Plant cream is an imitation of dairy cream made without dairy products, and thus

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. It is typically produced by grinding plant material into a thick liquid to which gums are added to imitate the

viscosity Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent drag (physics), resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for e ...

and

mouthfeel Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel i ...

of cream. Common varieties are soy cream, coconut cream, and

cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

cream. It is used as a dessert topping and in many other dishes and beverages. Some imitation cream contains a mixture of non-dairy and dairy ingredients. For instance,

Cool Whip Cool Whip is an American brand of whipped topping manufactured by Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ingredient that does not require physical whipping ...

includes some milk; Elmlea sells both fully plant-based and mixed imitation creams. As of 1998, plant cream was similar in price to double cream but more expensive than single cream. Whipped toppings are 'fat foams'; usually made from

partially hydrogenated vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, o ...

. Upon whipping, some fat is released from the fat globules. This fat 'glues' a network of fat globules. Air is entrapped in this network thus creating the foam. They differ from

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

dessert toppings due to containing very little to no dairy whatsoever.

Nutrition

A 1998 study comparing vegan cream with dairy cream found that calories and fat content were similar, but that the vegan cream was lower in

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds between the carbon atoms. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone, and fatty acids that each cont ...

and higher in polyunsaturated fat. The vegan cream contained low

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...

, no

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of structurally related, fat-soluble compounds responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most important compo ...

, and lower

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

than dairy single cream.

References

{{Plant milk Animal product analogs

Nutrition

See also

References