Cream: Manufacture

Cream is the fluid milk product rich in fat obtained by physical separation of raw milk. Although cream is considered a typical oil-in-water emulsion, a simple process such as whipping can change this physical state into a fat-stabilized stiff foam. Whipping cream has a fat content of 30–40% and is processed without or with low-pressure homogenization, and it requires no complicated preparation, just careful handling before whipping. The demand for a prolonged shelf life has resulted in increased pasteurization temperatures and also in ultrahigh-temperature-(UHT-) heated, aseptically homogenized products with added stabilizers. The well-homogenized coffee cream with the lowest legally permitted fat content of 10 or 12% is preferably used as coffee whitener. It is largely produced for a shelf life of several months by flow sterilization in a UHT plant followed by aseptic filling in different packaging materials. A cream liqueur combines the flavor of an alcoholic drink with the texture of cream in a product expected to have a shelf life of several years at ambient temperature. Attaining an acceptable level of physical stability places high demands on emulsion stability, formulation, and processing. The manufacturing process of cultured creams with very different fat contents is largely equivalent to that of other fermented products. An exception is acidified sour cream, which is soured chemically.