PrintWhipping Cream vs. Cool Whip
Hi Cinzia!
From a nutritional point of view, is it more healthy to use real whipped cream or products like Cool Whip® or Nutri Whip® in recipes?
Thank you!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
In order to determine the nutritional value of a product, it is imperative you look at two things: the nutrition facts table and the list of ingredients.
We compared Ultra’crème’s® whipping cream to Cool Whip®. The first thing that we noticed is that the whipping cream contains more fat. In fact, when comparing the same quantity, the whipping cream contains almost 2 times more saturated fat than Cool Whip®. But, Cool Whip® (and other similar whipped toppings) have a lot more sugar than whipping cream.
Whipping cream “only” has 7 ingredients - with cream and milk as the first two listed. Whereas the first three ingredients listed for Cool Whip® are water, corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil (translation: trans fats!) from a list of 10 ingredients in total. With the effects of trans fat on the cardiovascular system now common knowledge - it is better to avoid it at all costs.
Our conclusion? If you’re not a calorie-counter and aren’t concerned by the amount of fat you consume, it is better to opt for the natural stuff: whipping cream. It tastes better and has more natural ingredients than products like Cool Whip® (plus, you can exercise your arm by whipping it up by hand!). We think this is a better choice - in moderation, of course!
To simplify the comparison, consult the following table. We compare the nutritional values of 15ml of whipping cream vs 15ml of Cool Whip®.
| For 15ml | Whipping cream (35%) | Cool Whip® |
| Energy (kcal) | 50 | 13 |
| Total Fat (g) | 5 | 0.8 |
| - Saturated (g) | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 1 | 1 |
| - Sugars (g) | 0 | 1 |
