# Is it true that "half and half" has less fat than whole milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098 "2003-08-09T22:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/1 "2003-08-09T22:59:40Z")
am I reading these right? [http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01049fats.html](http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01049fats.html) [http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01090fats.html](http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01090fats.html) “half and half” coffee creamer has less fat than whole milk? isn’t half of it whole milk and the other half cream? if not what makes up the “halves”? doesn’t cream have more fat than whole milk? has the world gone mad? ---
**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:** [August 9, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/2 "2003-08-09T23:25:03Z")
Well, those links don’t say how large the serving portion is. I assume they are not equal, since half & half is a mixture of half whole milk and half light cream and has a per weight milkfat content of between 10.5% and 18%, while whole milk is between 3.25% and ~5% milkfat by weight. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/3 "2003-08-10T01:03:54Z")
The [USDA Database](http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/list_nut.pl) shows the following (search results did not give valid links to post, unfortunately). It’s a great link to have since it will show you a detailed nutritional breakdown of just about anything you might be interested in by portion size of your choice. Anyway, here’s what it says: For Half and Half, 100 grams has 11.50 grams of fat. For whole milk, 100 grams has 3.25 grams of fat (sometimes more depending on the milkfat of the milk as Q.E.D said). ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/4 "2003-08-10T01:52:05Z")
Read the links carefully, everyone. Trying to compare DRY whole milk to half-and-half is a little tricky. If you go to the “General” section of those pages, you will find that half-and-half gets 78% of its calories from fat, whereas DRY whole milk, gets 40% of its calories from fat. Because of its water content, however, the half-and-half contains less fat on an absolute basis than the DRY whole milk. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/5 "2003-08-10T01:54:40Z")
Here, BTW, is a link, from the same site, for regular whole milk. [http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01077fats.html](http://www.gastronomique.org/nutrition/food/01077fats.html) ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/6 "2003-08-10T03:41:27Z")
Corrected link to the [USDA Nutrition Database](http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl). ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/7 "2003-08-10T14:10:59Z")
thanks everyone… but what then is “dry” whole milk? also, I realize there’s serving size issues, I’m specifically looking for comparative purpose for use in coffee. Nametag’s great link lists .5 fl. oz. or 15 grams as a serving size half and half container. Unfortunately, there is no direct comparison for wole milk. Using the 1 cup measurement for both results in 128 grams of dry whole milk, and 242 grams of half and half. This means that milk is denser than half and half? and am I reading this correct to say that there are 17.322 grams of total saturated fatty acids in 242 grams of half and half. and there are 21.43 grams of total fatty acids in 128 grams of dry whole milk? meaning that on a per volume basis there is more fat in whole milk? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/8 "2003-08-10T14:15:13Z")
> [@](#): > > 'but what then is “dry” whole milk? Powdered milk. ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/9 "2003-08-10T14:25:44Z")
oh, and I meant porcupine’s link, sorry. why would they give that? powdered milk? is it just me or are these comparisons more difficult than they need to be? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/10 "2003-08-10T14:34:17Z")
hit submit by accident- Powdered milk- it is mixed with water to make a liquid. Since you’re looking to compare the two for use in coffee, you are probably not going to use the same serving size of dry whole milk as you would of fluid whole milk or cream. You will either mix the dry milk with water (in which case 15 grams of the mixture will have less fat than 15 grams of the powder) or you will use the powder directly ( in which case the serving size of the dry milk wil likely be smaller than that of half and half. ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/11 "2003-08-10T16:00:53Z")
aaaahh! I.C. thank you doreen. so I think I can say with fair confidence that a cup of coffee with half and half added has more fat than a cup of coffee with with equal amounts coffee and milk. no? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-half-and-half-has-less-fat-than-whole-milk/194098/12 "2003-08-10T16:40:56Z")
A cup of coffee with 15 grams of half and half added will have more fat than one with 15 grams of fluid milk and also more fat than one with the amount of dry milk needed to make 15 grams of fluid milk As for why your original link listed powdered milk- the dry powder itself is used as an ingredient sometimes. That page listed over thirty types of milk. You just picked one that isn’t easily compared to half and half. **nametag** provided the link for fluid whole milk- which is what dry whole milk becomes when mixed with the proper amount of water