Is heavy cream the same thing as whipping cream?
A lot of the recipes say to use "heavy cream", but what exactly is that? I can't find it anywhere (I live in a very small town, pop. less than 2500). What I have found is whipping cream and half and half. Are these the same things, or suitable substitutes, or not even anywhere near?

Please help, I really want something sweet. Last night, I ALMOST went down to the freezer where my family keeps some frozen gourmet chocolate, but, thankfully, I was able to close the door and go back to bed!

Any ideas that you all have will be greatly appreciated!

Yes, it's the whipping cream, not the half and half.

Wa'il

Yes and no. There’s actually “light” whipping cream and then, there “heavy” whipping cream. Creams vary according to the amount of butterfat they have. Lightest of all is half & half, which is half milk, half cream and weighs in with a butterfat content between 10.5 - 18%. It can't be whipped, but it's nice with coffee, or on cereal. Light cream = coffee cream = table cream is richer at 18 - 30% fat, but it still can't be whipped. Light whipping cream = whipping cream (with a butterfat content of 30 - 36%) and heavy cream = heavy whipping cream (with at least 36% fat) are heavy enough to whip, and aren't as prone as lower-fat creams to curdling in sauces. From a low-carb perspective, heavy should be preferred to light because heavy whipping cream has 3.3 carbs per cup whereas light whipping cream has 7 carbs per cup.

Excuse my ignorance - - I'm a new recruit, but I also wanted to clarify this issue with heavy cream which I come across in some recipes.

Here in the UK, we have single cream, double cream and whipping cream. Does anyone know if what we term as double cream in the UK has more than 36% fat as per BillT's explanation? If not, I will go and scan the labels later!

Ellisdia, I'd very much like to know what the butterfat percentages are on the UK's Double, Single and Whipping Cream grades.

Waiting with bated breath....