It's funny how easily even a slight difference in expression confuses us, isn't it? People go into a tizzy whenever they see "sweet cream" in a recipe, wondering how much sugar to add, when it just means fresh cream, instead of sour cream.

Possibly worse is when a recipe just calls for "cream." We've received hundreds of question from people who wonder whether that means whipping cream, heavy cream, light whipping cream, light cream, half and half, or what? (We always assume, unless it is specific, that a recipe calling for "cream" wants one of the heavier creams, those between 30% and 42% butterfat – whether that's labeled heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, light whipping cream, or just whipping cream.)

Full-cream milk is whole milk – milk that has had its cream blended in and homogenized, not milk that has been separated from its cream and sold as lowfat, skim, reduced fat, nonfat, 1%, or 2%. Whole milk is about 3.5% milk fat.