Single Cream | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

FAQs

Single Cream | Ask Nigella.com? ›

Single cream is a lower fat cream with a fat content of 18-20%. It is sometimes known as "pouring cream" and is mostly used to pour over desserts.

More terms for cream

Single cream – another term used in the UK. Single cream is equivalent to our 18% cream. Light cream – this term can be especially confusing. In the US and Australia it means 18% cream.

Full fat Greek yogurt, full fat cream cheese, and full fat coconut milk make good alternatives to cream for adding creaminess to dishes. However, they all need to be full-fat to give you a nice taste and texture. There's also a handful of dishes where nothing but cream will do.

Pure cream is also called single or pouring cream. This type of cream has a milk fat content of 35% to 50% and contains no thickeners.

Single cream is a thin cream traditionally used for pouring and for enriching cooked dishes, it contains 18% fat. Uses: For pouring over fruit and puddings and in cooking, especially in soups and sauces although it should never be allowed to boil. It is not suitable for whipping.

/ˌsɪŋ.ɡəl ˈkriːm/ (US light cream)

No. Half-and-half is a 50/50 mixture of heavy cream (which would be similar to double cream, though possibly not exactly the same) and skim milk. Single cream is probably closest to light cream, or sometimes it is referred to as coffee cream.

Use Greek Yogurt When You're Low on Your Favorite Dairy Ingredients. If you're low on dairy ingredients, don't fret. Greek yogurt can substitute milk, sour cream and heavy cream. Milk: If you're short on milk, half and half or light cream, Greek yogurt can be used to make up for the difference.

You can substitute an equal amount of heavy cream with coconut cream and use it as a dairy-free alternative in recipes that call for heavy cream. It can be baked, cooked, and whipped, but it does have a coconut flavor, so choose your recipes accordingly.

On this occasion, out of cream, I went for greek yoghurt which was not bad. Pretty tasty in fact, but I still wish I had cream. I think you can just about get away with a full-fat natural or greek yoghurt in a Korma. There are obvious calorie or syn benefits by choosing yoghurt.

How long does single cream last once opened? ›

Cream is useful because it has a longer expiration date than milk. Where milk usually expires around 4 to 7 days after being opened, cream lasts roughly 7 to 10 days. After this point, it'll get thicker, so it could still theoretically be used in certain dishes if you wish to bulk out a sauce or serve with a curry.

A In a nutshell, soured cream is single cream that has been given a sharp, sour edge by adding a bacterial culture; creme fraiche is double cream similarly cultured but made from cream with a high fat content and is richer and thicker.

Thickened cream

It contains thickening agents, so is great for whipping and pouring over your favourite desserts. It's the all-rounder cream that's perfect for desserts, whipping, cake fillings, mousse and is the cherry on top when served with hot, golden scones.

Some popular options include diluting heavy whipping cream with whole milk, using half-and-half, evaporated milk, or plain yogurt. For dairy-free alternatives, consider coconut cream or soy creamer.

Cream rarely expires in our household, yet, when it does get close to expiration, rather than chuck it out, we make soured cream, extending its shelf-life by up to 10 days. Raw cream is best for making soured, AKA cultured, cream because it already contains all the good bacteria needed to ferment.

Cream with a fat content of more than 35% can be frozen. Remember that it expands when it freezes, so ensure your container has a little extra space. Lower-fat creams like single cream will separate when thawed but can be frozen when already incorporated into a dish.

Single cream will not whip and will curdle if boiled, so it can't be a substitute in recipes that call for whipping or double cream. Whipping cream has around a 36% fat content, which allows air to be trapped when whipped, roughly doubling the volume.

Fresh Cream - This is the most commonly found cream in our supermarkets. Fresh cream contains 25% fat content and can be used for thickening coffee and savory dishes like soups and gravies. However, because the fresh cream has a lower than 30% fat content, it cannot be whipped and shaped for decorative purposes.

The British use double cream in recipes the way we use heavy cream or whipping cream here in the US, but they also allow it to accompany dessert the way we might use ice cream.