Plant cream is an imitation ofdairy cream made without dairy products, and thusvegan. It is typically produced by grinding plant material into a thick liquid to which gums are added to imitate theviscosity andmouthfeel of cream. Common varieties aresoy cream,coconut cream,[1][2][3] andcashew cream.[4] It is used as a dessert topping[4] and in many other dishes and beverages.
Some imitation cream contains a mixture of non-dairy and dairy ingredients. For instance,Cool Whip includes some milk;[5] Elmlea sells both fully plant-based[6] and mixed imitation creams.[7]
As of 1998, plant cream was similar in price todouble cream but more expensive thansingle cream.[4]
Whipped toppings are 'fat foams'; usually made frompartially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Upon whipping, some fat is released from thefat globules. This fat 'glues' a network of fat globules. Air is entrapped in this network thus creating the foam.[8] They differ fromwhipped cream dessert toppings due to containing very little to no dairy whatsoever.
A 1998 study comparing vegan cream with dairy cream found that calories and fat content were similar, but that the vegan cream was lower insaturated fat and higher inpolyunsaturated fat. The vegan cream contained lowvitamin A, novitamin D, and lowercalcium than dairy single cream.[4]
