Medusa left a comment yesterday asking why we can’t get double cream.
I’ve seen it in recipes and overseas supermarkets but have never come across it here.
So what makes cream double?
Wikipedia says it’s all to do with fat content. Double cream in the UK has a minimum of 48% milk fat; in the USA it’s 38 – 40% and in Australia 48 – 60%.
New Zealand cows are bred to produce milk with a high fat content because most of our milk goes for export butter, cheese and milk powder rather than fresh milk for local consumption.
Dairy farmers are paid per kilo of milk solids (which used to be called milk fat) rather than per litre of milk as happens in most other countries.
I’m wondering if that means all the cream in our supermarkets has at least a 48% milk fat unless it says it’s light.
It has always been my impression that our normal cream is the same fat content as British double cream
How do I know, well my sisters are foodies and have cooked in both countries.
rayinnz – the cream in the UK is crap. Mrs pdm is an excellent cook and very good with pav’s, sponges etc but she just cannot get the cream over here to whip properly.
Thank you very much for your investigative efforts, I shall give the ice cream maker a try with the local cream.
pdm I have to say BS to your statement, when I lived in the UK I never had any problem with cream whipping properly. Does your wife know that it is sold as ‘single’ and ‘double’ cream? Trying to whip single cream is like flogging a dead horse.
I agree with Medusa.
You can whip British cream but you have to buy double or whipping cream.
But yes, it seems you cannot buy single cream here.
All the cream we have here seems to be double.