Until recently, we chose cream, focusing only on their fat content. Today, the variety of this product introduces many buyers to herinto a real stupor - there are bottles on the shelves, opaquepackages, "pills" with a single dose for coffee or tea, dry bags and even cylinders.

But can all these products be called real cream? Natural cow product not to be found

Academician Ivan Petrovich Pavlov said that milk is a unique product created by nature itself. So the cream is even more amazing, because they know how to make themselves. A person is only required to leave alone any vessel with fresh milk, and the process of cream production will immediately begin in it. The smallest particles of fat in the form of balls 4-5 micrometers in size, tending through the thickness of the white liquid, float to the surface. As a result, the milk is stratified and fatty cream is formed at the top. However, this is how the product was made in antiquity. In 1883, the Swedish scientist Gustav de Laval invented a separator, which significantly accelerated the manufacturing process. In fact, this is a centrifuge that accelerates milk in a circle, and as a result, milk fat, as the lightest component, accumulates near the center, and everything else tends to the periphery. Unfortunately, mankind has invented not only a separator, but also all kinds of methods for making pseudo-cream. Therefore, today it is incredibly difficult to find a truly natural cow product on the store shelf.

See also: Coffee: invigorates, heals and cripples

Cream of cream

Ideally, a natural cow product is called “cream”, and only one word is indicated in its composition - “cream” (for domestic products, GOST R 52091-2003 is even more preferable). However, sometimes in the list of ingredients you can find whole or reduced fat milk. The question is, why make cream first, and then dilute it? This is necessary in order to create a product of a certain fat content - it is called recombined. Previously, it was still possible to meet reconstituted cream, which was made from milk powder. But according to the new dairy regulations, they were forbidden to be made. But GOST allows the use of stabilizers, which manufacturers are happy to do. These food additives are salts of citric or phosphoric (orthophosphoric) acid. They are put in milk before separation so that it does not curdle. If you do not want to use cream enriched with stabilizers, carefully read the composition - any additives must be indicated in the list of ingredients.

What is hidden in the can?

Reading the composition is also useful because from it you will find out which product is in front of you: natural dairy or vegetable made from palm kernel oil. By law, the latter does not have the right to be called cream at all - it can be called "Whipping Cream", "Whipping Mass" or something else, but, alas, manufacturers often deceive and write a proud milky word on their vegetable or semi-vegetable fake . For example, the so-called “dry whipping cream” is on the shelves - you need to add milk to them, and then beat with a mixer. The composition of such a product speaks for itself: powdered sugar, glucose syrup, modified potato starch, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, E471 emulsifiers, E472a, sodium caseinate, stabilizers: potassium phosphate, calcium phosphate, artificial cream flavor. As you can see, there is not a drop of natural cow's milk in this product. The same can be said about 3 in 1 instant coffee bags - you can be sure that instead of natural dry cream, it uses their vegetable substitute. Another typical representative of a palm product is ready-made whipped "cream" in cans. True, sometimes they still have milk in them, but with a fair amount of stabilizers and other “Es”.

Raw to sterile

All cream that goes on sale must undergo heat treatment, which neutralizes milk bacteria. The only exception is the product sold on the market. By the way, raw country cream is the most “live” and capricious. You need to store them only in the cold and no more than a day. For the dairy industry, they are only raw materials from which they make a product for sale. They are subjected to heat treatment, and depending on this, sterilized, ultra-pasteurized and pasteurized cream are distinguished.

Pasteurized.

Of all the creams sold in stores, this is the most "live" and close to natural rustic product. They are heated moderately and for a short time, and stabilizers are usually not added to them. But, since after such a mild treatment, some bacteria remain alive, but inhibited, this product can be stored for a short time - 4 days.

Sterilized.

This cream is heated long enough and strong enough to kill all microorganisms. Therefore, to avoid clotting of milk, stabilizers are often added to it. But sterilized cream can be stored for a long time - from 1 to 6 months.

