What is the difference between half-and-half, heavy cream, whipping cream and double cream?
A. Varieties of cream are defined by how much milk fat they contain: the higher the ratio of milk fat, the heavier, thicker and creamier the cream! Heavy cream, double cream and heavy whipping cream are different names for essentially the same thing: cream that is 40% or more milk fat, and which doubles in volume when whipped. Light whipping cream is between 30 and 35 percent milk fat, and can also be whipped. Light cream, table cream, coffee cream or single cream are names for cream that is around 18% milk fat. Half-and-half is a mixture of cream and milk, and contains about 12% milk fat. Neither half-and-half nor light cream can be whipped.
