The Many Wonderful & Delicious Uses For Cream

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Do you ever pick something up while you’re out buying groceries and then find yourself staring at it a few days later, wondering what you’re going to do with it? Me too.

One food this typically happens with is cream. I used to buy cream on a whim while at Whole Foods – from a company that sells its cream in cool little glass jars. And I love glass storage jars, so – yeah, I came home with cream a lot.

Nowadays, I get it weekly as part of my herd share. We pick up a gallon of fresh milk from the farm, then we skim the cream off the top. This leaves us with about a pint of fresh cream each week.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Thankfully, there are so many yummy possibilities when it comes to cream, whether you want to enjoy it as is or turn it into something brand new.

Plain

I love a splash of fresh cream in my coffee. Add a little raw honey and cinnamon and you get a delicious drink that you can enjoy hot or iced.

Another popular use for cream in our house is in oats. My husband loves peaches and cream oatmeal (or pretty much any other fruit and cream) and it’s an especially great breakfast option in the summer when there are so many fresh fruits available.

Just make your oats (we like soaked steel cut oats) as usual, sweeten as desired, add a splash of cream to each bowl, then top with diced fresh fruit.

Butter

To say that I love butter would be an understatement. It’s one of the top priorities on my grocery list and there’s nothing quite like fresh, homemade butter. Thankfully, butter is super simple to make, especially if you have a good stand mixer, food processor, or blender (like a Vitamix).

It’s also a fun way to involve kids in your DIY projects and show them how food is made. In fact, all of the following ideas are great to do with kids.

Whipped Cream

The one thing I like more than cream in my coffee is fresh whipped cream. Ok, I like most things better when there’s whipped cream on top.

I love this method for making whipped cream because it only takes five minutes and calls for just two ingredients (though if you felt inclined to add a teaspoon of homemade vanilla, I think you’d be quite pleased).

Alfredo Sauce

I’ve been using this recipe for alfredo sauce for almost a decade now because it’s simple and delicious. You can use it as a sauce over pasta, with meat, as a pizza sauce or as a delicious dip. Here’s what you need:

  • 1 pint cream
  • ½ cup butter, cut into smaller cubes for fast melting
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Warm a sauce pan on medium heat and add the butter and garlic. Let the butter melt, then let the garlic simmer for a minute or two after it’s all melted. Add the cream and let it warm through for a couple of minutes.

Slowly shake in the parmesan, stirring with a whisk after each addition to melt the cheese. After all the cheese has been added and melted, turn heat to low and let the sauce simmer and thicken for about ten minutes, stirring regularly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ice Cream

If you have an ice cream maker, you’re sure to find lots of tasty recipes in the owner’s manual, calling for a mixture of cream, milk and a few other ingredients. You can also search the web for some great ice cream recipes.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, but have a Vitamix, you can make ice cream in it pretty easily. Here’s a good strawberry ice cream recipe to try out in your blender.

Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is very simple and only requires milk, a starter and optional sweetener and/or vanilla. While my yogurt recipe calls for milk, I replace two cups of milk with two cups of cream if I have some for a creamier end-product.

Cultured Sour Cream

Looking for an easy fermentation project? Try making your own cultured sour cream. Sour cream is delicious on all sorts of foods and cultured sour cream gives the added benefit of beneficial bacteria for your gut.

Cream Cheese

I’m the first to admit that I’m quite intimidated by cheese making. However, this homemade cream cheese recipe makes me feel like it’s something I can do pretty easily. It just requires that I make some half and half (which is simply equal parts cream and milk), buy a starter and figure out what I did with my cheesecloth.

What are your favorite uses for cream?

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photo credit to seelensturm

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About Nina Nelson

Nina is a writer, student midwife, and mama of four. She blogs regularly at Shalom Mama and loves helping others create wellness through simple living. Check out her website for more simple wellness tips.

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Comments

  1. Avatar photoLuAnn Braley says

    We moved to a farm this summer and although not much is happening this year, we have plans for next that include some animals, so having this resource is great! Thanks so much! O)

  2. Avatar photoAudrey says

    I totally just learned (realized) from this post that there is such a thing as a herd share. Wow. Searching for one near me, now!