Where to find shelf-stable dairy cream?

March 25, 2008 10:35 AM

Is there such a thing as powdered or jarred, non-perishable, real dairy cream for coffee that never needs refrigeration?

I love my morning pot of coffee, and have used non-dairy creamers for years. But the fake stuff is just so.... fake. And I'd like to cut down my consumption of sugar & highly processed chemical-foods. I really enjoy real dairy cream but have no reliable way of keeping it fresh in my office environment. (Communal fridge is gross & regularly burgled, mini fridge with Peltier cooler under my desk doesn't stay cold enough). I don't think English clotted cream in a jar would work, and even if it did it needs refrigeration after opening. So has anyone ever heard of dried or otherwise preserved full-fat real cream that I can keep in a desk drawer, even after the package is open?

I'm not interested in nonfat dried milk powder (bleah), those single-serve tiny containers of ultra pasteurized half & half (tasteless), or canned condensed milk (yuck). Just cream. Extensive google searches have been unsuccessful. Suggestions of mail order products or storebought both welcome. Thanks in advance!

posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy to food & drink (24 comments total)

I keep small-size Parmalat milks in my office closet. They do need refrigerating once opened, but I always have nonperishable real whole milk.
posted by Miko at 10:51 AM on March 25, 2008

I've been looking for the same thing for a long time and I don't believe it exists. Boy would I love to be out-Googled.

The closest thing I've found is Organic Valley Shelf-Stable Half and Half, but it still needs to be refrigerated once it's opened just like ordinary milk. At least you can stock up on it without worrying about spoilage.

How about putting your cream into a glass container (so it won't pick up odors) in the communal fridge and marking it "GOAT MILK"?
posted by bcwinters at 10:52 AM on March 25, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Pastry Chef Will Goldfarb operates an online business that sells specialty products to home and professional chefs. One of them is shelf stable heavy cream powder that is exactly what you're asking for. In bulk, it's $31.00 a pound, per package it's $6.00.
posted by rumposinc at 10:54 AM on March 25, 2008 [8 favorites has favorites]

I use land-o-lakes creamer, and that lasts FOREVER and sits in my cabinet. When I first bought it, I refrigerated it out of principle, but it doesn't need to be cooled at all.
posted by parmanparman at 10:58 AM on March 25, 2008

I don't know of any "real cream" product that meets all of your criteria. The closest I'm aware of is canned cream. For example, Nestle sells real cream in a small can that will store indefinitely without refrigeration. However, like some of the other products mentioned, once opened the can requires refrigeration and even then it will go bad in a couple of days.
posted by RichardP at 10:58 AM on March 25, 2008

Wow, rumposinc, I'm going to get me some of that right now. It looks moleculargastronomitastic.
posted by bcwinters at 11:02 AM on March 25, 2008

How do they make the fat in that powder shelf stable, btw? Lots of preservatives? Proprietary dehydration process? Fairy dust?
posted by Dizzy at 11:13 AM on March 25, 2008

Terra Spice also has heavy cream powder with 72% butterfat. See item CREAM001.
posted by slogger at 11:14 AM on March 25, 2008

Dizzy: through a process called spray drying.
posted by slogger at 11:15 AM on March 25, 2008

bcwinters: I've actually done that! Mis-labeling my bottles worked for a while, until somebody was apparently so offended by "goat milk" in the group fridge that it got tossed out.

rumposinc: That looks very much like what I'm looking for. Am ordering some right now to try it out. Thanks!!

(more suggestions still welcome though) :-)
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 11:17 AM on March 25, 2008

Well, maybe I'll hold off for a bit on the Goldfarb powder - shipping ($8) costs more than the product itself ($6 for 2 ounces). If no other more cost-effective alternatives come in though, then I may still give a shot.
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 11:21 AM on March 25, 2008

Many health food stores will have whole milk powder in addition to the non-fat milk powder. Not as fancy as the whole cream powder but close.
posted by GuyZero at 11:25 AM on March 25, 2008

Now I am wise to the ways of atomisation. Now no one can stop me. Thank you, slog!
posted by Dizzy at 11:25 AM on March 25, 2008

The heavy cream powder doesn't always dissolve correctly. I tried it and the "lump factor" is huge. And it just wasn't the same...didn't produce the same color change, or the same amount of flavor.
posted by answergrape at 12:21 PM on March 25, 2008

This is a job for "Mini-Moo"!
posted by webhund at 12:29 PM on March 25, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

I know you're not interested in non-dairy, but if you're mostly concerned about fake and processed items, you might consider Organic Non-Dairy Creamer. While its still non-dairy, its free of the preservatives and fake stuff. Just a thought.
posted by CorporateHippy at 12:39 PM on March 25, 2008

I'm real curious to hear how these spray-dried cream solids work, but honestly, an obvious-seeming solution to me would be to find a small, air-tight container and bring an appropriate amount of cream from home every day. That or invest in a superior mini-fridge. I really doubt anything is going to match genuine liquid cream, it's just the nature of the beast.
posted by nanojath at 12:49 PM on March 25, 2008

Seriously... the lumpy powdered heavy cream broke my heart. And it's expensive.

How about a little dish of ice?
posted by answergrape at 1:00 PM on March 25, 2008

Soy milk or creamer? That's non-dairy, of course, but it tastes better in coffee than it does on its own, and either way it sure is better than Coffee-mate-type gunk. Comes in screw-top containers that don't need refrigeration even if they're sold refrigerated.
posted by clavicle at 1:48 PM on March 25, 2008

The heavy cream powder doesn't always dissolve correctly. I tried it and the "lump factor" is huge. And it just wasn't the same...didn't produce the same color change, or the same amount of flavor.

Yeah, you have to mix it up slowly with warm water to make it lump free. Not really worth it just for cream for your coffee. I also doubt that you'll find it any more flavorful than packaged half and half creamers, (though those actually taste pretty much like standard half and half- maybe you've grown too accustomed to sugar and artifical flavor filled non-dairy stuff).
posted by oneirodynia at 2:44 PM on March 25, 2008

Nalgene makes 1 oz and 2 oz containers you could bring to work with you. I've owned the same one for months and used it for perishables like sour cream and salad dressing. They never, ever come close to leaking. I don't know if you wait a long time to drink your coffee or drink multiple amounts through the day, but that small amount can be kept unrefridgerated in your purse long enough for you to mix your morning cup.

At this point, however, personally, I'd just bring a thermos of perfectly doctored coffee into work with you.
posted by Juliet Banana at 3:41 PM on March 25, 2008

Costco sells bulk mini-cartons of some sort of shelf stable milk. I believe it's produced by Horizons (the same as the big Organic milk).

You might try searching for Ultra High Temperature Processing Milk.
posted by Octoparrot at 7:34 PM on March 25, 2008

Maybe you should make your own "cream cubes" and keep them in the freezer. Probably less likely to get burgled.

Or get a tiny thermos and bring cream with you every day.
posted by O9scar at 9:16 PM on March 25, 2008

Yeah, UHT milk is supposed to be far more stable in room temp environments when unopened.

If it was me, I'd buy a case of UHT half and half single serving creamers and bring a few with me to work every day.

Or learn to love the beast- powdered Coffee Mate is da bomb, and you are only consuming it a couple grams at a time. If it's the brand name stuff, it doesn't taste phony.
posted by gjc at 8:18 AM on March 26, 2008