When you need whipped cream to put on top of a dessert, you can go with the canned stuff or even frozen tubs of Cool Whip (which is not actually whipped cream). The best and most flavorful option is to make your own homemade whipped cream. It’s not hard to make with a carton of heavy whipping cream and a little sugar, and even a little vanilla extract if you want to get fancy. A carton of heavy whipping cream has a fairly long shelf life when stored unopened in the fridge, but it doesn’t last forever.
Aldi’s distant cousin Trader Joe’s has a solution. They sell a little carton of shelf-stable whipping cream that you can store in your pantry and take out whenever you want to make whipped cream.
Trader Joe’s Shelf Stable Whipping Cream cost $1.39 for an 8-ounce juice box-style container at the time of publication.
This is Grade A and was pasteurized using an “ultra high temperature,” the same way many other boxed dairy products such as Horizon Organic Milk is. Heating the milk to a higher temperature gives it a longer shelf life, and when it’s packaged in a sterile container like this, it lasts for several months.
The package states this offers you “cream at the ready when you need it!” It can be stored at room temperature until opening. This should be refrigerated for six hours prior to whipping, and any remaining product should be refrigerated in the package after opening.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
Ingredients are cream (milk) and carrageenan. (Even refrigerated heavy whipping cream usually containers stabilizers, including carrageenan, so ingredients are practically identical here.)
If you’re watching out for allergens, clearly this contains milk.
A 1-tablespoon serving has 45 calories, 4.5 grams of total fat (7% DV), 3 grams of saturated fat (15% DV), 20 mg of cholesterol (6% DV), and no carbohydrates or sugars.
I decided to whip this cream to go along with some homemade brownies on a Friday family movie night. The carton was a little hard to open, and I ended up using scissors to cut it. The cream was thick and a bit gloppy on top with smooth liquid underneath. I poured and spooned it all into a bowl, added about a tablespoon of granulated sugar to sweeten it, and whipped it with electric beaters for about 3-4 minutes.
Trader Joe’s Shelf Stable Whipping Cream atop a brownie. Yum!
It worked as well for me as traditional refrigerated heavy whipping cream, and it was a nice addition to our brownies. If you use a lot of cream, this can be a helpful addition to your pantry supplies.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Shelf Stable Whipping Cream can be stored in your pantry for a couple of months until you’re ready to use it, making it a little more convenient compared to regular refrigerated heavy whipping cream. If you like whipping cream and use it a lot, this is worth considering.
Does it NEED to be refrigerated before using it?
It’s recommended to refrigerate before opening if you’re whipping it because it will whip more efficiently. If you’re not whipping it, storing it at room temperature prior to opening is fine.