What are the grey-black specks that appear when whipping cream in stainless steel bowl? When we whip cream by hand in a stainless steel bowl, with a metal whisk, small grey specks, ~0.5-1mm in size, appear in the cream. The specks are squishy and can easily be smeared out. See attached photos:




Googling does not turn up much except similar question at: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/508107

The specks appear in different stainless steel bowls ("Stainless steel" imprinted on all bowls - no aluminium or other metals involved as far as we can tell).

The same whisk used in a plastic bowl does not produce specks.

The cream is organic, 40% fat (Swedish "Arla EKO"). We cannot detect any strange taste.

It seems probable that the specks come from mechanical wear. But what is it? What could be the cause? Is there something we should know about Stainless steel bowls?
Those look like air pockets - you're using an unusual whisk, perhaps it can't get enough "bite" on the stainless steel bowl to pop them, whereas the plastic bowl's texture offers enough resistance. I'd try it with a balloon whisk rather than a spiral whisk, and see if that helps. Here's a breakdown on whisks and their uses from Craftsy.