How to find real, natural cream among cream? Types of milk cream. Why is vegetable cream banned? Comparison of natural and vegetable cream

What is the difference between cream and sour cream? It would seem that this different products but many people confuse the two. But they have different taste, manufacturing methods. Therefore, for some recipes, it is cream that is taken, and for others, sour cream. It is believed that it is necessary to eat at least three servings of dairy products a day, as they are good for the human body. Therefore, it is difficult to do without cream and sour cream.

Basic definitions

To understand how sour cream differs from cream, you need to familiarize yourself with the definitions of these products.

So, cream is a product obtained in the process of settling milk, otherwise it is called separation. Now, of course, it is put on stream, it is carried out by special devices. However, before the cream was defended in a cool place. Then in the morning a layer of heavy cream was removed from the barrel of milk.

Sour cream is sour milk product. It is made from cream, adding various additives to them.

So what's the difference between cream and sour cream? Cream is a dairy product, and sour cream is sour milk, that is, the result of fermentation. It should immediately be determined that vegetable cream can not be. If the product is sold under this name, then it has nothing to do with milk, and natural cream in principle.

What are the benefits of cream?

This product contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. It contains not only fats, but also proteins with carbohydrates. They have sodium and magnesium. And great amount B vitamins. They have iron and potassium, which help the whole body and the heart muscle in particular. It is also worth combining cream with fruit. They enter into a reaction, as a result of which fruits are absorbed better, and a person can get maximum amount vitamins from both of these ingredients.

Cream is used to make sour cream and butter. Often they are added in the preparation of sauces or some confectionery. Cream also goes well with coffee and drinks based on it. This is due to the fact that heavy cream emphasize its aroma, give coffee softness. For this reason, it is recommended to drink coffee with cream or milk to reduce harm to the stomach.

Contraindications for cream

This product is high fat. For this reason, it is banned for a number of diseases. Also, cream, especially with a fat content of twenty percent, is not recommended for the elderly or those who have suffered a long illness. The body may simply not cope with such a fatty product.

How is sour cream obtained?

What is the difference between cream and sour cream? In fact, the latter is made from cream. It all starts with milk, which is separated. The skimmed cream is pasteurized and normalized, then a special leaven is added to the already prepared raw materials.

After this action, the sour cream stands for another day, cools and settles, while acquiring its own taste and texture.

Sour cream is used as a dressing for salads, sauces are made on its basis. Sour cream is also added to the dough. This makes the bread soft and tender.

What are the benefits of sour cream?

What is the difference between cream and sour cream? If the first go well with fruits, then sour cream - with vegetables. Both ingredients help maximize the absorption of beneficial substances.

Also, this product contains a lot of vitamins, for example, vitamin A. It is also often called a beauty vitamin, since it is difficult to imagine without it. healthy skin and hair. Sour cream also contains fatty acids, natural sugar and biotin. It is impossible not to notice the presence of B vitamins, potassium and magnesium, zinc and iodine and, of course, iron. Last element necessary for proper blood formation, helps fight anemia and weakness. By the way, the latter also directly affects appearance helping to form healthy nails.

Taste and fat

Cream has a pleasant, slightly sweet taste. Sour cream is a pronounced sourness, which depends on the initial taste of milk. This is one of the points that shows how sour cream differs from cream. For the same reason, putting sour cream in coffee, for example, is not best idea. In addition, under the influence of temperatures, sour cream can curdle. The integrity of the manufacturers also plays a huge role here. Due to a number of additives and preservatives, some sour cream cannot be used when preparing sauces. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to what is written on the label. So, the words "sour cream product" should be alarming.

Cream is often offered in several varieties. With fat content of 10, 20 and 30%. The latter are often whipped with big amount granulated sugar getting whipped cream. The first is considered to be drinking. It is difficult to achieve their thickening without certain ingredients, for example, without using starch or gelatin. They are also released and diluted with water, they receive drinking product. They are stored for a long time.

What is the difference between cream and sour cream, if we take their fat content? Sour cream is most often sold in several types: 10, 15 and 20% fat. There is also the so-called rustic sour cream. It differs in that it is quite thick without a pronounced sourness.

What is the difference between cream and sour cream? A whole host of factors! So, cream is, in fact, settled milk, or rather its upper layer. They have a delicate sweetish taste, milky notes are clearly felt in it. Sour cream, in turn, is made from cream. It is more acidic due to fermentation. It is often used for dressing salads, flavored dough with sour cream or delicious soups such as borscht.

