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Creaming is used to refer to several different culinary processes. In baking, it is the blending of ingredients with a softened form of a solid fat. When a dish is described as being "creamed", it may mean that it has been poached in milk, cream or a similar liquid. "Creaming" can also refer to the separation of cream from milk.

Blending

Creaming, in this sense, is the technique of softening solid fat, like shortening or butter, into a smooth mass and then blending it with other ingredients. The technique is most often used in making buttercream, cake batter or cookie dough. The dry ingredients are mixed or beaten with the softened fat until it becomes light and fluffy and increased in volume, due to the incorporation of tiny air bubbles. These air bubbles, locked into the semi-solid fat, remain in the final batter and expand as the item is baked, serving as a form of leavening agent.

Poaching

Creamed food, in cooking, denotes food that is prepared by slow simmering or poaching in milk or cream, such as creamed chipped beef on toast.

Some preparations of "creamed" food substitute water and a starch (often corn starch) for all or some of the milk or cream. This produces a "creamy" texture with no actual cream or milk used. Creamed corn uses only the liquid "milk" from mashed corn kernels.

In milk production

Creaming in milk production is the process by which cream rises to the top of un-homogenized milk. In this sense, the word is similar to the term "creaming" as it is used in chemistry.

References

1. Willis, Kimberley; Budnik, Viktor (13 July 2010). Knack Canning, Pickling & Preserving: Tools, Techniques & Recipes to Enjoy Fresh Food All Year-Round. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780762766031 – via Google Books.

• McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking (Revised ed.). Scribner. ISBN 0-684-80001-2. p 557.

v t e Cooking techniques
List of cooking techniques
Dry	Conduction Dry roasting Hot salt frying Searing Convection Baking Roasting (modern) Smoking Barbecue Radiation Charbroiler Grilling (charbroiling) Roasting (traditional) Rotisserie Toasting
Wet	High heat Blanching Boiling Decoction Parboiling Shocking Reduction Low heat Coddling Creaming Infusion Poaching Simmering Slow cooking Smothering Steeping Stewing Indirect heat Bain-marie (Double boiling) Sous-vide Double steaming Steaming
Fat-based	High heat Basting Blackening Browning Frying Deep frying Pan frying Shallow frying Stir frying Sautéing Low heat Gentle frying Sweating
Mixed medium	Carryover cooking Barbecuing Braising Caramelization Deglazing Flambé Fricassee Indirect grilling/Plank cooking Stir frying (chao)
Device-based	Air frying Microwaving Pressure cooking Pressure frying Slow cooker Thermal cooking
Non-heat	Aging Brining Burying in ground Curing Drying Fermenting Juicing Pickling Purée Salting Souring
See also	List of cooking appliances List of cooking vessels Outdoor cooking Food preparation Food preservation Food safety
Category

• Cooking techniques
• Culinary terminology