12-May-08 Creams

As the UK is famous for it's afternoon tea, they also usually serve it with cream and/or scones and various creams. The thicker and heavier the cream, the higher the butter fat content.

In the US, we have half-and-half which is about 15% butter fat, coffee cream about 25% butter fat, and heavy/whipping cream at 40% or so.

In the UK, they have similar names (half cream, not half-and-half) and same butter fat, but they go a step further. Double cream is at 50% butter fat, meaning half the content is butter, so it's extra "creamy"; this is usually used for puddings and piping in pastries.

But the king of them all, clotted cream is a whopping 55-60% butter fat. It is created through a heating process to capture the cream at the top and then skimmed off. This is usually served with scones and muffins as a spread. If you travel through Cornwall and Devon, everything there is made with this. Clotted cream fudge, clotted cream bread, clotted cream ice cream, etc. It's a wonder the Brits are not falling over from a heart attack daily.