# Whipping cream or heavy whipping cream?



## Greg Who Cooks (Oct 23, 2012)

I can never get it right which one to use, heavy whipping or just whipping cream. I sometimes compare the dietary information in the store but that really has no clues for me. By the time I'm in the store I've already made up my mind I'm going to eat one or the other and the dietary info isn't much different; one has a bit more fat content. Anybody who is worried about fat shouldn't be eating either one.

My main use for cream is as an additive to savory sauces, making a creamy sauce _a la minute_. Last night's dinner is a perfect example: I sprinkled pork chops with curry powder, browned them in oil, then simmered or braised them in sweet Marsala wine and some pineapple juice. When the chops were done I put them aside in a warm oven and then began thickening and reducing the sauce by alternately adding whipping cream and more Marsala, reduce it, repeat the cycle a few times until I get a nice sweet creamy Marsala sauce flavored by the pan juices. Then I pour the sauce over the chops and serve them.

So which cream should I be using? One of the above or another kind of cream entirely?


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## lyndalou (Oct 23, 2012)

That sounds wonderful.
I think you can use either one of the 2 (they are just about the same thing).Also, you could try half and half.


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## bakechef (Oct 23, 2012)

In my experience they can be used interchangeably.  The heavy cream just has a bit more fat, but not enough of a difference to cause issues in a recipe.

I use a lot of cream for whipping and use both.

My store likes to confuse people.  We have light cream, whipping cream, and heavy whipping cream.  I answer a lot of questions about whether the "heavy whipping cream" is the same as heavy cream, it is.

Don't sweat it, they should work exactly the same in a recipe.  If it means anything, I instinctively reach for the heavy cream.

half and half will work in some sauces, but it is less likely to give the exact result as cream.  I've used half and half in vodka sauce with decent results, but like heavy cream better.


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## taxlady (Oct 23, 2012)

I'm not sure which one you should use. I have successfully made sauce with 10% cream, 15% cream, 35% cream, and 40% cream. If I'm poor, I try the lower butterfat, cheaper cream and if I'm not poor, I go with the 40% cream and see how it turns out with a particular type of sauce. Then I try to remember. 

What's the butter fat content of those two types of cream?


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## bakechef (Oct 23, 2012)

If I'm not mistaken

heavy cream  35-40% fat
whipping cream 30-36%
light cream 20-30%

It may vary by manufacturer, but most commercial cream tends to be pretty consistent in their fat content. I find for instance that heavy cream tends to be 5 grams of fat per tablespoon and whipping cream 4.5 grams, seems to be the same among most dairies that serve this area.

I find that our local cream and those sold as European style, tend to be at 40% or even slightly higher.


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## Andy M. (Oct 23, 2012)

Either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream will work in a reduction sauce.  Around here, we aren't offered whipping creams so the choices are simpler.

The high fat content is what keeps the cream from breaking when subjected to heat.  

I use heavy cream for reduction sauces.


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## CraigC (Oct 23, 2012)

We always use heavy whipping cream. The tasso pasta we had last night had a cream sauce base.


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## Snip 13 (Oct 23, 2012)

You got me on this one! We get fresh cream or long life cream here and whipped cream in a can lol!
Heavy cream, clotted cream, heavy whipping cream.......
I'm moving to America


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## GotGarlic (Oct 23, 2012)

I've started using fat-free plain Greek yogurt for cream sauces and as a sour cream replacement. Tastes great, it's healthy, and I don't have to debate myself at the grocery store anymore


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## Greg Who Cooks (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. It looks like most people are as confused as I am. Looking at the dietary information on the cartons I can see little difference other than the heavy has a small amount more of fat, but not a lot.

And worse, I'm sure I've gotten both at one time or another, and I can't tell the difference in cooking, or the difference is so subtle that I haven't noticed it. Most often I use it to add a creamy effect to sauces.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 25, 2012)

Greg Who Cooks said:


> Thanks for the replies. It looks like most people are as confused as I am. Looking at the dietary information on the cartons I can see little difference other than the heavy has a small amount more of fat, but not a lot.
> 
> And worse, I'm sure I've gotten both at one time or another, and I can't tell the difference in cooking, or the difference is so subtle that I haven't noticed it. Most often I use it to add a creamy effect to sauces.



So it's pretty simple, then  Buy the one that's on sale.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Oct 26, 2012)

They're usually the same price.


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## Kylie1969 (Oct 27, 2012)

We use thickened cream


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## taxlady (Oct 28, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> We use thickened cream


What is it thickened with? Around here it usually thickened with guar gum, carrageenan, or microcrystalline cellulose.

I don't think those hold up well to heat.

We once had a French chef come to Montreal to cook some fancy meal (I think it was for Queen Elizabeth). He was horrified when he tried using our cream. It didn't work right. The highest butter fat content we could get back then was 35%. He had some French cream air transported to Montreal to make the meal.