UHT.

Previously, they were called in English UHT or in the Russian manner UVT. This means processed by ultra-high temperature. Now they decided to abandon such abbreviations, but the essence remains the same - the cream is heated to a very high temperature in a short time. At the same time, they flow in a thin layer and have time to thoroughly sterilize. In fact, this is also sterilized cream, and they may contain phosphate stabilizers.

Fat is no joke

When choosing cream in the store, be sure to pay attention to their fat content. This indicator can range from 9 to 58%, and it radically affects the culinary properties of the product. For example, for adding to coffee or tea, it is best to choose 10%. Of course, you can also pour fatter cream into hot drinks, but they are likely to dissolve poorly and leave lumps behind. But for whipping, on the contrary, a product of at least 30% is more suitable, and even better 35-38% and higher . For cooking (adding to cream soup, creating mashed potatoes, sauces), it is optimal to use cream of medium fat content from 15 to 30%. By the way, on the packages now they often write recommendations for the use of a particular product or directly indicate: for coffee, for beating. Pay attention to this information - according to the law it is optional, but very useful.

Believe your eyes

The appearance of cream can tell a lot about them. A good product is always a uniform white opaque liquid with a slight creamy tint. But if, pouring the cream into a glass, you see that they are stratified - a film accumulates on top or just more yellow particles of fat, then this does not mean that they have deteriorated. You can conduct a very simple test for the freshness of the product - you need to stir it, and if it becomes homogeneous, everything is fine, the cream is ready for use. If there is no fat or whitish flakes of protein are present, the quality clearly leaves much to be desired. You can whiten coffee with such cream, but it is not recommended to whip or use them when cooking. In production, a similar product is sent for “remelting” and a dry analogue is made from them.

Once upon a time, housewives chose cream, looking only at their fat content, today, the consumer is lost, seeing how huge the choice of this product is - cream in cans, tetra packs, bottles, and simply in the form of dry powder in sachets or "tablets" with one portion for tea and coffee. But can you be sure that it is natural cream? Probably not, how to understand that this is natural cream, and not their analogue.

“Milk is a unique product created by nature itself.” So said Academician Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. And cream is an even more unique product, as it creates itself. Leaving fresh milk in a jar, in a day, you will see how the so-called “tops” formed on the surface - this is cream (the height of the tops depends on the fat content of the milk, and the fat content, in turn, on how well the cow is fed). The process of cream formation, in the cooled fresh milk, particles of milk fat float to the surface, this is how cream stands out from the milk. In 1883, this process was accelerated by the Swedish scientist Gustav de Laval, with the invention of the separator. The separator is a centrifuge that spins the milk in a circle, and milk fat, as the lightest ingredient, is collected near the center. Scientists have come up with not only a separator, but also various technologies for the production of adulterated cream. That is why it is very difficult to find natural milk cream on the shelves of supermarkets. On the packaging of natural cream it is written “cream”, and it contains only one ingredient - cream, and if the cream is of our production, then compliance with GOST R 52091 - 2003 is desirable. The cream may also contain low-fat milk or whole milk. The question arises, why collect the cream first, and then dilute it? This is done in order to produce cream with a certain fat content, such cream is called recombined. Also, once they made cream from powdered milk - this is reconstituted cream, recently their production was banned by the latest dairy regulations (GOST). But GOST does not prohibit the use of stabilizers by manufacturers, which is what manufacturers of dairy products use.

Before separation, salts of citric or phosphoric (orthophosphoric) acid are added to milk so that it does not curdle. The manufacturer must list all foreign components in the composition, so pay attention to the presence of this ingredient in the composition of the cream if you do not want to consume cream flavored with stabilizers.