Cream is a milk separation product. The name of the product - "cream" - comes from the verb "drain". Cream can be easily removed from the surface of the settled milk and poured into another bowl. The cream has a uniform texture, a sweetish taste, a delicate color and should not have flakes, lumps or other impurities. Cream is distinguished by fat content and method of processing raw materials. Depending on the processing method, pasteurized and sterilized are distinguished. Pasteurized cream can be stored for no more than a week, the shelf life of sterilized cream can be up to four months.

Cream composition

Cream of different fat content from 8 to 35% goes on sale. The calorie content of cream depends on the fat content. The calorie content of 10% cream is about 120 kilocalories, with a fat content of 35%, the calorie content of cream reaches 350 kilocalories. Powdered cream of 40% fat content has a calorie content of about 600 kilocalories. Most of the nutritional value comes from fats, the rest is proteins and carbohydrates. About 70% is water.

Cream contains both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. 100 ml of 25% fat cream contains about 11 grams of saturated fatty acids, 87 mg of cholesterol, about 0.5 grams of ash, and a little less than one gram of organic acids.

The vitamin and mineral composition of cream is close to milk, which is not surprising: cream is very fatty milk. 100 ml of cream contains: 124 mg of choline, vitamin PP - 0.6 mg, vitamin E - 0.4 mg, vitamin D - 0.1 mcg, ascorbic acid - 0.3 mg, vitamin B12 - 0.4 mcg, folic acid- 8.5 mcg, vitamin B2 - 0.11 mg, vitamin B1 - 0.03 mg, vitamin A - 160 mcg.

For 100 ml of cream there are: molybdenum - 5 mcg, fluorine - 14 mcg, selenium - 0.3 mcg, manganese - 0.3 mcg, copper - 20 mcg, iodine - 7 mcg, zinc - 0.25 mg, iron - 0 .22 mg, chlorine - 61 mg, phosphorus - 60 mg, potassium - 109 mg, sodium - 35 mg, magnesium - 8 mg, calcium - 86 mg.

Milk fat cream consists of round fractions - balls. 1 ml of cream contains about 3 billion of these balls. The balls do not merge with each other, as they have a fatty shell, inside which lecithin is enclosed, which combines with protein.

The main advantage of cream can be called a high content of phosphatides, similar in composition to fats, but having a nitrogenous base and phosphoric acid in the composition. The process of heating the cream destroys the fatty membranes of the fractions, and the lecithin passes into buttermilk. In the same way, cream is affected by whipping cream. Phosphatides in this case are also destroyed.

That's why natural cream healthier than butter or heated almost to boiling point. Cold cream should replace butter in cereals, desserts, sauces. So the product will be not only less high-calorie, but also more useful.

The benefits of cream

Cream - delicious and useful product, which has a high nutritional value. It can and should be eaten by everyone, with the exception of infants, even the elderly, whose diet is highly restricted in terms of calories and fat content, but in small quantities.

Phosphatides (phospholipids) are a structural component of almost all body cells. The use of cream in old age helps to avoid senile dementia, phospholipids play an important role in the functioning of the nervous system.

Since fats are a source of energy, cream can be considered one of the the best power engineers. They should satisfy hunger during high physical exertion. Athletes introduce fatty cream into the diet: they are a source of energy and protein.

Another reason why athletes love cream is the high content of casein, a complex protein. Casein is valuable not only as a source of proteins, but also as a substance that helps curb appetite.

The fat fraction of cream has such a size that it is absorbed as well and completely as possible. The body does not have to spend additional energy on the digestion of cream.

The fats contained in the cream envelop the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, so the cream is required product in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Creams will help with food poisoning, slow down the process of absorption of toxins and poisons, make this absorption incomplete, and fast removal from the body. It is recommended to drink cream in case of chemical poisoning, even when painting walls or floors during repairs, it is recommended to drink a glass of cream after work, which will neutralize harmful effect chemical compounds.

Cream is a source of the amino acid L-tryptophan, which synthesizes serotonin in the body. Serotonin increases efficiency, improves mood, helps to cope with depression and insomnia. L-tryptophan reduces cravings for sugar, for simple carbohydrates. So despite high calorie content, cream in a small amount helps to lose weight.

Cream added to coffee or tea reduces the irritating effect of caffeine on the lining of the stomach and intestines. In the same protective way, the cream acts on tooth enamel, protects against the risk of fixing plaque on the enamel.

Cream as a source of lecithin helps to reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, reduce the size and number of existing cholesterol plaques, and protect blood vessels from the formation of new ones.