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## Kylie1969 (Oct 30, 2012)

I dont know Taxy...we just get 2 types of cream...cooking cream which is thinner and cant be whipped and thickened cream which is a thicker cream, but I would say not as thick as double cream


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## taxlady (Oct 30, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> I dont know Taxy...we just get 2 types of cream...cooking cream which is thinner and cant be whipped and thickened cream which is a thicker cream, but I would say not as thick as double cream


Don't they list the ingredients on the container?


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## jennyema (Oct 30, 2012)

Cream is classified by fat content and is regulated by the US Dept. Of Agriculture.

According to USDA regulations:

·    half and half contains 10.5–18% fat
·    light cream and sour cream contain 18–30% fat
·    light whipping cream (often called simply "whipping cream") contains 30–36% fat
·    heavy cream contains a minimum of 36% fat


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## taxlady (Oct 30, 2012)

jennyema said:


> Cream is classified by fat content and is regulated by the US Dept. Of Agriculture.
> 
> According to USDA regulations:
> 
> ...


That's good to know, if you live in the US, but some of those terms are used outside the US and may not conform.

Sour cream in the US has 18-30% butterfat!? Wow! Most of the stuff I see is 14%. There is one that is only 5% and not called light, because it doesn't have any additives. The one I usually buy, at the health food store, is 19% butterfat and it's sort of yellowish on account of all that fat.


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## Kylie1969 (Nov 2, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Don't they list the ingredients on the container?



They do, but we dont have any in right now...we try to avoid cream as much as possible


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## Greg Who Cooks (Nov 3, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> ...we try to avoid cream as much as possible


But why???


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## Kylie1969 (Nov 3, 2012)

Because it is full of saturated fat


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## Greg Who Cooks (Nov 3, 2012)

What's your problem with saturated fats? You into double bonds or something? You know that unsaturated fats go rancid sooner. And there aren't any saturated transfats, we all know that transfats are bad.


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## Kylie1969 (Nov 3, 2012)

The cream we get here is packed with saturated fats...which is the bad fat (along with trans of course)

I am at a healthy weight but wish to keep it that way 

Saturated fats contribute to heart disease and high cholesterol, pretty good reasons to watch your intake of these types of foods 

Also I have high cholestrol, which is hereditary in my case, so I am on cholesterol tablets... another good reason for me not to consume much thickened cream or anything for that matter with high sat fat content 

A person should consume less than 16 grams of saturated fat per day to help prevent high cholesterol


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## Addie (Nov 3, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream will work in a reduction sauce. Around here, we aren't offered whipping creams so the choices are simpler.
> 
> The high fat content is what keeps the cream from breaking when subjected to heat.
> 
> I use heavy cream for reduction sauces.


 
Andy I am curious as to what dairies provide products in your area. We have Garelick and Hoods, then some lesser known ones. I thought both of the first ones I listed were everywhere in the eastern half of the state.


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## Addie (Nov 3, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> I dont know Taxy...we just get 2 types of cream...cooking cream which is thinner and cant be whipped and thickened cream which is a thicker cream, but I would say not as thick as double cream


 
It was years before I could find out that your double cream is our heavy cream. Or whipping cream.


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## Andy M. (Nov 3, 2012)

Addie said:


> Andy I am curious as to what dairies provide products in your area. We have Garelick and Hoods, then some lesser known ones. I thought both of the first ones I listed were everywhere in the eastern half of the state.



We also see Hood and Garelick Farms.  Our primary store for groceries carries heavy and light cream and half and half.  I never see any whipping creams.


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## Addie (Nov 3, 2012)

When I worked with the 4-H kids at the Fair, I would go into the barn early in the morning when the cows were being milked. I would go into the separator room and skim the warm cream that had just come out of the cow for my coffee. I would also use it for my cereal. Fresh from the cow, it has a completely different taste before it has been pasturized. Really rich! A little too rich for my tastes today. It would take only a drop to cream my coffee because it was so thick. To this day, if the store doesn't have half and half, I will settle for light cream, but never heavy or whipping cream.


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## Addie (Nov 3, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> We also see Hood and Garelick Farms. Our primary store for groceries carries heavy and light cream and half and half. I never see any whipping creams.


 
It must be the smaller companies that label whippinig creams. All they are, are a bit lighter than heavy cream. I always have felt that heavy cream whips better than 'whipping cream.' The 'whipping cream' is only a few cents cheaper. I have noticed on whipping cream that it is 'ultra pasturized', whereas heavy cream is not. Not worth the worry or fuss over it. When I want to whip cream, I want the full cream.


