Slag, sour or soy
A dash of cream in a soup or sauce or a dollop of whipped cream on a slice of apple pie… cream makes all kinds of dishes tastier. It’s just a shame it’s so fat. Fortunately, there are alternatives that are less unhealthy.
Cream consists of, among other things, milk fat, the part of milk that floats to the surface when milk has been standing for a while.
According to the Commodities Act, cream may only be called that if it is made from cow’s milk and has a fat content of at least 10 percent. But that is still little: whipped cream should even have a fat percentage of 30. We have listed a number of cream varieties for you, from fat to leaner.
| calories per 100 grams | grams of fat per 100 grams | |
| Whipped cream, unbeaten | 343 | 36 |
| Creme fraiche | 335 | 35 |
| Whipped cream with sugar | 350 | 31 |
| slim cream | 253 | 25 |
| coffee cream | 210 | 20 |
| Sour cream | 198 | 19 |
| soy cream | 174 | 17 |
| Crème fraiche, half full | 165 | 15 |
| Half cream / cooking cream light | 102 | 8 |
| Soy cream light | 72 | 5 |
Healthy alternatives
When a recipe says ‘cream’ between the ingredients, it usually means whipped cream. You can use it in sweet and savory dishes, both in cold and warm preparations. It Fat in the whipped cream ensures that whipped cream does not split as quickly when you add it to a warm soup or sauce. Adding a less-fat type of cream to something warm can cause the protein and fat particles to separate. White flakes then appear. It doesn’t affect the taste, but it doesn’t look that good. You can try to prevent curdling by pre-warming the cream with, for example, a spoonful of soup. Only add the cream at the last minute, when the dish no longer needs to cook.
There are several lighter cream products that contain a binding agent that prevents curdling. These have names such as cooking cream, culinary cream, chef’s cream and slim cream. They are kinder to the line and you can stir them into hot dishes without any problem.
fresh sour
Crème fraiche is a thick cream that is fresh and sour made with lactic acid bacteria. It is not the same as sour cream: it is a bit slimmer, but therefore separates faster. To complicate matters, sour cream is the same as sour cream. In cold dishes you can replace crème fraiche with sour cream / sour cream or possibly low-fat quark or yogurt. For hot dishes, you can use alternatives such as the aforementioned cooking cream.
Vegetable
A vegetable alternative to whipped cream and crème fraiche is ‘cream’ based on soybeans or coconut. Cream by the way, because actually only cow’s milk products can be called that. Soy cream can be used in soups, sauces and desserts, but because of the low fat content you cannot whip it. Coconut cream is thicker than coconut milk because it contains less water. It is fat, but contributes to a good composition of the cholesterol in the blood. Coconut cream is delicious in sweet, but also in spicy dishes. Both soy cream and coconut cream are suitable for vegans and people with a lactose intolerance or cow’s milk allergy.
