The 9 Different Types of Whipped Cream

There are many different types of whipped cream available in the marketplace. When we go shopping to buy a cream for our homemade whipped cream recipe, we are most likely to face so many confusing choices such as “half & half cream”, “whipping cream”, “pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized cream”. The numerous terminologies of the types of cream give us the difficulty of what cream to purchase. Also we often don’t know the differences between these creams and its purposes.

In this article, we are going to discuss the 9 types of whipped cream. In the dairy industry, there are a number of cream products but we will only discuss the most common choices of the customers. The creams are classified based from the percentage of fat content and its purposes and uses. In buying a cream, it is important to take a look at its fat content because it is significant in identifying its uses.

9 Different Types of Cream

• Half & Half Cream is a mixture of ½ milk and ½ cream. This type of cream contains about 10.5% to 18% of fat; typically used as coffee cream. The half & half cream can also serve as a substitute for heavy whipping cream in making recipes with less fat diet.


• Single cream also known as light cream has 20% fat content. This cream does not whip well. It is best used in sweet and savory dishes. Single cream is also called as light cream.


• Light cream, with a fat content of not less than 18% and not more than 30%, can be a substitute for single cream. It is also used as a coffee cream like other types of cream. It has almost the same components and uses with single cream.


• Whipping Cream has 30% butterfat. This type of cream takes longer to create a great volume of whipped cream. It is not stable and does not whip well. It is good for toppings and fillings.


• Heavy Cream a.k.a. Heavy Whipping Cream is the best type of cream. It whips well, whips fluffier and creates about four times the original quantity of cream. It has around 36 to 48% butter fat content.


• Double cream contains around 48% of fat or more. It is a rich type of cream that is easy to over whip.


• Clotted cream has 55% to 60% fat content. It is also known as the Devonshire cream because it is usually served with Devonshire teas. The Devonshire cream is ideal for fillings and toppings in holiday treats such as cakes, pies and pastries. It can also be used as a regular cream.


• Crème Fraiche is usually included in sauces and soups; also works well as toppings in treats. This type of cream is stable and has a much refined flavor thus valued by the food experts. It has a slightly tangy, nutty flavor and velvety rich texture produced by adding lactic acid to a regular cream and stored under controlled conditions.


• Pasteurized and Ultra-pasteurized: Ultra-pasteurized cream stays longer for more than a month than pasteurized cream. Ultra-pasteurized cream has undergone the procedure of heating that kills bacteria and enzymes that usually cause the cream not to stay longer. However, pasteurized cream is better (than ultra-pasteurized) in flavor, volume and stability though ultra-pasteurized can still be used as a substitute it is not available.