saturated fats, so much so that in many parts
of the United States it’s only available in the
long-keeping ultrapasteurized form.
Making Cream The natural separation of
cream from milk by means of gravity takes 12
to 24 hours, and was superseded late in the
19th century by the merry-go-round forces of
the French centrifugal separator. Once
separated, the cream is pasteurized. In the
United States, the minimum temperatures for
pasteurizing cream are higher than the milk
minimum (for 20% fat or less, 30 minutes at
155ºF/68ºC; otherwise at 165ºF/74ºC).
“Ultrapasteurized” cream is heated for 2
seconds at 280ºF/140ºC (like UHT-treated
milk, p. 22; however the cream is not
packaged under strictly sterile conditions, and
so is kept refrigerated). Under refrigeration,
ordinary pasteurized cream keeps for about 15
days before bacterial activity turns it bitter
and rancid; ultrapasteurized cream, which has