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## Andy M. (Nov 3, 2012)

Addie said:


> It must be the smaller companies that label whippinig creams. All they are, are a bit lighter than heavy cream. I always have felt that heavy cream whips better than 'whipping cream.' The 'whipping cream' is only a few cents cheaper. I have noticed on whipping cream that it is 'ultra pasturized', whereas heavy cream is not. Not worth the worry or fuss over it. When I want to whip cream, I want the full cream.



Heavy cream is ultra pasteurized too.


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## jennyema (Nov 4, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> We also see Hood and Garelick Farms.  Our primary store for groceries carries heavy and light cream and half and half.  I never see any whipping creams.



I can't remember seeing whipping cream in stores either


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## taxlady (Nov 4, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> We also see Hood and Garelick Farms.  Our primary store for groceries carries heavy and light cream and half and half.  I never see any whipping creams.





jennyema said:


> I can't remember seeing whipping cream in stores either


Does that mean you don't see any cream labelled "whipping cream" or does that mean you can't buy cream that can be whipped into whipped cream?

The cream I buy for whipping just says 40%.


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## Andy M. (Nov 4, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Does that mean you don't see any cream labelled "whipping cream" or does that mean you can't buy cream that can be whipped into whipped cream?
> 
> The cream I buy for whipping just says 40%.



There are no creams in the market that are labeled whipping cream.  I use heavy cream and it whips quite nicely.


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## Cerise (Nov 4, 2012)

Greg Who Cooks said:


> I can never get it right which one to use, heavy whipping or just whipping cream. I sometimes compare the dietary information in the store but that really has no clues for me. By the time I'm in the store I've already made up my mind I'm going to eat one or the other and the dietary info isn't much different; one has a bit more fat content. Anybody who is worried about fat shouldn't be eating either one.
> 
> *My main use for cream is as an additive to savory sauces*, making a creamy sauce _a la minute_. Last night's dinner is a perfect example: I sprinkled pork chops with curry powder, browned them in oil, then simmered or braised them in sweet Marsala wine and some pineapple juice. When the chops were done I put them aside in a warm oven and then began thickening and reducing the sauce by alternately adding whipping cream and more Marsala, reduce it, repeat the cycle a few times until I get a nice sweet creamy Marsala sauce flavored by the pan juices. Then I pour the sauce over the chops and serve them.
> 
> So which cream should I be using? One of the above or another kind of cream entirely?


 
Sounds like a sweet sauce, rather than a savoury sauce (Marsala & pineapple juice). It's really your call, & it depends on what you are making. There are other thickening agents i.e. flour, or adding sour cream, cream cheese, mascarpone, etc at the *end *of cooking. I prefer half and half. Again, it depends.

Since you mentioned pork chops, here are some other ways to go:

*Pork Chops Au Poivre*
Pork Chops au Poivre Recipe | Eating Well

*Piork Chope with Creamy Marsala Sauce*
Pork Chops with Creamy Marsala Sauce Recipe | Eating Well


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## bakechef (Nov 4, 2012)

We have both here in NC, whipping and heavy.   Sometimes labeled heavy cream and heavy whipping cream (which is just what everyone else labels "whipping cream")  we also have light cream.   This is fairly consistent among stores here. 

I just buy heavy cream.  

Most store brands here are made by Maola dairies.  Hood can be found sometimes,  and then a local dairy that has totally awesome products. Oh yeah,  then there is Hunter Farms owned by one of the grocery chains that supplies under various brands.


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## Cerise (Nov 4, 2012)

Re the sauce, think this might fit into the sauce catagory, as well.  Personally, I would have just used the Marsala, dropped the curry & pineapple juice - &  keep it simple.  I may have added some dijon mustard to the sauce for the chops. Also, check out basic Mother Sauce recipes & go from there.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Nov 6, 2012)

Cerise said:


> Sounds like a sweet sauce, rather than a savoury sauce (Marsala & pineapple juice). It's really your call, & it depends on what you are making. There are other thickening agents i.e. flour, or adding sour cream, cream cheese, mascarpone, etc at the *end *of cooking. I prefer half and half. Again, it depends.http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pork_chops_marsala_sauce.html



The purpose of the cream in my sauces isn't to thicken the sauce, it's to make the sauce more creamy. I usually just reduce the sauces to thicken them. You could stick a chicken's beak in a pot of hot water and then reduce that and eventually get some kind of reduction... although I'm not so sure the chicken would like that. 

What I have been talking about, at least my main use of cream, is at the end of cooking a sauce to finish it.

I hate half-and-half. Use milk, use cream, or use them both, but I think it's pointless to buy a product where they mix two things at the factory when you can buy them separately yourself and have more control.

Some people like half-and-half in their coffee. I like black myself but I can understand why milk might be too thin and cream too strong, in coffee. I'm just lucky that when I started drinking coffee I tried all the ways, and they all tasted terrible, so I eventually settled on black. Only later did I start liking coffee. I guess it's an acquired taste...


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