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grasswire

(50,130 posts)
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 01:13 PM Sep 2014

why in hell does "whipping cream" have skim milk in it??

So I was cooking for a family gathering yesterday, making iced lemon mousse as one of the desserts. When I shopped, I had accidentally picked up "whipping cream" instead of "heavy whipping cream" that I usually buy.

Well, it took forever to whip and never did come to a nice thick texture. But I made the mousse anyway. Looked okay, not quite as fluffy as usual. Piled it into a pretty vintage pale green glass bowl. Yummy.

Ack! When dessert was being eaten, turns out the mousse had separated, with a clear layer at the bottom and creamy layer on top!! Tasted fine, but not that heavenly lemony cloud I'm accustomed to.

I blame it on the "cream". Why the hell is there skim milk in a product called "whipping cream"? Half and half can serve as light cream. Why have this inferior grade of whipping cream at all?

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Warpy

(110,908 posts)
1. Dunno how they can get away with labeling it whipping cream
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 01:22 PM
Sep 2014

I always get heavy cream for potato soup and mousse. I've seen the stuff labeled only "whipping cream" but I've never bought it, so thanks for the warning.

Maybe it uses skim milk to liquefy it enough to use in some cappucino makers when 100% heavy cream might gum up the works.

That's all I can think of.

grasswire

(50,130 posts)
6. this has 4.5 grams fat in 1 T
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 02:18 PM
Sep 2014

the half and half carton I have has 1.5 grams fat in 1 T. For comparison. The half and half does not say "skim milk" on the ingredients, just milk and cream; no other ingredients.

The "whipping cream" also contains mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 80 and carrageenan.

PADemD

(4,482 posts)
13. Carrageenan is an oily thickener.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 09:24 PM
Sep 2014

It gives me acid reflux. I refuse to purchase any product that contains Carrageenan.

sir pball

(4,726 posts)
14. Just to be nitpicky, carrageenan isn't "oily" at all..
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 09:42 PM
Sep 2014

It's a polysaccharine hydrocolloid; it only thickens at all in the presence of water. It isn't degraded by fat, which makes it useful in emulsions, but there's a good chance you've had it as an unlabeled ingredient - it's incredibly common. At least it's entirely natural, generally harmless, and vegan to boot..

PADemD

(4,482 posts)
15. Controversial Ingredient To Be Removed From Silk Beverages
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 10:01 PM
Sep 2014

WhiteWave Foods says it will remove an ingredient from Horizon milks and Silk beverages in response to customer feedback.

Carrageenan, a seaweed extract that is used as a thickener and emulsifier, will be phased out from Horizon and Silk products over time, said Sara Loveday, a company spokeswoman.

The ingredient has been the subject of criticism in some circles, with natural-food advocates pointing to animal studies that suggest it causes gastrointestinal inflammation and other problems.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/carrageenan-silk-beverages-whitewave-horizon-milk_n_5692501.html


Review of harmful gastrointestinal effects of carrageenan in animal experiments.
J K Tobacman

In this article I review the association between exposure to carrageenan and the occurrence of colonic ulcerations and gastrointestinal neoplasms in animal models. Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 1982 identified sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of degraded carrageenan in animals to regard it as posing a carcinogenic risk to humans, carrageenan is still used widely as a thickener, stabilizer, and texturizer in a variety of processed foods prevalent in the Western diet.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/

sir pball

(4,726 posts)
17. I said "generally harmless". I'm not going to argue that it's entirely hypoallergenic and innocuous.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 10:23 PM
Sep 2014

Then again, seaweed broth has been knows as a thickener for about 600 years - on the list of "magic powders" as we call them, it's pretty basic. Xanthan gum is the darling of both vegans and gluten-frees, barely on the "intolerance" scale...yet it's an entirely lab-developed goo that's literally grown in vats of bacteria. I do not casually dismiss food allergies, but at the same time I do wonder exactly what lies in the gut versus the brain.

procon

(15,805 posts)
2. In the commercial creamery process
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 01:40 PM
Sep 2014

whole milk is shipped from the dairy and then the fat (cream) or milk solids are separated out, leaving skimmed milk which then becomes the base for all the dairy products in your store. A percentage of cream is added back into the skim milk to create the different varieties of milks and creams.

