--- title: Whipped-Cream Shortage 2016 description: Thanks to a shortage in nitrous oxide, which aerosolizes the cans, whipped-cream purveyors are cautioning holiday shoppers to buy now. canonical: https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-14T21:41:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:29.076Z og:title: Our Nation Is Facing a Dire Whipped-Cream Shortage og:description: People are not happy og:url: https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07aed6d96d7bfc7/6988b2f87cdbac1f5fd56946/whipped-cream-coffee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: High Angle View Of Coffee With Whipped Cream og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Our Nation Is Facing a Dire Whipped-Cream Shortage twitter:description: People are not happy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07aed6d96d7bfc7/6988b2f87cdbac1f5fd56946/whipped-cream-coffee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Nation Is Facing a Dire Whipped-Cream Shortage During Prime Dessert Season > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 14, 2016 9:41 PM UTC  Yamaki Yuri / EyeEm—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Dec 14, 2016 9:41 PM UTC Stock up on canned whipped cream during your next jaunt to the grocery store, because we—as a nation—might be running out soon. That’s right: the most important topping (or [stand-alone ingredient](http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/29/alcoholic-whipped-cream-another-binge-drink-in-a-can/?iid=sr-link1), for some) in the dessert world is in dire short supply this holiday season. According to [the _Chicago Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-canned-whipped-cream-shortage-1214-biz-20161213-story.html), this terrifying fact is all due to a national shortage in nitrous oxide, the gas used to make aerosol cans of whipped cream function the way they’re supposed to ([among other things](http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/26/demis-drug-what-is-nitrous-oxide/?iid=sr-link9)). According to the _Tribune_ an accidental explosion at a major [nitrous oxide plant](http://weartv.com/news/local/cantonment-explosion-came-from-nitrous-oxide-tanks) in Florida in August appears to be one of the main culprits behind the supply chain setback. In the meantime, chains like coffee shop Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are admitting that some of their drinks might have to be served sans whip, while some grocery shoppers are [already noticing](http://www.grubstreet.com/2016/12/whipped-cream-shortage-coming-for-holidays.html?mid=twitter%5Fgrubst) signs up signaling the lack of sweet topping in stores… and soon, absent from pies. Popular brand Reddi-wip is feeling the effects. A spokesperson for Conagra, the brand’s parent company, [told the Boston Globe](http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/12/14/nitrous-oxide-shortage-means-your-pie-may-lack-whipped-cream-christmas/frEQ5TaxxulC11j1tx2RyI/story.html?event=event25) that the full supply will be “up and running by February,” but in the meantime consumers should “stock up early.” > [](https://twitter.com/TheCoffeeBean/status/808019733173833728) > [](https://twitter.com/wsmco/status/808079055648129025) In the meantime, [people are not pleased](https://twitter.com/search?q=whipped%20cream%20shortage&src=typd). But not all hope is lost: there’s still no shortage of heavy whipping cream in supermarkets, which means all it takes to indulge in a fluffy cloud of sweet whip is a little extra elbow grease this holiday season. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/"},"headline":"The Nation Is Facing a Dire Whipped-Cream Shortage During Prime Dessert Season","datePublished":"2016-12-14T21:41:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:29.076Z","description":"\"Stock up early\"","url":"https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07aed6d96d7bfc7/6988b2f87cdbac1f5fd56946/whipped-cream-coffee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07aed6d96d7bfc7/6988b2f87cdbac1f5fd56946/whipped-cream-coffee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"High Angle View Of Coffee With Whipped Cream","caption":"High Angle View Of Coffee With Whipped Cream","creditText":"Yamaki Yuri / EyeEm—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4602360/whipped-cream-shortage/","name":"The Nation Is Facing a Dire Whipped-Cream Shortage During Prime Dessert Season"}}]}] ```