health
‘Tastes like I remember from childhood’: the best supermarket double cream, tasted and rated
The very best double creams have a wildly complex taste, but which brands are a little scoop of sunshine and which are much of a muchness?
TL;DR
- Most conventional double creams taste very similar due to the pooling of milk from numerous farms.
- British double cream has about 48% fat, higher than whipping cream but lower than clotted cream.
- Higher fat content contributes to firmer whipping, better shape retention, and less splitting in hot sauces.
- High-quality cream is thick, rich, complex in taste, and nourishing.
- Cream's flavor profile can be influenced by terroir (climate, soil, landscape, handling, cattle breed), which is often lost in mass production.
- Independent brands with greater traceability, such as those using milk from Jersey cows or pasture-fed cattle, often produce superior cream.
- Soil Association-certified, free-range, and independent creams generally exhibited higher quality.
- Longley Farm extra-rich jersey cream was rated best overall for its thick, gloopy texture, golden color, and complex, buttery flavor reminiscent of childhood.
- Sainsbury’s So Organic British double cream was the best bargain, offering organic, grass-fed cream with a slightly sweeter taste and high animal welfare standards at a competitive price.