In country houses, away from large towns, there is as a rule no trouble, whereas in London really good cream can only be obtained with great difficulty.

There is a well-known old story of the London milkman telling the cook who complained of the quality of the cream to stir it up, as the cream settled at the bottom.

We will not enter into the subject of the adulteration of cream in big cities, as probably many of these stories are gross exaggerations, though it is said that pigs' brains and even horses' brains have been used for the purpose of giving the cream a consistency, while undoubtedly turmeric has been used to give it a colour.
We will suppose that we have, say, a quart of really good thick cream.

All that is necessary is to beat up the cream with a whisk till it becomes a froth.

This is much more easily done in cold weather than in hot, and, if the weather be very warm, it is best to put the tin or pan containing the cream into ice an hour or two before it is used.