The market · Dairy and eggs · Northern and Central Europe
Double cream
The richest pouring cream, around 48% fat.
rich · milky
What to do with it
Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleDouble cream would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoDouble cream would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaDouble cream would soften its edge
PunjabiButter chickenTandoori chicken simmered in a mild, silky sauce of tomato, butter and cream, scented with dried fenugreek.No one here has made it yet
PunjabiDal makhaniWhole black lentils and kidney beans, simmered for hours with butter, tomato and cream until thick and velvety.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniMohan maasMutton cooked slowly in milk and cream with cardamom and ground cashews — the mild, rich dish of Rajasthan's royal kitchens.No one here has made it yetBasqueGoxuaA dessert in a small glass: whipped cream, then sponge soaked in syrup, then custard, with the top burnt to caramel.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisQuenelles de brochetLight dumplings of pike and a flour-and-egg panade, poached and then baked until they puff, usually in a crayfish sauce Nantua.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisGratin dauphinoisThinly sliced potatoes baked slowly in milk and cream with garlic, until soft underneath and golden on top.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisTarte aux pralinesA pastry case filled with crushed pink sugared almonds melted into cream, which sets into a glossy, vivid pink filling.No one here has made it yetNormanSole normandeSole poached in wine or cider and fish stock, garnished with mussels, prawns and mushrooms, in a sauce of the reduced liquor with cream and egg yolks.No one here has made it yetNormanOmelette de la Mère PoulardEggs beaten long and hard, then cooked over a wood fire in a long-handled pan with plenty of butter, until tall and airy, like a soufflé.No one here has made it yetNormanMarmite dieppoiseChannel fish and shellfish — sole, scallops, mussels, prawns — cooked in a broth of leeks and white wine or cider, finished with cream.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKöttbullarSmall meatballs of beef and pork with onion and milk-soaked breadcrumbs, browned in butter and served with cream sauce, lingonberries and potatoes.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeBergensk fiskesuppeA pale, creamy fish soup of white fish and root vegetables, finished with a little vinegar and sugar, often with fish balls in it.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeLohikeittoA creamy Finnish soup of salmon, potatoes and leek in a light stock, with plenty of dill and whole allspice.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunPralinesFlat, fudgy discs of brown sugar, cream and butter set round pecans — soft, sugary and grainy at once.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Single
- About 18% fat — won't whip.
- Whipping
- About 36%.
- Double
- About 48% — the most butter per litre.
- Clotted
- About 55%, cooked slowly until it crusts.
If you can't find it
In the US and elsewhere, heavy cream or whipping cream.
- 1Heavy creamThe sameYou lose a little fat — double is around 48%, heavy around 36%. It whips and holds a sauce just fine.
Goes with
Cooked with, here
How much, here
What cooks here have learned
“Rested the cream overnight before churning”Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Supermarkets; unhomogenised from farm dairies, which churns more easily.
- Worth knowing
- For butter, let it sit near room temperature first — cold cream takes far longer to break.
Kitchens that keep it in
Lyon and its hinterland — the Rhône and Saône valleys, from Bresse to the DauphinéLyonnaisA city's cooking, rich and unfussy: pork and offal in the bouchons, cream and butter from Bresse, fish from the rivers, and the wines of the Beaujolais to wash it down.9 classicsNormandy — north-western France, along the Channel from the Seine to Mont-Saint-MichelNormanButter, cream, apples and the sea: orchards turned into cider and Calvados, pastures into Camembert and Livarot, and shellfish and sole from the Channel.9 classics
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