What’s the Distinction Between Heavy Cream and Heavy Whipping Cream?

Maybe you’ve checked out a recipe that requires heavy cream, solely to discover a carton of heavy whipping cream within the fridge. Or possibly your native grocery retailer solely carries one or the opposite. Does it matter which product you employ?

Right here’s every part to learn about heavy cream vs. heavy whipping cream, whether or not you’re making selfmade whipped cream, a velvety soup, or perhaps a cocktail.

What’s heavy cream?

Heavy cream is dairy cream with at the least 36% milkfat by weight. It’s produced by separating milk fats from milk (usually utilizing centrifugal separators) after which standardizing it to the correct fats degree. Whereas most well-known for whipping right into a cloud-like texture for whipped cream, its texture and refined taste additionally make it a beautiful thickening agent, giving sauces, soups, and stews an extra-luxurious oomph. It’s also the not-so-secret ingredient in ice cream.

The method behind making heavy cream is just not new, however expertise has developed over time, particularly by way of velocity and effectivity. Essentially the most fashionable cream separation technique makes use of centrifugal separators, a expertise developed within the late nineteenth century and extensively attributed to Swedish engineer Gustaf de Laval and different contributors.

Heavy cream vs. heavy whipping cream

Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are the identical product in the US below the Code of Federal Rules. Right here, “Heavy cream is cream which comprises not lower than 36 p.c milkfat. It’s pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized, and could also be homogenized.” Below the Nomenclature subsection, the regulation states: “The identify of the meals is ‘Heavy cream’ or alternatively ‘Heavy whipping cream.'”

The takeaway? Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are interchangeable phrases within the U.S. Manufacturers may use the time period “heavy whipping cream” to market their product as appropriate for whipped cream, however you’re shopping for the identical factor.

Are you able to substitute heavy cream for heavy whipping cream?

Sure! As a result of they’re the legally the identical product, you possibly can swap heavy cream for whipping cream and vice versa. Nevertheless, in case you are substituting, make certain the label doesn’t point out “gentle whipping cream,” which comprises “not lower than 30 p.c however lower than 36 p.c milkfat,” in response to the CFR. Whereas it would work in a pinch, utilizing a lower-fat heavy cream could make a serious distinction in some desserts like custard, in addition to emulsified sauces.