Cream

Cream, thick, light yellow, fatty portion of milk from which butter is made. Cream comprises 4 per cent of ordinary milk and 4.8 per cent of Channel Islands milk. It contains the same constituents as milk but is rich in fat. The lightest “real” cream is half cream, similar to “top of the milk”. It is 12 per cent fat, but cannot be whipped or frozen. Single cream, containing 18 per cent fat, will not whip and cannot be frozen unless included in a frozen dish (soured cream is made from single cream); extra-thick single cream is also 18 per cent fat, but is has been homogenized to a thick, spoonable consistency; whipping cream, containing 34 per cent fat, will increase to double its volume on whipping; double cream, 48 per cent fat, can be whipped and frozen; extra-thick double cream is also 48 per cent fat, but it has been homogenized to be spoonable and will not whip or freeze. At the top of the fat scale, clotted cream, from Devon or Cornwall, contains 55 per cent fat, two-thirds of which is saturated and the rest mono-unsaturated. UHT (ultra-high temperatures) cream has been heated to a high temperature then quickly cooled. It will keep for long periods of time without refrigeration.

Because it is lighter than the other component of whole milk, cream will slowly rise to the surface and can be separated by skimming. Generally, however, cream is separated from milk by means of a centrifugal separator.

Crème fraîche is French cream to which a lactic bacteria culture has been added, giving it a sharp flavour. Much used in French cooking, it is now becoming more popular in other countries, including the United Kingdom.

Artificial cream is the name given to either an emulsion of vegetable oil, milk or milk powder, egg, and sugar; or a mixture of water, methyl cellulose, monoglycerides, and other synthetic materials. Non-dairy creamer is a milk substitute used in tea or coffee, made from glucose, fat, and emulsifying salts.