Yes, I know we've talked about this before, but I'm still confused.
Here in Italy the cream isn't labelled as double cream or whipping cream.
In the refrigerated case we have whipping cream in the shake and squirt cans, but there are also containers of cream.
One box, as pictured below, says that it's for 'dolce'...so does that mean that it can be whipped, or is different from the other creams that don't say 'dolce'?
And what about the UHT stuff...the unrefrigerated panna da cucina? It comes plain, or flavored with mushrooms etc, and is generally used in cooking, to make a sauce, and I don't think this can be whipped.
So really, can someone explain the differences between all the different types of cream I see in Italy?
Yes I did! But what I saw this morning was more general, so I posted here. Later, I did see your reply, which was defintely more what I was looking for! thanks!
Panna da dolci of Grifo latte is actually whipping cream and it has no sugar. All the bottles in the picture can be used for whipping. You can also use it for liquid sauces. Panna da cucina is thick and is only used for savory sauces
When I was a kid we had hot fruit desserts in the winter with a dollop of very heavy cream from the farmer next door. Not whipped or sweetened, just a dollop. I use Grifo panna da cucina that way as well as in occasional sauces. I use Grifo because it has no additives. Apple dumplings New England style, apple crisp or blackberry crumble... that's the way I like them rather than with more sweet stuff on top. I have no reservations about using panna da cucina where it works, plus I can keep it around whereas if I want to keep panna fresca it must be frozen, with predictable problems. If you live in a town you can run out and buy cream if you want it, unless it is out of hours or Sunday-- which is when I usually find I want it. I have to have what I need in the house, because I would find it irresponsible to drive 18 km RT just for cream!
I recently found some panna da cucina in yogurt style, plastic cups. The best thing about them, at least for me, is that they each contain 100 ml, rather than the 200 ml in the small boxes.
Of course I'd rather use fresh cream, but at least now I know that the Grifo brand doesn't have additives. Thanks for the info!
The problem here, Ale, is that panna fresca has to be bought and used quickly. That doesn't happen at my coutry house with one resident. Of course if I have a plan, I buy panna fresca.
Originally posted by Alessandra Federici: I regularly use the panna fresca instead of the panna da cucina -OK, the unswetened one of course - I find it lighter.
It takes one or two minutes more, Diva is right.
OK, now you're confusing me again! Is there both sweetened and UNsweetened panna fresca????
And whipping "it" takes one or two minutes longer than whipping....what???? I thought the panna da cucina could NOT be whipped, so what's the alternative???
Barb, there are long conservation packs of panna da montare. My neighbor has used them. I don't. If I need whipped cream, I can thaw some from the freezer, it's not as if whipped cream is a sudden crucial dietary need. Panna da cucina solves the need for a goccia di panna that sometimes comes at the end of an Artusi recipe, or if you find the flavor of your seasonings haven't gone through your spinach as you'd hoped, whatever. Alice, we KNOW. You won't order all the pink creamy shrimpy etc. dishes. And that's fine. The rest of the world goes on into worlds you will not explore. Live with it. We will, too.
Barb, I was confusing. There is also sweetened panna fresca, meant to be whipped only. I buy the panna fresca at the market, the Mukki one, 250ml. I can use it in a couple of times, or just use what I need then throw the rest when green things grows on it because I forgot it.
I use the panna fresca in recipes like Judith said, I find it lighter than regular panna da cucina.
Alice, I am with Judith on this one. You keep the virtue, I keep the fun!!
I save it in the fridge in the coldest department and for how much it lasts it will be my whoha days. So I'll use it in everything. Whipped cream with coffee -ever tried???Delicious!! - Whipped cream with hot chocholate. Whipped cream with jam or with chocholate chips - the éerugina ones are unbeatable.
I tried to freeze it once, but when defrosted was jucky!!
Barb, you can just stick the box in the freezer, then thaw it in the fridge or if in a hurry on the stone counter or floor-- they are wonderful for that. Yes, when it is opened you may see flecks and bumps of butterfat, but when you whip it, that all disappears. Partially freezing cream is a way to whip cream with less fat than ideal. I have some thawing right now for accompaniment to a meal friends are coming to eat because I am cooking for the blog tonight. I won't whip it though, because it is meant to be plain cream next to the dessert-- a new take on the hot fruit winter dessert. When I made the Hot Silk dessert I tried it both ways, and I thought it was great with plain cream and a bit much with sweetened or whipped cream. A cook suffers for her art. I have to try it all the possible ways to know what's right, and some versions are not so wonderful! I will say, though, that those chili flavored sugar threads pop into my mind often nowadays. They definitely have a life after chocolate.
I must add that your enthusiasm, Ale, is terrific and I would happily cook for you!
If you read through, I say that I am talking about savory dishes. Desserts are another issue (I tend to think of sweet stuff as "not food" since I don't eve eat much of siuch stuff, yet the problem is that I stated in my first messages that panna was for desserts only) (Anyway, strawberries at my place are with red wine and a bit of marsala ).
Originally posted by Alice Twain: If you read through, I say that I am talking about savory dishes. Desserts are another issue (I tend to think of sweet stuff as "not food" since I don't eve eat much of siuch stuff, yet the problem is that I stated in my first messages that panna was for desserts only) (Anyway, strawberries at my place are with red wine and a bit of marsala ).
Topic Closed
- I find it lighter.
- Whipped cream with hot chocholate.
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