The more fat content a cream contains, the more stable it is when whipped, so the highest percentage of cream is heavy whipping cream which makes a stiffer, longer lasting whip. Whipping cream has less fat so the whip is softer and doesn't last as long. With either product, it helps if they are really cold and use a metal bowl and beaters straight from the freezer.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
4. The whole concept of no or low fat cream makes absolutely no sense to me.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 01:57 PM
Sep 2014

Cream is sold here in small boxes that are shelf stable. It is excellent and always there when you need it. It is not low fat or no fat.

Well, you learned, anyway.

It's cream or nothing for me.

grasswire

(50,130 posts)
5. well, this is called "whipping cream" too.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 02:12 PM
Sep 2014

Very annoying. I think I'll look in the organic section to see if they make this distinction there.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
9. I never knew what the difference was between whipping cream and heavy cream.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 02:59 PM
Sep 2014

I always meant to look it up, but never did.

In my book, some things are just an oxymoron, and inevitably lead to something that no one should eat.

Low fat mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese all come immediately to mind.

I think they put some kind of petroleum product in there to try and fool you….

but it's a total failure.

pinto

(106,886 posts)
7. "Low fat" dairy products of any kind are a mystery to me. Dairy has some fat, some flavor.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 02:34 PM
Sep 2014

I eat yogurt as is, in a smoothie or in a dressing. It's a search to find simple whole yogurt, so I go the direct route regardless of what's on sale. A quart of "Yogurt" - if that's the label I buy it. I can do the add ons at home.

And don't get me started on "non-dairy coffee creamer"...

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
11. Worse yet, are the claims
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 04:55 PM
Sep 2014

that the low-fat version of something is every bit as tasty as the full fat version. No. And again, no. I have noticed over the years that nutritionists are mostly likely to make those claims (other than the food manufacturers, of course) and I long ago decided that most nutritionists have severely deficient taste buds.

jmowreader

(50,451 posts)
8. To set the fat content
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 02:45 PM
Sep 2014

Whipping cream is, by law, 30 to 36 percent fat and "heavy cream" is 36 and over. Heavy cream is, essentially, all cream. To get the fat lower, they leave some milk in it...and eventually the cream will float to the top, homogenization not having much of an effect.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
10. That's good information.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 03:09 PM
Sep 2014

I want cream when I want cream. If I want something with less fat content, I will add milk.

jmowreader

(50,451 posts)
12. Then get your cream from a restaurant supply store
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 09:06 PM
Sep 2014

The heavy cream in supermarkets is around 36 percent fat. It's this way for two reasons: leaving a little more milk in allows them to sell a few more cartons, and a process that allows some milk into the cream isn't as expensive to run as one that yields 100-percent cream.

Pure, undiluted cream as sold in restaurant supply houses is between 40 and 52 percent fat. Restaurants will pay the price because they know it's going on the last thing the diner will eat, and they want that "I gotta come back here, their desserts are GREAT!" feel. (On a per-serving basis it's not much more expensive, and if you can make the customer twice as happy for an extra nickel - especially when it's going on an $8 slice of pie - go for it.)

So buy your cream where the pros do.

sir pball

(4,726 posts)
16. I don't know where you're shopping, I usually get about 38% from purveyors.
Mon Sep 1, 2014, 10:05 PM
Sep 2014

Having a penchant for "modernist" cooking, I've had to figure out theactualy fat content of the cream at most every place I've worked, or at least for most every brand I've used - Dairyland, Sysco, US Foods and most "artisanal" brands are 38% give or take. Fifty percent would be a coagulated waxy mass; that's probably the hardest emulsion to make but also the hardest to break. I'm not saying super-high-fat cream doesn't exist, just that I've never professionally seen it.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
18. I am in Italy and buy my cream in shelf-stable containers.
Tue Sep 2, 2014, 02:47 AM
Sep 2014

It is almost solid and I love it. Plus, these little containers have just the right amount and I can keep several of them on hand without worrying about spoilage.

Shelf stable dairy products are the norm here and in Mexico. For some reason, I think the US has an aversion to it, but I really like it.

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