Can You Drink Heavy Cream? Heavy cream is thick, rich, and flavorful. It’s often used to fill pastries and baked goods or to decorate cakes. It can also be used to make soups and sauces. But can you drink it?
Some people swear by using heavy cream in their coffee instead of half-and-half, but others are concerned that drinking it can cause weight gain. Of course, heavy cream isn’t meant for drinking, and it’s high in calories. But it is delicious.
If you are curious whether you can drink heavy cream, let’s end the debate once and for all. Finally, you’ll either know enough to avoid heavy cream or continue to enjoy it.
Can You Drink Heavy Cream?
You can drink heavy cream but should do so in small amounts as it’s high in fat content and calories. Heavy cream can be added to coffee or drunk by the cup if you’re underweight. Heavy cream is rich in vitamins and minerals and good for your health- just not for your waistline.
What Is Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream is the layer of fat that accumulates on top of milk that hasn’t been homogenized yet. Once the milk has been homogenized, it will turn into droplets and become the regular milk that you use every day. Heavy cream consists of between 36 to 40 percent milk fat, with the rest being milk.
Heavy cream is basically the same as heavy whipping cream, except that whipping cream deflates quicker. They can both be used as whipped toppings, though. Heavy cream is still pasteurized to remove harmful bacteria that can make you feel ill.
What Is Heavy Cream Used For?
Heavy cream is often frozen and used as icing on cakes, but it’s also used to top ice cream sundaes and banana splits. It can be used as a filling for pastries, donuts, and other baked goods.
Thanks to the high-fat content, it can also be used to make soups and sauces and make mashed potatoes thicker and richer. You can use heavy cream to make scrambled eggs or create your own batch of homemade ice cream or ricotta cheese.
Heavy cream is a topping for almost everything, including fresh berries, oatmeal, and coffee. Some people have begun experimenting with heavy cream instead of half-and-half in their coffee and hot cocoa.
How Can You Drink Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream is usually only drunk when added to another beverage, such as coffee or cocoa. But technically, you can pour heavy cream into a cup and drink it straight up. However, this will cause you to pack on pounds if you do it regularly.
If you’re underweight, it’s not a bad idea to drink a cup of heavy cream daily to help you gain weight. But like all high-fat foods, heavy cream can raise your cholesterol if consumed regularly on a long-term basis.
What Are The Alternatives to Heavy Cream?
Most people either drink black coffee or use half-and-half instead of heavy cream. Of course, you can always just add regular milk to your hot beverages or use powdered creamer. These alternatives won’t be as rich, but they would be lower in fat.
When cooking, you can use a combination of milk and butter instead of heavy cream. Your recipe will still turn out well, but the results won’t be exactly the same as if you had used heavy cream.
For dessert toppings, you can use full-fat Greek yogurt as a sweet and flavorful alternative to heavy cream. If you’re a vegan, you can use full-fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
What Are The Health Benefits of Drinking Heavy Cream?
Although heavy cream is high in fat and can raise your cholesterol, it’s actually very good for you. Every person needs fat-soluble vitamins in their diets, including vitamins A and D.
These essential vitamins are present in regular milk and many other foods. However, your body best absorbs fat-soluble vitamins when they are consumed with fats.
Occasionally, drinking heavy cream or at least using it in cooking or as a dessert topping or coffee creamer is actually very nutritious. As long as you use heavy cream in moderation, you’ll reap the health benefits without the negative effects.
Frequently Asked Questions to Can You Drink Heavy Cream?
What Are the Benefits of Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream is a full-fat dairy product that is rich in fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A and D. These important vitamins are best absorbed in the body when they are consumed with higher-fat foods, which is why heavy cream is good for your health in small amounts.
Is Heavy Cream Healthy?
Although there are health benefits to drinking heavy cream, you should do so in moderation as heavy cream is high in saturated fats, which can raise your cholesterol and cause weight gain.
What Can I Use Instead of Heavy Cream?
If a recipe calls for heavy cream, and you don’t have it on hand, you can use milk and butter instead to achieve similar results. Just combine three-quarters of a cup of milk with a quarter cup of melted butter in place of each cup of heavy cream. But you certainly wouldn’t want to drink milk and butter!
Conclusion to Can You Drink Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream is actually rich in important vitamins and good for your health, so if you want to use it to top off your coffee or occasionally even drink it by the cup, you can definitely do so- as long as you do it in moderation.
Alternatively, you can always just stick to half-and-half for the richness of cream without as many calories. Or you can opt for low-fat or skim milk, which is recommended by most health officials, even though those options don’t contain as many fat-soluble vitamins as your body needs.
Since the heavy cream is also high in saturated fat, if you regularly drink it you run the risk of developing high cholesterol or becoming obese. So, go ahead and enjoy your heavy cream. Just don’t overdo it.