How to Bring Cream to a Boil

By: Eric Mohrman

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Novice home cooks often learn the hard way that attempts to boil milk are misguided; it breaks or curdles. You're not in for so much difficulty if you have to bring cream to a boil, though. It's cream's higher fat content that makes it more stable, and so heavy cream is even more stable than light cream. That's not to say cream can't break or curdle on the way to boiling -- it can, and requires a little attention to prevent it.

Step 1

Pour the cream into a saucepan that holds at least three times the volume of cream used. The liquid expands as it heats -- quite rapidly after it hits a boil -- and spillovers don't make for particularly fun cleanups. Use a high-quality, heavy-bottomed saucepan that distributes heat well to prevent scorching the cream.

Step 2

Place the cream on a burner over medium-high heat. Don't cover the pot. Stir or whisk the cream every 1 to 2 minutes to keep it from breaking.

Step 3

Watch the heating cream closely and remove the saucepan from the burner as soon as the liquid hits a boil, as it expands rapidly from that point. If you're reducing the cream, turn the burner down to medium-low -- letting an electric burner cool down for a minute -- before returning the pot.