Cream

Chill the cream, bowl and beaters first, then whisk until soft or firm peaks form; stop before it turns grainy and begins becoming butter. Cream with around 30% fat or more usually whips well, while single cream generally does not.

Stir it in over low heat and warm the sauce gently rather than letting it boil hard. For a sharp tomato or wine sauce, take the pan off the heat before adding cream and stir it in gradually.

Keep it covered in the fridge, away from the door where the temperature fluctuates, and use it within the time stated on the pack. If it smells sour or has curdled before its use-by date, discard it.

You can freeze it, but thawed cream may separate and is less reliable for whipping. Freeze it in small portions and whisk it after thawing in the fridge; it works best stirred into cooked soups or sauces.

For a creamy finish, stir in crème fraîche or full-fat yoghurt off the heat; yoghurt is more likely to curdle if boiled. Evaporated milk can replace cream in some sauces, but makes them less rich.

Cream is used in creamy mushroom sauce, potato gratin and pasta sauces, and it softens the heat of spicy soups and curries. Add whipped cream to fruit, hot chocolate or desserts such as trifle.

Whisking traps air between droplets of fat, which join into a network that holds the bubbles. Cream has much more fat than milk, so it can form peaks; keep whisking too long and that fat clumps into butter.