine even slightly bigger tubs, I brought some spares home after an event a couple of years ago and they kept well frozen