Cream

[Aliantha]

This is one of the quotes from the bottom of the page:

Cream used to come in pitchers. These days it comes in little plastic trapezoids. If you get any of it into your coffee instead of onto your shirt, what it tastes like is water, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, sodium caseinate, sugar, di-potassium phosphate, propylene glycol monostearate, polysorbate 60, stearolyle-lactilate, salt, artificial flavor and color. That's what it tastes like because that's what it is. The advantage over cream is that it costs less and doesn't spoil as fast. Note that this is an advantage to the coffee shop, not to the coffee drinker. A further advantage is that waitresses, whose lives used to be boring, are now steadily amused as one customer after another squirts himself in the chest and utters hilarious and innovative oaths.
--Charles Kuralt, _Dateline America_

What I've often wondered (after watching lots of american tv) is when someone asks if you want cream and sugar in your coffee, do they actually mean milk, or do they really mean cream, in which case, isn't it normally real cream rather than that stuff that comes out of cans?

[lumberjim]

cream = half & half

[Aliantha]

half milk and half cream? real cream?

[lumberjim]

A mixture of half milk and half cream. It has 10-12% milkfat and cannot be whipped.
plural: half-and-half Ingredient
Season: available year-round
Substitutions: Equal parts milk and cream
1 cup half and half = 1 cup less 2 tablespoons milk plus 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

[Aliantha]

that's what we'd call full cream milk over here. But if we were asking for it at a cafe, we'd just say milk. If you wanted low fat milk, you'd ask for a 'skinny chino' for example or a 'skinny latte'. Meaning a coffee made with low fat milk or trim/skim.

[xoxoxoBruce]

C'mon, your whole milk has 10-12% butterfat?

[classicman]

Nonfat milk, 1% milk, 2% milk ... half & half, cream. Personally I prefer 1/2 &1/2 - after my cholesterol scare its the only fat laden thing I still consume.

[monster]

It ain't regular milk.

half and half is a disgusting American-only gloopy white conconction. You're safer going for black in a coffee bar here, although you have to call it African American.

[Aliantha]

I don't know Bruce. I'm just trying to understand the comparison. Maybe there is more fat in the stuff you lot serve in your coffee.

My point is when someone says they want milk in their coffee, they'll get full cream not light milk unless they ask for it specifically. If the fat content is higher in what you refer to as 'cream' for your coffee, then it doesn't really matter does it? Who really gives a fuck if I'm wrong anyway? You're all so intent on setting out to prove it around here. I sometimes wonder why I bother posting at all.

Anyway, I imagine whole milk is the same or similar across the world, so I guess it could be googled if you care enough to find out.

[monster]

If you ask for milk in your coffee here, you might as well proclaim your atheismand homosexuality at the same time. Milk is for kids and cereal.

[DucksNuts]

Half n Half is Reduced Fat Cream over here, Ali.

[Aliantha]

thanks ducks.

[Aliantha]

Actually, that makes sense. I bought low fat cream once, and tried to whip it with no success. Now I know why.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

I don't know Bruce. I'm just trying to understand the comparison. Maybe there is more fat in the stuff you lot serve in your coffee.

My point is when someone says they want milk in their coffee, they'll get full cream not light milk unless they ask for it specifically. If the fat content is higher in what you refer to as 'cream' for your coffee, then it doesn't really matter does it? Who really gives a fuck if I'm wrong anyway? You're all so intent on setting out to prove it around here. I sometimes wonder why I bother posting at all.

holy fucking touchy mcoversensitive. you totally started it by contradicting what i put up in answer to your question about america......which apparently was just asked to give you the opportunity to talk about yourself as usual... full cream milk is 4-5 %. whole milk. there's 2% , 1% and nonfat also.

if anyone has been shitty lately, it's fucking YOU. i wonder why you bother to post sometime my damn self.

[Aliantha]

No, I asked a question and then attempted to discuss it in order to understand. I'm not an expert on milk or dairy products so how would I know?

I gave information so that people could understand the perspective I was speaking from

You can ask your cronies and yourself why I've been short with you lately. I"m sure you'll come up with some warped idea about me hating america and everything in it, but as per usual, you'd be wrong. You've got no fucking idea mr mcfuckingnoidea.