Try This If Your Whipped Cream Nozzle Has Stopped Working

After you've spent time concocting the perfect cup of hot chocolate, a decadent bowl of ice cream, or just about any other dessert you could dream up, the last thing you want to happen is for the nozzle on your can of whipped cream to clog. For those who aren't aware, there really is something of a science to correctly using canned whipped cream. The can isn't filled with already whipped cream. Instead, it's filled with heavy cream and nitrous oxide (via LEAFtv).

Nitrous oxide is more commonly known as laughing gas, but it clearly doesn't have the same effect when combined with the cream. You'll have to visit the dentist if you really want a laugh from this harmless gas. It's the nitrous oxide that pushes the cream out of the can while also aerating it so you get light and delicious whipped cream out of the nozzle instead of liquid cream. It's for this reason that you also need to hold the can at a precise angle to keep it from clogging. But what happens when that bottle of tasty topping does get clogged? Fortunately, there are a few ways you can solve it.

Between the gas and the liquid cream, the nozzle can clog if you try to spray whipped cream out at a 90-degree angle onto your dessert (via Women's Health). Instead, you need to hold the can at a 60-degree angle toward your dessert so that the gas and cream can properly mix and be released without clogging the top.

Should you hold it the right way and the nozzle still doesn't release creamy whipped cream goodness, try running the can, but not the nozzle, under warm water. According to LEAFtv, the butterfat in the cream could have congealed together and is keeping the cream from moving toward the nozzle. Warm water should help loosen the butterfat. Another issue is a congested nozzle from leftover butterfat and sugar inside of the nozzle. To fix this, just turn the can upside down with the lid on in a cup of warm water for a few minutes. It should have the same effect as before and clear the nozzle's airways. Just wipe it off, give the can a good shake, and try using it again.

Whatever you do, don't push anything down inside of the nozzle because it could poke a hole in the valve. If all else fails? Making your own whipped cream at home is not nearly as difficult as you might think.