Alternatives to Cream

Cream is full of calories (per 100ml: Fresh Double Cream 449kcal; Fresh Whipping Cream 373kcal; Canned Sterilised Cream 239kcal). What alternatives could you use which would still taste good, but not throw your daily calorie quota out of the window?

Table 1: Low Cream Alternatives Compared
Product	Crème Fraiche, Healthy Eating, Half Fat, Tesco*	Crème Fraiche, Be Good to Yourself, 50% Less Fat, Sainsbury's	Organic Natural Yogurt, Virtually Fat Free, Sainsbury's

Ranking
Calories Per Serving	50ml† serving 85kcal	29g† pack 47.6kcal	100g† pack 71kcal
Calories Per 100ml/g	170kcal	164kcal	71kcal
Fat Per Serving	7.5g	4.4g	1.2g
Fat Per 100ml	15g	15g	1.2g
Conclusion	Looked the picture of pure delight. Thick and creamy with a good consistency. Although obviously similar to the other Crème Fraiche, all agreed this one came out top for a mouth watering, well-balanced taste.	A pleasant tasting alternative to cream with a good consistency	A good alternative to cream. Looked delicious and tasted good. Some felt the taste overpowered the taste of the strawberries a little. However if you like yogurt, you'll like this. Overall held its own.

Table 2: More Low Cream Alternatives Compared
Product	Crème Fraiche, Healthy Choice, Half Fat, Safeway*	Evaporated Milk, Asda*	Single, Light, Elmlea*

Ranking
Calories Per Serving	30ml† serving 71kcal	50g† serving 80kcal	30ml serving † pack 37.2kcal
Calories Per 100g/ml	165kcal	160 kcal	124 kcal
Fat Per Serving	4.4g	4.5g	2.9g
Fat Per 100g/ml	14.6g	9g	9.2g
Conclusion	Looked tempting to eat. Good consistency with a pleasant, creamy taste.	A pleasant, good dairy cream taste. Good, positive comments. Although runny, a good alternative to cream.	Extremely hard to judge this one in a cream test - had the taste and consistency of milk but was not unpleasant.

Table 3: More Low Cream Alternatives Compared
Product	Real Dairy Cream, 35% Less Fat, Asda*	Carnation, Light, Nestle*	Swirls, Light, Half Fat Real Cream, Anchor

Ranking
Calories Per Pack	30ml† serving 14.4 kcal	25g† serving 27.5kcal	30ml† serving 13.5kcal
Calories Per 100g/ml	48 kcal	110 kcal	45 kcal
Fat Per Serving	1.2g	1g	1.2g
Fat Per 100g/ml	4.1g	4g	3.9g
Conclusion	Thin in consistency but a pleasant taste. In comparison with Anchor's spray cream this one came out on top.	Looked unappetizing and tasted very watery, with a sharp and sour taste. The panelists agreed you needed the taste of strawberries to wash away the taste of the milk, as it leaves a 'chemical taste' in the mouth.	Looked very artificial and a 'fake' version of cream. Very little taste of anything. In fact, one of our panelists said his 'shaving cream probably tasted better'.

†Retailer's Recommended Portion Size

We think we found some good alternatives to the full fat creams. You don't have to miss out on this treat but be a little careful what you choose. For a satisfying creamy taste and texture try low fat Crème Fraiche, (notably Tesco's Healthy Eating); for a particularly low calorie option try Sainsbury's Virtually Fat free yogurt, or if you're into evaporated milk Asda's is worth a whirl!

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