Animal cream, vegetable cream, don't be confused

Cream cakes have always been popular among the public, and they are also the most common food for birthdays. However, many cakes now have a special mark "made with animal cream". Why is it specially marked as "animal cream"?

The cream sold on the market today is mainly divided into two categories: animal cream and vegetable cream.

Animal cream, also called light cream or whipped cream, is separated from whole milk and has a natural rich milk aroma. During the separation process, the fat in the milk has different specific gravity, and the light fat globules will float to the top and become cream. The fat content in cream is only 20%-30% of that in whole milk, and its nutritional value is between whole milk and butter, so it is more expensive.

Vegetable cream is also called artificial cream, margarine, and non-dairy cream, and is often used as a substitute for whipped cream. Vegetable cream is mostly made by hydrogenating vegetable oil and adding artificial flavors, preservatives, pigments and other additives. If you look carefully at the ingredient label of vegetable cream, you will find that it does not contain any milk fat and cholesterol, but it does contain trans fatty acids. Therefore, excessive intake will lead to increased cholesterol in the human body and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In terms of usage, animal cream is used in larger quantities based on the whipping rate. The whipping rate refers to the volume expansion rate of the cream after high-speed stirring. The whipping of cream is done by filling it with a large amount of air, which makes the cream expand and become solid. The whipping rate of animal cream is very low, and it will only expand to 1:2 at most, and generally only 1:1.5. However, vegetable cream has an expansion rate of 1:3. If the whipping temperature is appropriate, it can even reach an expansion rate of 1:4 or above, which greatly saves raw materials.

Compared with vegetable cream, animal cream contains more water and less fat, and is easy to melt. It is not easy to maintain the shape after making decorated cakes. If it is stored at room temperature for a long time, it will become soft and deformed, and needs to be refrigerated between 0℃ and 5℃. Vegetable cream does not contain milk fat, has a higher melting point than animal cream, and is more stable, so it can be made into various styles, and even various three-dimensional shapes, and can be kept at room temperature for one hour without melting. To distinguish these two types of cream, the most intuitive way is to judge by rubbing with your hands: apply animal cream and vegetable cream to the palm of your hand respectively, and rub them. The animal cream will quickly disappear in the palm of your hand, and only a small amount of fat will remain in the palm of your hand, like applying hand cream; while vegetable cream will still be in the palm of your hand after rubbing for a long time, and as the rubbing time increases, the vegetable cream will even take shape in the palm of your hand.

When animal cream is used in cakes, the color is naturally milky white with a slight yellow tint. In terms of aroma, the higher the grade of the animal cream, the richer the fat content and the stronger the milk flavor. Vegetable cream is artificially synthesized, so its color is mostly bright white, which is whiter than animal cream. Vegetable cream is an artificial synthetic flavor formulated according to the public's taste and smells more "fragrant".

Of course, whether it is artificial vegetable cream or natural animal cream, the fat content is relatively high. It is recommended to consume it in moderation, 2-3 times a week, about 30 grams at a time.