Cream is a source of calcium that helps strengthen bones and teeth. Cream should be drunk during the period of intensive growth of a teenager, for the formation of healthy bone tissue. Cream is useful in violation of posture, phosphorus, which is part of the cream, enhances the effect of calcium.

Cream is the best "neighbor" for fat-soluble vitamins A and E, so cream is recommended to be added to carrot juice. This is how vitamins A and E are fully absorbed. The combination of vitamins A, E and D in cream is ideal for absorption, so cream is suitable for baby food that needs vitamin D.

Beauty Cream

Beauty cream has been used since the time of Cleopatra. The famous milk baths are nothing more than water with the addition of cream. Such milk baths smooth the skin, rejuvenate it, whiten it. Cleopatra owes her beauty, not least, to cream baths. Cream is used to make homemade masks. They soften the skin, nourish it, smooth fine wrinkles.

How to make homemade cream

Not all shop cream useful: sterilized, with a long shelf life, they are devoid of many useful components. Therefore, cream with a short shelf life should be preferred. Alternatively, cream can be made at home to be absolutely sure of its usefulness.

Milk for cream should be bought natural fresh, not store-bought. Milk is poured into flat containers, into plates, for example, and left in a cool place. In a day, cream will appear on the surface. They are carefully collected with a spoon and transferred to a separate bowl. The thickness of the cream layer and its fat content depend on the initial fat content of the milk.

Harm cream

Cream, especially high fat - very high-calorie product so they should be consumed in limited quantities. If there are no problems with weight, then 100 grams per day is the maximum. With obesity, cream should be excluded from the diet.

Cream, like milk, should not be drunk if you are lactose intolerant. Children under three years of age should not be given cream because of the high fat content and difficulty in digestion. In case of liver diseases, it is better to refuse cream.

Cream- thick liquid white color, which can also be cream-colored (see photo). Quality product should not have flakes and lumps. Natural cream has sweet taste and viscous consistency.

In ancient times, people simply collected a thick layer that formed on the surface whole milk which has already settled. To date, this is due to separation. Thanks to this process, the fat fraction is removed, which ultimately makes it possible to obtain sterilized or pasteurized cream with different fat content:

In addition, cream can be distinguished by consistency:

• drinking;
• whipped;
• canned

Today, the industry produces vegetable cream, which have long term storage. Since they are produced using vegetable fats, O high favor this product need not be mentioned.

Selection and storage

If you purchased sterilized cream, then their shelf life reaches approximately 4 months. Pasteurized varieties will keep their freshness for as little as 3 days.

To keep the cream fresh, place it on a shelf near the freezer, as this is where the temperature is lowest. If you have already opened a jar of cream, then you should definitely use it within 24 hours.

If for any reason it is not possible to use the refrigerator, then store the cream in glass jar, which must be placed in a container with cold water. To reduce the risk of souring, it is recommended to put a horseradish leaf in the container. It is also worth considering that open cream quickly absorbs odors.

How to check the quality?

High-quality cream should not contain vegetable fats. To check the product for their presence, pour the cream into a glass and refrigerate for 15 minutes. After that, look at their appearance. If nothing has changed, this indicates the quality of the product. Spots will indicate the presence of vegetable fats yellow color on a surface.

Beneficial features

The benefits of cream are due to the rich composition, which is almost identical to milk. Due to the content of l-tryptophans in this product, the cream helps to cope with insomnia, and they also normalize the activity of the nervous system. Given this, it is recommended to use this product for people who suffer from depression and nervous disorders.

Included in the composition of lecithin, which normalizes the level of cholesterol in the blood, and also reduces the risk of atherosclerosis. In addition, this substance has a positive effect on the proper metabolism of fats. Cream helps to quickly remove toxins and toxins from the body, so it is recommended to use it for some poisonings. It is recommended to include this product in your diet for people with ulcers, gastritis and other gastrointestinal problems.

Application in cosmetology

The useful composition of the cream allows you to use them in cosmetic purposes. By combining them with other products, you can get an amazing effect. For example, cream helps to improve the condition of aging skin, as well as cope with peeling. In addition, the cream has a whitening effect. Also, this product helps to improve the condition of the hair.

Use in cooking

Cream can be consumed as a standalone product or used in recipes various dishes. Most often, sauces, dressings, creams, mousses, etc. are prepared on the basis of this product. Low-fat options are put into drinks to make them more tender. cream flavor. In addition, cream is part of the first courses, and sour cream, ice cream and butter are also made from them.

Separately, it is worth mentioning whipped cream, which is used to make and decorate numerous desserts and pastries. Only high fat cream is suitable for this product.

How to prepare this product from milk?