You still need to pay attention to the composition, because it becomes clear from it what kind of product is in front of you; natural or equivalent made from palm kernel oil. And in accordance with GOST, cream made from vegetable fats does not have the right to be called "cream". But manufacturers go to the trick, naming their semi-vegetable or vegetable falsification; “dry cream for whipping”, “dry, instant cream”, “confectionery cream”. Here, for example, is the composition of "dry whipping cream"; powdered sugar, glucose syrup, modified potato starch, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, emulsifiers E - 471, E 472a, sodium caseinate, stabilizers; potassium phosphate, calcium phosphate, artificial cream flavor, as you can see, cow's milk, there is not even a gram. What can we say about bags of instant coffee "3v Ι" - do not doubt that natural cream has been replaced with their vegetable counterpart. Another product containing palm kernel oil is "whipped cream" in a can.

All natural cream, before being sent for sale, is subjected to high-temperature treatment to remove lactic bacteria. Private producers who sell their goods on the market do not pasteurize or sterilize cream, this cream is “live” and whimsical, they can be stored for no more than 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Such cream for manufacturers is only a raw material that is subjected to heat treatment, in this regard, three types of cream are defined;

• pasteurized
• Sterilized
• UHT

UHT . Cream heated to a very high (140°C) temperature in a short period of time, UHT or the English abbreviation UHT - ultra-high temperature, but today this name is no longer used, but this does not change the essence of the matter. This is the same sterilized cream, but with the addition of stabilizers and phosphates, to extend the shelf life, it can be stored from 4 months to six months, at + 4˚ to + 20˚С.

Pasteurized. Cream is produced from natural cream, which undergoes a “soft” treatment, they are heated to 85 ° C. This is the most “live” product, without stabilizers, cream is stored for no more than 4 days. Their fat content happens; 10, 20, 35%, adjust the fat content with whole or skimmed milk, have a sweetish taste and a slight aftertaste of pasteurization, the color is white with a creamy tint.

Sterilized cream, have a fat content of not more than 10%. Cream is heated to a higher temperature of 110°C to get rid of microorganisms so that it does not curdle, stabilizers are added to it. The shelf life of sterilized cream is from 1 to 6 months.

When buying cream, decide for what purpose you take it? On many packages, the manufacturer indicates the purpose of certain creams; for tea or coffee, for beating, soups, sauces.

When choosing, be guided by the fat content of the cream, the fat content can be from 9 to 58%. The fat content of the cream will significantly affect the result of all your culinary efforts.

Cream with a fat content of 30%, or 35 - 38% or more for whipping.

Fat content from 15 - 30% - mashed potatoes, sauces, cream - soup.

And the lightest 10% cream is good for hot drinks.

The way the cream looks gives maximum information about its current state. Fresh high-quality cream is a homogeneous mass with a slightly creamy tint, a bitter aftertaste, which is a clear sign of spoiled cream. If the cream has stratified - this does not mean that they have deteriorated, stir them, if they become homogeneous again, then you can use them. And if you were unable to achieve a homogeneous consistency; whitish flakes remain or the fat has not dissolved, then it is not advisable to use them for cooking. Manufacturers send such cream for recycling, from which dry cream is obtained.

Indeed, many of us, especially those not associated with the food industry, when choosing cakes or other products with cream, cannot even imagine that this cream may not be natural.

Why am I talking about this?

First, we need to think about what we eat.
Secondly, so that the buyer, when purchasing a confectionery product, especially made to order marked “from natural products”, receives what he wants, and not a fake.

In confectionery products can be used:
- vegetable cream (not natural);
- natural cream (obtained from milk).

Natural cream has its own classification, today I will focus on the difference between these two types (vegetable and natural).

Let's start with the composition

vegetable cream consist of: vegetable oils (coconut, palm), water, flavors, stabilizers, preservatives. At the same time, vegetable fats and oils used for the production of vegetable cream undergo partial hydrogenation at the initial stage, turning into trans fats. A similar process is needed to convert the liquid emulsion into solid fatty acids and hence increase shelf life.

Wherein vegetable fats become hazardous to health properties. Countries such as Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland are already prohibit sale and industrial production products containing trans fats.

