Cream
Also called heavy cream, double cream, whipping cream, crème fraîche (cultured)
Heavy cream (at least 36% milkfat in the US) or lighter whipping cream, lightly whipped to pour, floated on an Irish Coffee or shaken into a Brandy Alexander or a Ramos Gin Fizz. Dairy is an allergen, it is perishable, and cold, fresh cream whips and floats where old cream will not.
- sweet milk
- butterfat richness
- vanilla
- clean dairy
- silky texture
Origin
The US standard of identity sets heavy cream at not less than 36% milkfat, pasteurized or ultra pasteurized, with optional emulsifiers, stabilizers and sweeteners; whipping cream sits a few points lower. Cream drinks run from colonial milk punches and the Victorian flip to the Brandy Alexander, the Grasshopper and the Irish Coffee, where cream is whipped only until it thickens enough to float on the spoon.
Production and safety
Dairy allergen. Keep cream at or below 40 F (4 C), use by the date on the carton and within 3 days of opening; discard anything sour, lumpy or left out more than 2 hours. Whip cream cold, just until it thickens and ribbons, for a pourable float. For an Irish Coffee pour it over the back of a spoon. Dairy free alternatives: oat cream or coconut cream, noting coconut on the menu.
Allergens: Dairy
Common uses
- irish-coffee (lightly whipped float)
- Brandy Alexander
- Ramos Gin Fizz
- Grasshopper
- White Russian
Pours that use it
Sources
- 21 CFR 131.150 Heavy cream, Cornell Legal Information Institute · primary source, retrieved 2026-10-11