Cream is a popular food in England, whether it’s to dollop on puddings and cakes. But it’s very high in cholesterol and most dairy cream on sale is not from free-range cows.
Most councils now take plastic packaging (if not, recycle at supermarket bag recycling bins).
Avoid nuts for allergies & young children. Despite images of cats lapping bowls of cream, they are lactose-intolerant and should not be fed dairy. Read more on food safety for people and pets.
The Coconut Collab makes a rich double cream (you would never the difference in taste) in easy-to-recycle packaging. The coconuts are harvested by humans with hooked bamboo sticks (not slave monkeys).
Dollop on your morning porridge or pancakes. Add to fruits, yoghurt and sugar to whizz up a fruit frappe, or use to sandwich cakes.
Free from palm oil and GM ingredients, this company works with communities to plant thousands of trees in southeast Asia, to support fragile ecosystems and offer sustainable income for local people. It’s also working to plant mangroves (a third have been lost to coastal development, pollution and natural disasters over the last 50 years).
You can even use to make up simple recipes on their site including Eton Mess. It even whips up well for a vegan trifle.
Other Good Brands of Vegan Cream
Coconut Whipping Cream is great to dollop on desserts. Made with organic Sri Lankan coconuts, chill this overnight then pour into a bowl and whip into a cream. This company also makes light coconut milk, cream coconut and coconut milk powder (use in smoothies, soups, curry, porridge and ice-cream).
Look in stores for Elmlea Double Cream (the plant-based version is free from palm oil and can be whipped up for desserts, poured over puddings or stirred into sauces or pasta). There’s even a brandy version.
For professional use, Flora has now ditched palm oil in all its products (including margarine) and offers a good double cream for kitchens, cafes, restaurants and hotels. Made with coconut and rapeseed oil, this has 65% less climate impact than dairy double cream.
Make Your Own Vegan Cream
Cashew cream (Ela Vegan) is a good all-rounder that is good for savoury dishes like korma curries. Also see the post on enjoying a vegan afternoon tea (for how to make or buy vegan ‘clotted’ cream).
Most dessert ‘cream’ is made with coconut cream (Addicted to Dates). Chilling a can of coconut milk overnight turns it sold – just pour off the water and then mix the coconut with sugar to make your own cream). Here’s a simple video to help.
Choose real vanilla (fake vanilla sometimes uses beaver extract) and organic powdered sugar (other versions may contain egg).
Why Don’t Vegans Eat Dairy?
The dairy industry is huge. No-one denies that a small organic dairy farmer treats his cows well. But the big dairy industry (from where most dairy milk is produced – especially for all the by-products used in ready-meals etc) has huge welfare concerns.
It’s still the case in the UK that most male calves (of no financial use to the dairy industry, which is separate from the beef industry) are shot dead soon after birth.
Many cows spend their entire lives in factory farms, being inseminated and giving birth, then having their calves ripped from them soon after birth. Cows and calves have incredibly strong relationships, and will cry out loudly for weeks, if separated.
Some organisations are helping dairy farmers to transfarm over to growing more profitable oats, giving seeds and training. Remaining animals are then left to live out their lives in peace, akin to farm sanctuaries.
