How Long Does Whipped Cream Last?

Have you had a dinner party and made too much fresh whipped cream for your desserts? You may be unsure how long whipped cream lasts, so you’d usually throw it away, but it can be such a waste if you’ve made a huge batch. This is why Taste Revolution is here to help you out.

This blog will answer the question of how long does whipped cream last, how you can identify if it’s gone bad, and also some tips and tricks on how to store your whipped cream for maximum freshness.

Fresh Whipped Cream Lifespan

After you've made your homemade whipped cream, it's ideal to use straight away on a delicious dessert. But, if you have some leftover, rather than throwing it away, it can be kept in the fridge for about a day, ready for you to use again. However, if you know that you're going to need your whipped cream to last longer than a day, we recommend before you whip your cream, add any stabilising ingredients to it. These vary from gelatin, powdered skimmed milk, corn starch or instant pudding mix. You should add these at some point during the whipping stage, which is usually when you're at the 'soft peaks' stage, rather than when you're done whipping and the peaks are stiff.

By adding a stabilising ingredient to your whipped cream, it will mean that it can be left for up to 3 to 4 days in the fridge without the quality being lost. And, if you'd like to keep the leftover whipped cream for even longer than 3 to 4 days, we highly recommend that you recharge your Whipping Dispenser with Nitrous Oxide to keep in the fridge for up to 14 days. This is the best way to keep the whipped cream in good condition without it going bad. If you are looking to keep your whipped cream fresh for longer than 14 days, we recommend that you freeze it!

If you want to get creative and have the whipped cream in specific shapes, you can pipe it using a cookie tray and freeze them until they are solid. Once they are frozen, transfer all the portions into a freezable bag or container and put them back into the freezer. Otherwise, you can just freeze the leftovers in a regular container.

How to Store Leftover Whipped Cream

So, now we know how long whipped cream will last depending on how long you'd like to keep it. But the lifespan of fresh whipped cream also varies on how you store it in the fridge or freezer.

Whether you've added in a stabilising ingredient, there are 2 ways that you can help mitigate your whipped cream losing its freshness:

Store the whipped cream on a sieve over a bowl. Doing this will allow any liquid to end up at the bottom of the bowl, with the rest of the whipped cream staying at the top - this will be top-quality and ready to serve again.
Ensure to leave the last 10% of the whipped cream in the bowl. This is where a lot of the liquid will end up, and it's not ideal to use. Remember, using your whisk or mixer to fix the texture issue won't help.

How to Preserve Whipped Cream

As Nitrous Oxide boasts the capability of inhibiting bacteria growth in food and even beverages, Cream Chargers make the perfect tool to help stretch the life of your whipped cream for up to 14 days in a charged whipping dispenser kept in the fridge.

How to Tell If Leftover Whipped Cream Has Gone Bad

Fresh whipped cream generally loses its quality much faster than it technically goes bad, this is said to be true even with stabilised whipped cream.

So, if you're not sure how to tell whether your whipped cream is good enough to add with your dessert, fresh fruit, or on top of a steaming cup of hot chocolate, there are several things you can look out for.

When checking your few-days-old homemade whipped cream, we recommend having a look for mould. You can do this by checking the cream's surface and inside the container. This should be quite obvious to spot.
Next, have a look for separation in the whipped cream. A little water on the bottom is okay, but if the cream floats on top of that liquid, its time is up!
The same thing is to be said with the volume of the whipped cream. A minor loss to it is expected, but nothing more. If the stiff peaks have flattened entirely, it's not the best quality it could be.
Another thing that can be quite obvious to notice is whether it has gone sour. If the leftover whipped cream smells or tastes more like sour cream, it's time for it to go.
Finally, have a think about the storage time. If your whipped cream has sat in the fridge for much longer than 4 days, it's probably not worth chancing it.

Although, if everything seems to be alright and the whipped cream hasn't got any of these issues and hasn't been sitting in the fridge for longer than we've recommended, feel free to use it.

We'd like to remind you that if you're still unsure whether your whipped cream is alright to use, or the quality is questionable, it's better to discard it rather than chance it.

Whipped Cream Summary

So, to summarise how long whipped cream lasts, Taste Revolution recommends keeping it refrigerated for a day but if you decide to add stabilised ingredients to it, your whipped cream will be fine for 3 to 4 days. But, if you’re in doubt the next time you use it, it is best to keep your whipped cream stored in a charged dispenser in the fridge.

Whipped cream couldn’t be simpler to make if you have the right equipment. At Taste Revolution, we supply cream whippers and cream chargers that you can use to create your own fresh whipped cream for your desserts. And we even have a blog-piece on How to Add Flavour to Whipped Cream if you're feeling adventurous!

If you need any help choosing the right equipment for your next culinary adventure, get in touch with us!

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