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heavy cream

heavy cream

11 2.0
Thick milk with a lot of fat used to make food taste rich and smooth
  • noun
  • /ˈhɛvi krim/
  • US
translation icon : nata (España)
  • Reduce the mixer speed to low, and stir in the heavy cream or sour cream.
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

I think it's fine to have black coffee plus maybe a tablespoon of heavy cream if you just got to have it.

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Examples

  • Why do most of these suggested recipes have heavy cream in them?

    Blog text (1)
  • I'm going to slowly mix this warm heavy cream mixture into my egg yolk mixture and then I will add in my lemon juice.

  • Add about 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

    Blog text (16)
  • Add about four cups of heavy cream.

  • In the microwave or a small pot, heat the heavy cream until it's warm to the touch.

    Blog text (20)
  • The other half was grilled for dessert at dinner, served with heavy cream drizzled over the top.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • If you want a richer soup, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream after blending.

    Blog text (11)
  • To make ganache, heat heavy cream until warm and pour it over chopped chocolate.

    Blog text (8)
  • Mix those juices with the heavy cream and reserve separately from the mushrooms.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In a medium bowl, mix together cheese, remaining eggs, heavy cream, parsley, and nutmeg.

Synonyms

cream
vsheavy cream
864 1.0

Thick, fatty part of milk used in cooking and on food

is a defined high fat form used especially in baking and richer dishes
heavy whipping cream
vsheavy cream
  • US
1 2.7

A thick cream with a lot of fat used for whipping and cooking

is slightly lower in fat and used for general cooking and baking

Antonyms

1 2.0

A thin dairy product with about 18 percent fat used in cooking and on desserts

How Rich

double cream
  • UK
1 3.0
heavy cream
  • US
11 2.0
whipping cream
  • US
5 2.0
light cream
  • US
1 2.0
half-and-half
  • US
5 2.0

Surface Forms

heavy cream singular
heavy creams plural

Morphology

heavy + cream

The meaning of 'heavy cream' is directly compositional: 'heavy' (substantial/rich) modifies 'cream' (the fat-rich dairy layer), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a richer, higher-fat cream. This follows common adjective+noun patterns in English and is cross-linguistically transparent, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Heavy cream comes from the simple idea that this cream is much thicker and richer than regular milk. People called that high-fat part heavy because it makes food feel very 'rich' and full, so heavy cream means the thick, rich cream used in cooking.