Difference between various types of cream
I am curious, as I have often heard about and seen in recipes various types of creams that are called for in different recipes, and I was wondering if someone could tell me the difference between some of them, like single or double cream, heavy cream, whipping cream, et cetera...
Also, I sometimes try to find substitutions for part of each of these, since I still can't take an overload of dairy in my diet (although I am improving! - I so look forward to a cheesy pizza again!), but I want to try to have some. However, I can never seem to find an adequate substitute, so I would like to know if anyone knows of one for them.
Thanks in advance!
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12 Comments:
Fat content.
simon at 2:11PM on 03/24/09
@Traveller - I feel your pain! I, too, love the cheeses and creams but my tummy sometimes rebels. When I was taking a course of anti-biotics last year my Dr. strongly suggested taking a probiotic called Culturelle, which not only helped with the issues in the digestive tract that come with taking medication, but I found also that it helped my system process lactose. Amazing stuff. Super Acidophilus is also very good.
And where, pray tell, can a person get heavy cream these days that is not "ultra-pasturized"? It is called for in so many recipes, particularly ice cream recipes, and I seriously doubt whether we can even get it in the states, because of FDA regulations. I just can't find it. To my knowledge, double cream, heavy cream and whipping cream are all the same. They are the heaviest in milk fat, approx. 36% - 40%. The term "double cream" is used in Britain and across Europe and refers to what Americans label heavy or whipping cream.
My confusion usually comes in when half & half is called for. You can get 1/2 & 1/2 or table cream (sometimes sold as coffee cream), but I have been known to substitute heavy cream cut with milk to replace it.
I heard someone mention rice cheese last week and have been trying to find it. Is anyone familiar with it? Also, I don't know what the melting factor is with the product or what it can be used to replace.
frederika at 2:44PM on 03/24/09
I only know that whipping cream goes beautifully with a naked man.
izatryt at 2:51PM on 03/24/09
Fat content, mostly. I'm a dairy chemist and these are the standards we follow: Half and half has to be 10.5-18% fat by weight (like 2% milk is 2% fat by weight and ice cream is at least 8%). Light cream or light whipping cream or table cream has to be between 18 and 30% fat. Cream or whipping cream must be 30 to 36% fat. Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream must be at least 36% fat. And non dairy creamer doesn't have a standard but it's generally around 5-8% fat.
MeganCochran at 4:37PM on 03/24/09
Is Ronnybrook pasteurized? I use it all the time. Tastes different than commercial heavy cream. Fresh Direct has it.
Dish at 7:20PM on 03/24/09
@MeganCochran: Wow! Thank you very much for that information - that makes perfect sense!
@frederika: Thanks for letting me know that I am not alone! :)
Traveller at 8:04PM on 03/24/09
And thank YOU for that equally sensible information, Iz. :)
Dish--I was going to say the same thing about Ronnybrook. I always use the cream when heavy cream is called for, or the half-and-half for lighter things.
annien at 9:14PM on 03/24/09
@iz - you are deliciously naughty :-)
Ronnybrook may be a regional brand ?- I've never seen it in my area (MI).
@MeganCochran - What exactly is the difference between pasturized and ultra-pasturized? And how does the differently processed cream affect the finished product? As I mentioned, many of my ice cream recipes specify using cream that has not been ultra-pasturized, but they don't say why.
frederika at 12:04AM on 03/25/09
Trader Joe's Whipping Cream (small white bottle with pink lid) is awesome. I put it in my Isi dispenser with powdered sugar and vanilla, and serve it on everything from lattes to strawberry shortcake. If you don't have an Isi, I highly recommend it (get the small version if you don't have a lot of people in your house). You never have to whip the cream, it's always ready when you need it, and it keeps the cream fresh for 2-3 weeks (much longer than an opened pint/bottle). One of my best kitchen investments (and, no, I don't work for Isi!!!).
serious1 at 10:43AM on 03/25/09
For a non-dairy sub, have you tried cashew cream? Blend raw unsalted cashews with water until very smooth. You can strain it to make it even smoother.
jo_wang at 5:04PM on 03/25/09
Ultra pasteurized milk (sometimes called UHT) must be heated to 280 degrees F sometime during processing, either before or after packaging, which basically increases its shelf life. Pasteurized milk has lower heating requirements. One reason to not use UHT milk or cream in a recipe is the taste, because it sometimes has a kind of "cooked" flavor to it. Also, the whipping ability is usually decreased in UHT cream, so if that's what you need, specifically buy whipping cream and not UHT cream. (I honestly don't know if they even make UHT whipping cream...)
I'm really don't want to sound like a know-it-all, even though I know I'm coming across that way. I think this is the one thing on this site I can actually answer, so I hope I did.
MeganCochran at 5:22PM on 03/26/09
Dairy Creams defined at -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/cooks_guide/dairy.shtml
tolomeo at 8:30AM on 07/01/09