Cream for Your Coffee (or Not) Quiz

Answer:

Sour cream is made from fermenting cream with certain types of lactic acid bacteria. As its name implies, sour cream is sour or savory; not sweet. People often use it in cooking or baking and as a topping for baked potatoes and Mexican food. I personally wouldn't mix it with coffee, but it's edible, and there's no law against it, so go for it!

Also known as "heavy whipping cream", heavy cream contains at least 36 percent milkfat. What's interesting is that "whipping cream" is a distinct cream that contains only about 30 percent milkfat or a little higher, but less than 36. Because the higher fat makes it easier to whip, one might argue that heavy cream is more of whipping cream than said "whipping cream".

To make homemade whipped cream, use a mixer to whip your cream. Add some sugar or sugar- substitute, and if you want, vanilla extract. You can also buy commercial whipped cream. Whipped cream is used as a topping for hot and iced coffee drinks, hot chocolate/cocoa, ice cream, pie, fruit, and other treats.

Light cream contains at least 18 percent milkfat but no more than 30 percent. Cream that is less than 30 percent fat doesn't whip well. People can use light cream as a creamer for coffee or in cooking, such as pasta sauces.

While many commercial coffee creamers actually don't contain dairy, some do. Some commercial coffee creamers are made with real milk and cream and sugar. In addition, some people will use regular cream, milk, or half-and-half as a creamer for their coffees. I personally like my coffee very sweet and will alternate between non-dairy and dairy commercial creamers. In a restaurant, I will usually mix cream with sweetener packets. My mom doesn't like sugar in her coffee and prefers only the milk or cream, and she hates common "coffee creamers".

Ice cream is called such because it is traditionally made from cream. However, some lower fat versions or similar desserts, such as ice milk, frozen yogurt, gelato, etc. exist. Sometimes, what we call "ice cream" is actually "frozen dairy dessert" and not real ice cream. Vanilla and chocolate ice cream are great mixed with coffee. In fact, coffee flavored ice cream exists and it's delicious (in my opinion). Coffee ice cream is basically vanilla ice cream with coffee added to it. Mocha is coffee mixed with chocolate.

Cream cheese is a type of cheese made from milk and cream. Cream cheese is often used on bagels and to make cheesecakes. Sure, cream cheese, just like sour cream, isn't typically used as a coffee creamer, but it's edible, and coffee flavored cheesecake exists.

Buttercream is a frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. By the way, butter itself is made from cream. I once heard someone say that if you whip your cream long enough, you'll end up with butter. That's awesome if you want homemade butter, but unfortunate if you simply over-whipped the whipped cream. I have a great idea: add some coffee to the frosting and/or to the cake.

Boston cream is not really cream, but a pie filling made from milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and cornstarch or flour. However, because it's a custard, it has a creamy texture. A cup of coffee and a slice of Boston cream pie sound very good.

Irish cream is a drink made from cream and Irish whiskey. A recipe online actually calls for instant coffee granules, so there you go. Although alcohol is technically edible, I'll take the non-alcoholic Irish cream flavored creamer or latte.

Crème fraîche ("fresh cream") is similar to sour cream, but is thicker, more fattening, and has a less tangy flavor. It is popular in France.

Clotted cream is British and is made from scalding whole milk. Somewhat similar to butter, it is used for baking, topping on scones, and inside cream tea. Well, I guess if you can put it in tea, you can put it in coffee. Interestingly enough, clotted cream is illegal in the United States because it's made from unpasteurized milk. Well, that explains why I never heard of it before. So, I guess according to U.S. standards, it is not "safe", but it is clearly edible in Europe.

The incorrect answers are all topical treatments for skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, fungal and bacterial infections, etc.) and aren't edible.