Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8471
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      There's something messed up about the product label in the link you provided. It says 'serving size 1 cup 240 ml' and says there are 16 servings per container. I really doubt that there are 16 CUPS in the package, that'd be a gallon container! Does the nutrition label on the package you bought say the same thing?

      I can't compute the percentage of butterfat from the nutrition label because mL is a volume measurement, not a weight measurement, but if it is 5 grams of fat per tablespoon, the roundoff error (5 grams means somewhere between 4.50 and 5.49 grams per tablespoon) is so large that the calculation would probably be meaningless anyway. (That's one of the reasons I truly hate the mandated 'nutrition information' labels!)

      If it says it is whipping cream, it has to be at least 30% butterfat to whip, so it's probably in the 35-39% range. I also found a contact page for Land O'Lakes, I'll let everyone know if I get a response to my inquiry. (In the interests of full disclosure I identified myself as a food blogger and mentioned that I intended to publish their response.)

      Here's what another writer came up with: butterfat content of cream I doubt it is exactly 42% butterfat as computed on that site, but that's within the roundoff error range.

      in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8465
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Butterfat is the fat in the milk, so the nutrition label should have that information.

        However, I generally won't buy a brand of cream if the carton doesn't explicitly list the buttefat content without having to search for it. That's just bad marketing on the part of the dairy.

        in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8453
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          I've only had it on scones and similar products, it's so expensive we don't buy it often.

          My wife's scones recipe is sweeter than most, almost like a shortbread, except that it rises a lot. (Sorry, I can't post the recipe, she got it from a caterer years ago on the condition that she not give it to anyone else.)

          in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8447
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            I wonder if what you saw was Devonshire clotted cream?

            in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8441
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              The Wikipedia article on whipped cream says it takes 35% butterfat for cream to be whippable, but Harold McGee says 30%. The higher the butterfat content, the easier it will whip. Heavy cream is one of those things where I read the label carefully in the store, not all brands have the same butterfat content.

              Having the cream and utensils very cold helps, some sources suggest putting the mixing bowl in the freezer for a half hour.

              McGee also notes that 'natural' cream, that which rises to the top of whole milk, is only about 20% butterfat, the invention of centrifugal separators made it much easier for dairies to produce heavy cream.

              in reply to: Quiche/Pizza cross #8438
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                I often use a layer of chopped spinach and ricotta cheese in a stuffed pizza or a lasagna. I haven't made either one in a while, though, mostly because either recipe makes a LOT of high-carb food.

                in reply to: Half and Half, Whipping Cream, and Heavy Whipping Cream #8437
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  Most stores in the USA seem to carry 3 types of cream these days:

                  Half and Half - usually 12-18% butterfat.

                  Table Cream - Can range from 20-30% butterfat. I've got a lot of candy recipes that call for 22% cream.

                  Heavy Cream - Generally 30% or more butterfat, around here it's usually 38%

                  As I recall, it takes about 30% butterfat in order to make whipped cream, so table cream generally won't whip into whipped cream. (McGee confirms the 30% figure.)

                  Corrected: According to McGee it takes about 25% butterfat in order for it to be stable, ie, adding cream to a hot sauce or soup without it curdling, so most brands of half and half are likely to break if used in a sauce.

                  In England you can sometimes buy double cream, which is somewhere around 55-60% butterfat. I've never seen it in the USA, not even through restaurant suppliers.

                  When I was growing up, our milk wasn't always homogenized, so occasionally there'd be a layer of cream at the top. That was pretty rich cream.

                  In most parts of the country, you can't buy raw milk in stores, though I've been told that in Nebraska if you go straight to the farm they can sell it to you, though the two dairy farms I've asked about it won't do it. I can get raw goats milk from a local goat farmer/cheesemaker that way, but have never done it.

                  in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8420
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    Yeah, we're in leftover mode for a day or two here, as well, though there aren't as many leftovers as there sometimes are after my son has been to visit.

                    in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8419
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      I usually make the honey wheat bread with coarsely ground whole wheat flour and I often add 1/4 cup of cracked wheat. I generally don't soak either, though I've done it a few times. I find soaking whole grains in milk doesn't work as well as soaking them in water, I probably don't let it soak long enough because the milk goes funky.

                      If you use the 7 grain mix, I'd suggest using half water and half milk and soaking the grain in the water overnight.

                      in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8415
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        Buttermilk has a lot of milk solids to it, so it takes more buttermilk than it would water to hydrate the flour.

                        in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8406
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          We're having cheese souffle for supper tonight to go with the Pao de Queijo I made. I may make some kind of marinara sauce, that'd go well with both of those.

                          Followup: A simple marinara (tomato sauce, oregano, basil, thyme and 4 cheese blend) went very well with both dishes.

                          in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8405
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Today I made donut muffins/holes and a batch of Pao de Queijo (gluten-free Brazilian Cheese Rolls)

                            The donut muffins/holes are mostly road food for my son and his family, they leave for home Saturday morning.

                            in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8402
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              For lunch today I made pizza bread using half of the hoagie buns I baked yesterday.

                              For supper we made the third sous vide protein, tri-tip, sliced thin and served au jus, like a French dip, on the hoagie rolls I baked yesterday. We cooked the meat to 142 degrees, that's in the 'medium' range and it was light pink, which was exactly where I wanted it.

                              in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of July 30, 2017? #8401
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                I made chocolate souffle today, using a Mary Berry recipe. It isn't a screamingly CHOCOLATE dessert, next time I think I'd also make some kind of sauce, like an Anglaise sauce.

                                in reply to: Judith Jones #8400
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  Book editors are seldom heroes, but Judith Jones deserves that accolade. Julia Child was one of several cookbook authors she 'discovered', and she also was the one who told Doubleday that they just HAD to publish "The Diary of Anne Frank".

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