Natural cream. In the natural environment, fresh milk itself is taken almost instantly to make cream. The smallest droplets of milk fat float to the surface and accumulate, they can only be collected or drained, hence the well-established old name - cream.

According to the chemical composition, natural cream has a large amount of vitamins, amino acids, mineral salts; they contain 4.5% carbohydrates and 3.5% proteins. The high content of vitamin B5 has a calming effect on the nervous system.

In industry, cream is obtained by separation. If the packaging of the cream says “normalized” (the best produced in the industry), then in terms of chemical composition this cream is closest to those obtained naturally (like a grandmother in the village).

Of course, part of the useful substances of the cream is lost during pasteurization (heat treatment at 70 ° C), especially sterilization (heating above 100 ° C) and ultra-pasteurization (short heating at 120-140 ° C). The bottom line is that natural cream contains milk fat, which is more familiar to our body for digestion.

Part 2

Comparative characteristics

Vegetable creams have a number of advantages over natural ones. For example, it is more economical (1 liter of natural cream costs 300 rubles, 1 liter of vegetable cream costs 100-150 rubles).

They beat better, retain their shape for a long time, are convenient for transportation, products with vegetable cream have a longer shelf life, which is convenient for mass production of confectionery.

Vegetable and natural cream also differ in calories: 100 g of milk cream contains 283 kcal, and vegetable cream only 75 kcal, but there are simply no useful components in them. And sometimes it is better to eat a small piece, albeit more high-calorie, but natural, than a less high-calorie large and artificial one.

Natural cream gives products a unique delicate creamy taste (it is especially noticeable in creams and mousses), in addition, they melt pleasantly in the mouth, while vegetable cream rolls down and is difficult to dissolve. You can also talk a lot about the benefits of natural cream (especially if it is a quality product), but remember that everything is good in moderation. Cream is a fatty product, especially those used in confectionery. Daily consumption should not exceed 50-70 g.

The choice is yours

Of course, we do not eat confectionery every day, but we always want the product to be of high quality and not harm our health.

If we buy an ordinary cake in a store (the price of which is now 350-400 rubles for 1 kg), then we don’t expect anything supernatural from it and we understand that, of course, there are quite a lot of chemistry in the composition.

But if we want to get a cake made from natural products, in addition, we are ready to pay a much larger amount for it, then we would like to feel the superiority of taste, and that the raw materials be really natural and of high quality.

In the production of my cakes, I use natural cream, natural butter, high quality chocolate and other ingredients that are usually purchased for expensive restaurants.

I treat confectionery as an art, so that when tasting a product, it’s as if a picture was being drawn in front of you or a piece of music was being performed.

(For example: the cost of raw materials for the production of 2 kg of cake from high-quality ingredients that I use is 1000-1200 rubles.)

Part 3

Now it's time for practical advice if you opt for a product with natural cream.

How to distinguish natural cream from vegetable?

There is a way to distinguish one cream from another by freezing. To do this, pour 2 samples into glass jars and put them in the freezer. Vegetable and milk fats have different freezing rates. Because vegetable cream is an emulsion of water and vegetable fats, then the water freezes first, and the fat is forced out, and we see a yellow coating on the surface.

Milk fat does not change its appearance and remains in the same form even when frozen. However, this method is applicable when the cream is still in a liquid state in a pack.

If the cream is already in the product, then the differences are as follows:

- if your cake tastes like a store-bought one, then vegetable cream was most likely used in it;

- in color, vegetable whipped cream is always whiter than natural, even as if with blueness;

- vegetable cream keeps its shape for a long time, natural ones tend to fall off (well, if they last 12 hours);

- natural cream melts in the mouth, while vegetable cream dissolves with difficulty without a hot drink.

Therefore, if you want a cake all covered with snow-white cream, then it will, of course, be vegetable cream, just keep that in mind.

