Cream is the
colour
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
of the
cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
produced by
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
grazing on natural
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing.
Types of pasture
Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...
with plants rich in
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
carotenoid
Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
pigments, some of which are incorporated into the fresh milk (specifically, the butterfat). This gives a yellow tone to otherwise-
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
milk at higher fat concentrations. Cream is the
pastel
A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
colour of yellow, much as
pink
Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
is to
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
. By mixing yellow and white, cream can be produced.

The first recorded use of ''cream'' as a colour name in
English was in 1590.
In nature
Birds
* The
cream-coloured courser
* The
cream-coloured woodpecker
Mammals
* The
cream-coloured giant squirrel
In human culture
Art
* Cream is used as a
skin tone in some forms of art, mostly
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
. It is also used to describe the general skin tone of East and South East Asia.
Clothing
* Men's white tuxedo jackets are usually a shade of cream or ivory to better stand out against the white dress shirt.
Interior design
* The colour cream is widely used as one of the
off-white
Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme.
In color theory, a ''shade'' is a pure color mi ...
colours in
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
.
Sports
* The
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
Hoosiers' official colours are cream and
crimson
Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple.
It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...
.
* The
University of Nebraska
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
Cornhuskers' official colours are
scarlet and cream.
*The
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands illegally in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbyi ...
' official colours are crimson and cream.
*
Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
's original colours are cream and blue, before switching to yellow and blue.
*
Universitario de Deportes
Club Universitario de Deportes is a Peruvian sports club based in Lima, which has Association football, soccer as its main activity. It also has women's football, volleyball and basketball sections. The football team, popularly known as Universi ...
' official colours are cream and burgundy.
*
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista () is a Brazilian professional sports club based in São Paulo, in the district of Tatuapé. Although it competes in multiple sports modalities, it is best known for its professional men's Association football, f ...
's first uniform featured cream shirts before switching definitively to white shirts (due to a washing up error), which were kept since then.
See also
*
List of colours
These are the lists of colors;
* List of colors: A–F
* List of colors: G–M
* List of colors: N–Z
* List of colors (alphabetical)
* List of colors by shade
* List of color palettes
* List of Crayola crayon colors
* List of RAL colours
* Lis ...
*
Tints and shades
In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. A tone is produced either by mixing a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading. M ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cream (Colour)
Shades of white
Shades of yellow
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