And maybe some broccoli.
They hug every morsel rather than puddle up on the bottom of the plate.
Theres a simple trick to getting your cream sauces extra creamy: add acid.
Extra acid from the vinegar or lemon juice causes the proteins in the dairy to cling and clump together.
Its the same reasonlemon possetsets into a pudding even though its only three ingredients.
I first stumbled acrossthis idea from Milk Street.
Warm it over medium-low heat until it is steaming and the edges are bubbling.
Then I turned off the heat.
For the first test I added two teaspoons of vinegar and stirred it in.
The cream became noticeably thick and creamy.
While it didnt break, when it cooled the texture bordered on chunky.
The spoon shows that the cream sauce is becoming lumpy.
I did the same for adding lemon juice with similar results.
This is the sweet spot.
The cream sauce was still flowing but became more viscous without bordering on yogurt.
Whichever you have on hand will work.
Just add a teaspoon of plain old white vinegar or lemon juice to the cream and stir it in.
How to work with the flavor
There is the small issue of acid tasting like acid.
While this plays into your hand if youre making a lemony pasta sauce, what if youre not?
The flavor of straight-up cream with vinegar or lemon juice has a cheesiness to it.
This tracks, considering how cheese and yogurt are made with similar ingredients.
I suggest leaning into the cheese flavor.
Add savory spices like garlic powder, onion powder, or paprika.
Sprinkle in some fresh or dry herbs.
Your cream sauce can be creamy, but it certainly doesnt have to be plain.
you might use this thickening trick with any cream-based sauce, just start small.
Depending on the other ingredients you have swimming around in there, there could be some acid already.
This recipe for a creamy parmesan pasta sauce makes enough to hug one serving of pasta.
(Pasta boxes say two ounces of pasta is enough.
Just multiply it if youre making more than two ounces of pasta.
Bring it up to a light simmer.
The cream should be steaming and bubbling around the very edges.
Stir frequently for about five minutes to evaporate some of the water.
Turn off the heat.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Stir in the parmesan until its fully melted.
Add a crack of black pepper and your sauce is ready.
Toss with pasta, drape over chicken, or dunk chunks of toasted bread into it.
