Q: Why is it when I'm adding the heavy cream to my vodka cream sauce, the cream curdles? I am forever throwing out the sauce. Kym Collett, Villa Park, CA
AskFN: So far as we know, vodka cream sauce is no more prone to curdling than any other tomato-based cream sauce. The curdling agent is not the alcohol but the acids in the tomatoes and in the cream itself. Any tomato-cream sauce flirts with one of the fundamental laws of kitchen chemistry – acids [in sufficient quantity] denature proteins. And when milk proteins are denatured you get the curds that you're seeing.
Fortunately you can go a long way toward ensuring the success of your sauce by attending to the cream you use. As a general rule, the higher the fat content of the cream, the more stable it's going to be. So start with heavy cream -- with a minimum of 36% milk fat, it's the richest of them all -- and make sure it's good and fresh (as cream or milk age, they become higher in lactic acid and more apt to break down). If you can't get your hands on heavy cream, try whipping cream (or 'light whipping cream,' they're the same thing). At 30 to 36% fat, it should do just fine. Do not resort to light cream or half-and-half unless you're looking to make cottage cheese. Fresh heavy cream alone should fix your problem, but if need be, you can take the extra step of cooking the cream until it's reduced a bit before adding it to the tomato sauce.- Food Network Kitchens
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