To make cream, you must take homemade milk. The process is very simple and anyone can do it. Purchased fresh milk should be poured into a wide bowl and put in a dark cool place. In a day, you will be able to collect fat on top, which is homemade cream.

Whipped cream at home

In stores, this product cannot be called natural, since during its production they use various additives. You have an alternative - whip cream at home. In this process, it is the fat content of cream that is of great importance, the minimum value is 33%. It is very important that the raw materials and the utensils that you will use are cold. To do this, put them for a while in freezer make sure that the dishes are completely dry.

If you took purchased cream, then shake the bag very well. In the summer, it is recommended to keep a bowl in which you will whip the cream in a container with ice. In addition, you will need powdered sugar, which must be sifted in advance to avoid lumps. Its amount should be calculated from the proportion: 1 teaspoon per 200 ml fresh cream and plus everything else 1 teaspoon. You need to whip according to a certain pattern: first, the speed should be minimal and gradually increase, when the process comes to an end, the speed should be gradually reduced again. When the cream begins to whip well, it's time to add the powder, only you need to do this gradually in small portions. It is very important not to overdo it and not turn the whipped cream into butter. You can check the readiness like this: make a hole in the mass with your finger, if it has not dragged on, everything is ready. Such a product will keep its freshness for 36 hours.

Harm of cream and contraindications

Cream can harm people with individual intolerance to the product. Due to the high fat content, this product is not recommended for people who have digestive problems. Contraindications to the use of cream are in people with high levels of cholesterol in the blood. You can not eat them also with obesity, hypertension. It is worth refusing cream if there are problems with metabolism and with the cardiovascular system. You can’t eat this product with atherosclerosis and liver pathologies yet.

It seems that it could be simpler: I bought a small box familiar to everyone with the word “cream” and added it to tea or coffee, whipped cream for a cake, or even just drank it. But it turns out that the package may not contain cream at all!

First, let's go to my grandmother, who has not only a house in the village, but also a cow. Cream like hers can't be bought in the store today because it's fresh and perishable product. To prepare it, the grandmother does not make any effort - fresh milk immediately begins to produce cream by itself: the smallest balls of fat float and accumulate on the surface. These tops can only be removed or drained (hence the more familiar name “cream”), and that’s all - the most delicate product ready.

In industrial production this natural process stratification of milk is specifically inhibited by homogenization - breaking the fat globules into "dust" so that they do not tend upwards. Only then, on the separator, the fat is separated from the milk plasma, and then its concentration is adjusted to necessary norm. Such cream is called normalized. Their fat content is from 10 to 42%. This is the most natural product from what you can buy today. He is close to his grandmother chemical composition, but quite different in physical structure. Fat globules traditional cream and the "dust" of the new ones are felt differently in the mouth, they differ in viscosity and plasticity. Other drinking cream, made in accordance with GOST, is even further from grandmother's. And quite aside products pretending to be cream.

Real cream - always drinkable

Product name: Drinking cream.

Depending on the raw milk, there are *:

Normalized - made from milk (not dry). The composition is very short: normalized cream or just cream. This is the best cream.

Reconstituted - from dry cream, they will be indicated in the composition.

Recombined - from various processed components of milk. The composition may include: milk of different fat content, butter, protein, buttermilk, etc.

Mixed - recombined, but always using dried cream.

*On the packaging of this important information specifying is optional (!), but it can be calculated from the composition.

According to the degree of heat treatment:

Pasteurized - heating temperature up to 70 degrees, stored for a short time and rarely sold.

Sterilized - heated above 100 degrees, stored for a long time.

Ultra-pasteurized - short heating above 120-140 degrees, stored for a long time.

Presence of food additives:

The product contains no additives. But in reality, during sterilization and ultra-pasteurization, stabilizers (phosphates or citrates) are used that get into the cream. Their use must be disclosed on the packaging with a phrase such as "manufactured using potassium phosphate." Stabilizers are not used during pasteurization; they are not present in such cream.

GOST R 52091 - quality assurance. Present only on drinking cream.

Non-cream and not quite cream

1. Dry "cream". In defiance of the law, plant-based creamer substitutes are often referred to as creamers.

How to distinguish them from milk powder

Dry cream:

They are made in accordance with GOST 1349-85 “Canned milk. Cream dry”, drying regular cream.

Ingredients: in addition to dried cream, there may also be milk and buttermilk.

Cream substitute:

They are made according to specifications, they are assembled as a constructor from various food additives.