For external decor in confectionery products, their use is fully justified, only this should be agreed with the customer.
As part of creams for cakes, natural cream goes perfectly into mousses, their use is limited only by price.

On the one hand, it is a product familiar to us since childhood, and on the other hand, we know too little about it. How often have you paused in thought in front of a supermarket shelf‚ choosing cream? Which ones are helpful and which are harmful? Let's try to figure it out.

Dairy or vegetable cream

Cream is divided into dairy (animal origin) and vegetable.
Dairy- this is the fat-containing part of the settled milk, which was previously drained, hence the name "cream", and today they are obtained by separation.
All milk cream undergoes heat treatment: pasteurization or sterilization. difference in heating temperature. In the first case, the cream is heated to 72–85 °C, and in the second case, over 100 °C. Pasteurized, of course, are more useful, since they retain the main nutrients, but they have a shelf life of no more than three days. Sterilized cream does not spoil for four months, because during the heat treatment all microorganisms responsible for souring are destroyed. But high temperature destroys vitamin C, and calcium and phosphorus turn into compounds that the body practically does not absorb.
Fresh milk cream is the healthiest. They contain five to six times more vitamin A than milk.

Attention!

Dishes prepared with milk cream are usually stored for no more than a day. If you have any doubts about the freshness of the product, do not risk it. Spoiled cream causes poisoning!

Advice
Add cream to carrot juice. Thus, the body will absorb carotene.

Vegetable cream is made from vegetable fats.(Most commonly used is coconut, palm or palm kernel oil). To give them the taste, color and consistency of milk cream, milk proteins, mainly sodium caseinate, are added to the vegetable substitute.
In modern confectionery production, vegetable cream is more often used: the cream of them does not deteriorate for a long time and retains its marketable appearance for five days after whipping. In addition, vegetable cream is two times cheaper than dairy cream. When whipped, they increase in volume by three to four times, while milk ones - only two.
On the one hand, vegetable cream is a unique invention, because they can be used by people who are contraindicated in natural milk. However, vegetable creams, like margarine and mayonnaise, contain trans-fatty acids, which are poorly absorbed by the body and are carcinogenic to it.
Keep in mind that vegetable cream contains acidity regulators, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavors, dyes and other "household chemicals".

Advice!
Vegetable confectionery cream is sold in the form of an emulsion or pasty mass. They must be chilled before whipping.

Cream shape
Liquid cream is the most natural and traditional. They are sold packaged in packages of different sizes. Depending on the fat content, they can be used for coffee, sauces, soups and whipping.
Canned, or condensed, cream can be found on the store shelf next to traditional condensed milk. They are made from a mixture of cream and pasteurized milk by evaporating some of the water.
Powdered cream is obtained from an emulsion of vegetable fats and water dried in a spray dryer. They are fat droplets coated with a matrix of emulsifier and water-soluble components. Powdered cream contains sodium casein to give a natural color, taste and density, as well as various emulsifiers and stabilizers. Powdered cream is suitable not only for making coffee, but even for soups, cereals and mashed potatoes.
Whipped cream is pasteurized dairy or vegetable cream whipped with the addition of a stabilizer and flavoring agents. The fat content of the produced cream varies from 8 to 35%. Whipped cream is added to coffee or desserts. But they do not hold their shape very well, so it is better not to use them to decorate dishes.

Three characteristics of quality
Consistency any cream should be homogeneous: no lumps of fat or protein flakes.
Color- white, cream shade is possible.
Taste- Sweet, but not cloying. And if the cream is bitter - this is a sure sign of a spoiled product. Usually expired sterilized cream is bitter. Pasteurized in this case simply turn into fat-fatty kefir.

