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 product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

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

viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the int ...

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 ...

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

cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...

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 includes some milk; Elmlea sells both fully plant-based and mixed imitation creams."Elmlea Double"

/ref> As of 1998, plant cream was similar in price to

double 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 ...

but more expensive than single cream.

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 and higher in polyunsaturated fat. The vegan cream contained low

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably ...

, no

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of Lipophilicity, fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group ar ...

, and lower

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the 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 ...

than dairy single cream.

References

{{Plant milk Animal product analogs

Nutrition

See also

References