Typical composition: glucose, vegetable fat, emulsifiers E471, E472, sodium caseinate, milk protein, stabilizers E340(ii), E331(iii), E452(i), baking powder E551, fragrance identical to natural, dye E160a.

IMPORTANT: In ready-made mixtures of cocoa or coffee with milk, in liquid chocolate, and also in coffee machines almost always use cream substitutes!

2. Creamy product

It is sold in ordinary cardboard boxes, and everyone takes it for real cream - they add it to coffee, tea, and drink it. You should not do this - it contains nutritional supplements. Most often, the carrageenan stabilizer (E407), recognized by many scientists as harmful. It helps to whip cream for cakes, cappuccinos, etc.

How to distinguish from real?

Fat content is always above 30%;

the presence of carrageenan and other stabilizers in the composition;

manufacturers play on the word "cream", taking it in quotation marks, as if it were a product brand. For example: "Whipping cream" or "Cream";

Name " creamy product"can be omitted altogether or write" creamy ";

absence of GOST sign, production according to TU.

3. Whipped "cream" in cans

Almost always similar in composition to vegetable-based cream substitutes, but already whipped. Very rarely they can contain real cream with a lot of synthetic additives that keep them in a foamy state.

Layer milk fat, formed on the surface of raw natural milk, is called cream. It can be removed just a few hours after milking and stored for some time in the cold using culinary purposes, or beat until butter is obtained. This is one of the most popular products from milk, nutritious and tasty, which is added to coffee, used to prepare main dishes, sauces, cocktails and many types of desserts.

History and geography of the product

For centuries, methods of processing milk to obtain cream have been improved. It was cooled by standing in the cellar or placed in a well with water; special cans were made with windows on the body. There were new recipes for dishes with cream and ways to eat them. For example, one of the legends claims that a dessert in the form of whipped cream was invented back in the 17th century in France by the culinary specialist of the castle of Chantilly, Francois Vatel.

However, a real revolution in the production of dairy products was made by the advent of the separator. It was invented at the end of the 19th century by the Swedish engineer Gustav de Laval. The operation of this device is based on the rapid rotation of the drum. As a result, the fat separates from the milk and settles on the walls of the separator and inside the drum. With the advent of this technology, it became possible to produce cream with different consistency and fat content.

Modern features industrial production they also allow pasteurization, sterilization of cream and even making it dry. Due to this, the terms of the product implementation are significantly extended, and it does not require special conditions storage. You can buy cream today in every grocery store in any country in the world.

Species and varieties

By purpose and consistency, cream can be:
drinking;
canned;
whipped;
dry.

Due to the fact that pasteurization of cream is carried out at a lower temperature than sterilization, in the first case the product is obtained with a less pronounced flavor of boiled milk. However, pasteurized cream can be stored for only 3 days, while sterilized ones are able to retain their nutritional value up to 4 months. Naturally, this applies to unopened packaging with cream. Any open product should be implemented within 12 hours.

Along with milk cream today, you can also find on sale herbal products with the same title. But the resemblance to real cream is only superficial. Made from vegetable fats, they have neither nutritional value nor taste properties cannot be compared with natural cream of animal origin. The most useful of them are fresh or pasteurized. Sterilized cream is of less value, in which, after heat treatment, there are not many vitamins left, and phosphorus and calcium turn into hard-to-digest compounds.

Beneficial features

In addition to fats, the presence of cream in its composition contributes to the classification of cream as anti-sclerotic products. a large number lecithin, which also plays an important role in cholesterol metabolism. Nutritious and rich in vitamins A, C, E, PP, B1 and B2, cream is widely used in medical and baby food. They are especially useful for the elderly. In addition to the prevention of atherosclerosis, cream, due to the presence of aromatic amino acids L-tryptophans in their composition, soothe nervous system and eliminate insomnia.

Taste qualities

Application in cooking

Cream is widely used in cooking, both as an independent product and as part of the ingredients for preparing various dishes. Fatty types of cream ( over 20%) are more suitable for whipping, they make mouth-watering creams, mousses, desserts, cocktails, sour cream, butter and ice cream, original puree soups and tender creamy sauces. regular cream with a fat content of up to 20% is often called "coffee" because of their main way of consumption. Added to the drink, they are able to give it a special creamy flavor.

Like most dairy products, cream is great for baking. Whipped they serve wonderful decoration cakes and other desserts, pairing well with berries and fruits such as strawberries. Among the many recipes for dishes with cream, the most popular are:
puree soups,
fruit salads,
creamy dressings and sauces,
desserts from fresh berries with whipped cream
cakes and pastries butter cream;
ice cream,
milkshakes and liqueurs.