# Half-&-Half vs Light Cream. What's the diff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372 "2003-10-08T22:45:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/1 "2003-10-08T22:45:41Z")
Last time I visited the dairy section of my supermarket the half-&-half was gone and “light cream” was in its place. Is it the same stuff but in a different carton? ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/2 "2003-10-09T00:07:56Z")
I’d take a close look at the ingredients. Half & half is usually a mixture of milk and cream and that’s it. Many modern “cream” dairy products make up for a lack of butterfat by adulterating the liquid with mono and diglycerides. I’d wager a pretty penny your “light cream” is laced with some sort of other crap, at least with carrageenan to assist whipping and improve mouth feel. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/3 "2003-10-09T00:39:13Z")
Sorry, **Zenster** , but these are in fact formal terms defined in federal code. CFR 21 part 131, to be exact. Light cream (also known as coffee cream or table cream) must contain at least 18% but less than 30% milkfat. It is the lightest true cream. Half-and-half is lighter than any of the true creams, containing at least 10.5% but less than 18% milkfat. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/4 "2003-10-09T01:31:56Z")
Mebbe so, **Exapno** , but I’ll still wager that this “light” cream being spoken of is loaded with all the crap mentioned above. When I buy cream it has one, and only one ingredient; Cream. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/5 "2003-10-09T02:39:15Z")
I remember real cream, back when I lived in upstate New York. In Indiana, they load it all down with diglycerides, titanium salts, magnesium salts, etc. The half and half, on the other hand, is cream and milk, nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/6 "2003-10-09T02:45:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\*Sorry, **Zenster** , but these are in fact formal terms defined in federal code. CFR 21 part 131, to be exact. > > Light cream (also known as coffee cream or table cream) must contain at least 18% but less than 30% milkfat. It is the lightest true cream. > > Half-and-half is lighter than any of the true creams, containing at least 10.5% but less than 18% milkfat. \*\* Light cream is a misnomer, the more fat, the lighter it is. Why do you think it rises to the top of fresh milk? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/7 "2003-10-09T05:28:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*I remember real cream, back when I lived in upstate New York. In Indiana, they load it all down with diglycerides, titanium salts, magnesium salts, etc. The half and half, on the other hand, is _cream_ and milk, nothing else. \*\* I guess don’t understand the difference between cream, lite cream and heavy cream. Heavy cream is what you can make butter out of right? I tried that once in my coffee and it was pretty bad. It floated and quite frankly looked like I put butter in my coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/8 "2003-10-09T05:40:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CBEscapee \* > \*\*Light cream is a misnomer, the more fat, the lighter it is. Why do you think it rises to the top of fresh milk? \*\* No. Despite what you say, light cream has LESS fat than heavy cream. Read [this](http://www.webtender.com/db/ingred/155) before shooting off your mouth further. In case you don’t feel like it: > [@](#): > > **Light cream** , also called coffee or table cream, can contain anywhere from 18 to 30 percent fat, but commonly contains 20 percent. It can not be whipped. > > **Whipping cream** contains 30 to 36 percent milk fat and sometimes stabilizers and emulsifiers. Whipping cream will double in volume when whipped. > > **Heavy cream** , also called heavy whipping cream, is whipping cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent. It’s usually only available in specialty or gourmet markets. > > **Half-and-half** is a mixture of equal parts milk and cream, and is 10 to 12 percent milk fat, and can not be whipped. ---
**Author:** ![croakdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@croakdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/croakdale)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/9 "2003-10-09T12:27:40Z")
Why don’t you read the post before shooting your mouth off? CBEscapee is pointing out that cream is less dense than milk. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/10 "2003-10-09T13:25:49Z")
QED, Cream that has more fat weighs less than cream that has less fat. Is that clear? Unless you can prove that wrong I suggest you apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/11 "2003-10-09T13:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CBEscapee \* > \*\*QED, Cream that has more fat weighs less than cream that has less fat. Is that clear? Unless you can prove that wrong I suggest you apologize. \*\* I do apologize for the snarkiness. It was late at night. Nevertheless, your post: > [@](#): > > Light cream is a misnomer, the more fat, the lighter it is. Why do you think it rises to the top of fresh milk? seemed to suggest that the term "light’ was meant to indicate weight, when it isn’t. For the same reason “light” salad dressing isn’t necessarily less heavy than regular dressing. See what I’m getting at? ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/12 "2003-10-09T14:26:15Z")
Zenster, where are you buying this weirdo “cream”? Maybe you’re thinking of non-dairy creamer? Because I buy light cream and heavy cream all the time and it’s just cream in there. I almost always use only heavy cream in coffee. It works out just fine. Markxxx, it could have been that the heavy cream you used was bad and thus curdled when it hit the hot coffee. Also, because of the high fat content, sometimes a phenomena occurs even with fresh non-spoiled cream that upon pouring it into very hot coffee, it breaks up into little droplets. It’s some kind of reaction the fat has to the heat - it’s not that the cream is bad. If you stir the coffee, it all mixes together, as opposed to when the cream is truly bad and stirring leaves the curdled bits in curdled bits. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/13 "2003-10-09T16:02:34Z")
Nothing like posting the correct answer and then having to suffer through the peanut gallery jumping in to obfuscate. 😃 OK, gang, here’s the educational portion of the program. In the U.S. there is no product you can legally buy that is just marked “cream.” Dairy subfractions are legally defined by amount of milkfat, in a hierarchy starting at the top with Heavy Cream (36%+), and then moving down through Light Whipping Cream (30-36%), and Light Cream (18-30%). Cream itself is defined as containing “not less than 18 percent milkfat.” Half-and-half (10.5-18%) is not itself cream, but a “mixture of milk and cream.” Amazingly, in English words have more than one meaning. In this case light has a formal definition of containing less milkfat. If you want to define light any other way in relation to cream, start your own government. All creams (as well as half-and-half) are, except for percentage of milkfat, further defined identically. > [@](#): > > (a)…It is pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized, and may be homogenized. > > (b) _Optional ingredients_. The following safe and suitable ingredients may be used: > (1) Stabilizers > (2) Emulsifiers > (3) Nutritive sweeteners > (4) Characterizing flavoring ingredients (with or without coloring) as follows: > (i) Fruit and fruit juice (including concentrated fruit and fruit juice). > (ii) Natural and artificial food flavorings. Ergo, that carrageenan “crap” is perfectly legal and acceptable in any type of cream and also in half-and-half. I doubt that you will see it used very often, but it can be there. Buffalo Bob is coming back on set and we return to the entertainment. Be prepared to be distracted by all the bright lights. **Q.E.D.** , when you’re right, you’re right. Snark it up, bro. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-half-vs-light-cream-whats-the-diff/206372/14 "2003-10-09T16:59:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by missbunny \* > Zenster, where are you buying this weirdo “cream”? Maybe you’re thinking of non-dairy creamer? Because I buy light cream and heavy cream all the time and it’s just cream in there … **A**. I don’t buy “weirdo” (adulterated) cream. I never buy anything except heavy (i.e., pure) cream. **B**. You may wish to check the labels on other cream products. I was referring to the “ultra-pasteurized” or “Bavarian” style whipping creams (at Safeway). They are usually loaded with all sorts of other crap. In fact, Safeway does not even sell pure heavy cream (in my area). **Exapno** , in my area unadulterated cream is not available in many of the markets. Zanotto’s and Foodmaxx are some of the only purveyors. While legally permissible, carageenan and diglycerides et al nonetheless remain crap in my book. If the cow didn’t make it, I don’t want it.