# bitter cream???



## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

I made some whipped cream from some heavy cream without checking the expiration date.   (It seemed like just the other day I had bought it, instead it was just the other week! time goes faster as you get old).  
I would have imagined it would have tasted sour.  Instead it was decidedly bitter, not sour (and i had put sugar in it).  
Is something wrong?  shouldn't cream and milk go sour rather than bitter?


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

You're certainly correct, Siduri. Plus when cream turns is tends to separate and get clumpy; another sign that it's no longer what you want.

Did you do anything else differently?


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

That's a bit of a mystery.  Was it an unused bottle of cream?  Just had an off the wall thought that perhaps (although I really doubt it) that you may have used a spoon which had been previously used in something else then picked up same spoon and dolloped cream out with it?

Maybe just a bad batch of cream from the manufacturer.  But yes, it does go sour once it's off.  Bitter is hard to comprehend with cream.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

It was a sealed bottle, 250 grams, a sort of plastic bottle with a seal that is made of plastic and you pull on the tab and the seal breaks and comes out - no chance of it having broken. I didn't put anything in it. I do remember another time having the same problem. And this is pure cream. In the states they add stuff to heavy cream - i was surprised to pick up a package of cream and it had _ingredients_ but this has none. It's not UHT cream, just fresh cream.

Same thing for milk - often if the milk is expired it tastes slightly bitter, not sour. I'm wondering if there is some additive they haven't written on the package. Or if bitterness can just be one of the consequences of milk products going bad.

I notice that when cream is over the date it gets dense rather than clumpy. It looks like creme fraiche, but tastes bitter. (I've thrown out cream often since i never know whether i'll need it, if i have half an idea i might bake that week then often don't, so the cream sits in the back of the fridge, forgotten. Finding it not liquid when i shake the bottle, i've opened it and finding it not smelling sour, i've tasted it.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Wow. I never gave it any thought, but you're right. There is an ingredients list. Starts with heavy cream, then skim milk, then a bunch of unpronouceables.

What, I wonder, is the purpose of putting skim milk into cream? Package still says it contains 36% butterfat. Could it really have started higher than that?


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## gerdosh (Feb 4, 2010)

With all the preservatives to discourage microorganisms extend shelf life, dairy products do go bitter before they go sour. There is no answer to that problem; throw it out.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

siduri said:


> It was a sealed bottle, 250 grams, a sort of plastic bottle with a seal that is made of plastic and you pull on the tab and the seal breaks and comes out - no chance of it having broken. I didn't put anything in it. I do remember another time having the same problem. And this is pure cream. In the states they add stuff to heavy cream - i was surprised to pick up a package of cream and it had _ingredients_ but this has none. It's not UHT cream, just fresh cream.
> 
> Same thing for milk - often if the milk is expired it tastes slightly bitter, not sour. I'm wondering if there is some additive they haven't written on the package. Or if bitterness can just be one of the consequences of milk products going bad.
> 
> I notice that when cream is over the date it gets dense rather than clumpy. It looks like creme fraiche, but tastes bitter. (I've thrown out cream often since i never know whether i'll need it, if i have half an idea i might bake that week then often don't, so the cream sits in the back of the fridge, forgotten. Finding it not liquid when i shake the bottle, i've opened it and finding it not smelling sour, i've tasted it.


Over the years I've tossed out so many half bottles of cream that's gone off you could fill a 44 gallaon drum with it hehehe. Little containers of it lurk in the depths of the fridge behind larger things...before you know it...open the container...and Phew!!!! Ah well, I figure I'm supporting the dairy industry...

Siduri - I think our creams here have additives in them too. Have never gotten pure cream. Maybe it has a much shorter shelf life as there are no preservatives...just a thought


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

KYHeirloomer said:


> Wow. I never gave it any thought, but you're right. There is an ingredients list. Starts with heavy cream, then skim milk, then a bunch of unpronouceables.
> 
> What, I wonder, is the purpose of putting skim milk into cream?


I suppose it's too dilute an expensive ingredient (cream) with a cheap one (skim milk).


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## rinoa (Aug 20, 2010)

I have the same dilemma. The cream I have bought is suppose to expire five days from now, so it's suppose to be fine. But when I opened it, it smells a bit unusual and it tastes bitter. I have kept it in the fridge within the indicated temperature. I have just opened it. There's no mold and the texture is still the same. I'm just wondering why it turned bitter. Is it spoiled?


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Rinoa said:


> I have the same dilemma. The cream I have bought is suppose to expire five days from now, so it's suppose to be fine. But when I opened it, it smells a bit unusual and it tastes bitter. I have kept it in the fridge within the indicated temperature. I have just opened it. There's no mold and the texture is still the same. I'm just wondering why it turned bitter. Is it spoiled?


Rinoa,

I think whether it's bad for you or not, it won't taste good in whatever you want to use it for. I think sometimes in stores, esp supermarkets, people pick something up then change their mind, it sits in the wrong shelf or at the cash register, and then gets brought back to the fridge much later. Or the store or distributor may have had a bad refrigerator or something.


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## mgb0306 (4 mo ago)

I think I've found the solution! I came here days ago searching for the cause of bitter half and half. Today, we figured out our fridge temp was at 46 degrees and should be at most 38 degrees!!! Our food was spoiling...but too slowly to notice. 





siduri said:


> I made some whipped cream from some heavy cream without checking the expiration date. (It seemed like just the other day I had bought it, instead it was just the other week! time goes faster as you get old).
> I would have imagined it would have tasted sour. Instead it was decidedly bitter, not sour (and i had put sugar in it).
> Is something wrong? shouldn't cream and milk go sour rather than bitter?


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