Expert opinion:

Mayra Kadyrova, dietitian at Doctor Ionova's Clinic

“Of course, natural milk cream is useful. They contain vitamins A, D and calcium. However, cream has a fairly high amount of fat. That is why this product is not recommended for daily use. People with overweight, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and type II diabetes should pay attention to the fat content of milk cream and use it in cooking no more than once a week.
Vegetable cream contains hydrogenated vegetable fats‚ or so-called trans fats. There is evidence that these fats, when consumed in large quantities (more than 10 mg per day), are carcinogens, as they disrupt the digestive process.

Delberg Vyacheslav , brand chef of the restaurant holding "ARPICOM"

“In professional cooking, it is customary to use milk cream, vegetable cream is worse in taste. The scope of milk cream is determined by their fat content. Cream with a fat content of 10 to 20% is produced specifically for coffee. For the preparation of sauces, 20–30% are suitable. Puree soups and creamy soups are best prepared with cream with a maximum fat content of 33-35%, as they are thicker and have to be boiled less than liquid ones. It is known that the longer you subject the product to heat treatment, the more it loses its taste and useful properties. Cream with a fat content of 35% or more is suitable for whipping.

The modern food industry forces us to be experts in everything in order to afford the "luxury" of eating a natural product, and not tasty "chemistry". How to understand quantitative diversity cream on store shelves so that the taste of the drink will bring back the feeling of your own happy childhood?

The happy time when the choice of cream was limited only by their fat content, unfortunately, is in the past. The current choice of this wonderful product is hampered not only by the variety of packaging forms: boxes, bottles, cylinders, portion molds, but also by the different contents of all these packages. To find natural ones, you need not only to read the information about the product on the package, but also to be able to recognize the tricks of the manufacturer, allowing him to offer us, albeit a good product, but still not quite cream or not cream at all.

Milk cream

Until Gustav de Laval invented the separator, the top layer of fat that collected on the surface of milk was drained (hence the name), thus separating it into milk and cream. The separator made it possible to accelerate this process due to the fact that in its centrifuge, during rotation, light milk fat is collected in the center, separating from the milk. Based on this, it is quite simple to understand that in the natural cream itself there should be nothing more than themselves. This product is called normalized cream, and its fat content ranges from 10 to 42 percent, which is adjusted by adding whole milk or milk with reduced fat content. On the packaging of such cream it appears that it is “drinking cream”.

Cream reconstituted are made from dried cream and this should also be indicated in the information on the packaging. Recombined cream is made from different milk ingredients. They may contain protein, butter, buttermilk and other dairy components. Mixed cream is recombined cream, to which dry cream is necessarily added. Production in accordance with GOST does not guarantee the absence of stabilizers, which manufacturers actively use by adding citric or phosphoric acids to milk, which prevent milk clotting.

The presence of vegetable fats in natural cream is unacceptable and such a product has no right to be called that. Therefore, the manufacturer goes for tricks that appear in an additional word, for example, “confectionery cream” or “whipping cream”. Do not be lazy to read what is written on the package, sometimes especially in very small print.

Cream is a dairy product

Depending on the temperature treatment, cream is pasteurized, sterilized and ultra-pasteurized. The method of heat treatment directly affects the shelf life. Pasteurization of cream occurs at a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius. In this case, many pathogenic microorganisms die, and part of the living flora remains. Pasteurized cream is the healthiest and can be stored for no more than four days. Their fat content can be 10%, 20%, 35%.

Sterilized cream processed at a temperature of 100 degrees, which kills all live bacteria without exception, leaving only other useful properties of dairy products. They have a shelf life of one month to six months and no more than 10% fat. They may contain stabilizers.

UHT cream heated to 140 degrees and stabilizers and phosphates are added to ensure long shelf life at positive temperatures. Cream fat content: 10% fat content is enough to drink and add to hot drinks. For the preparation of sauces and creamy soups, the fat content should be in the range from 15 to 35. And only cream of at least 30% will be whipped into a lush mass.

Benign ones should be homogeneous with a white or slightly creamy tint, without foreign odors and bundles. If after shaking the texture of the cream has not changed, then such a product can be hazardous to health.