Butter vs. Cream — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on October 5, 2023
"Butter" is a solid dairy product made by churning cream, while "cream" is the thick, fatty part of milk that rises to the top.
Difference Between Butter and Cream
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Both "Butter" and "Cream" originate from milk, making them staple products in the dairy industry. "Cream" is the thick, fatty liquid that floats to the top of milk before it undergoes the homogenization process. It's rich in fat and can be consumed in its natural state or used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes.
"Butter", on the other hand, is derived from "cream". By agitating or churning the cream, the fats globules combine, separating the liquid (buttermilk) from the solid, which is butter. This solid, yellowish substance is used extensively in cooking, baking, and as a spread.
While both are dairy products, their consistency and applications in culinary arts differ. "Cream" is often used in its liquid form to add richness to sauces, soups, and desserts. It can also be whipped to create whipped cream. "Butter", being solid at room temperature, serves as a base in baked goods, or as a cooking fat or spread.
Nutritionally, both "butter" and "cream" are high in fats. Butter is almost entirely fat, whereas cream has varying levels of fat depending on its type (e.g., heavy cream, light cream). The high-fat content is what gives many dishes their creamy texture and rich taste.
In conclusion, while "butter" and "cream" are closely related, being derived from milk, they are distinct in their consistency, preparation, and uses in the culinary world.
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Comparison Chart
State
Solid at room temperature.
Liquid.
Origin
Made by churning cream.
Fatty layer that rises to the top of milk.
Fat Content
High, mostly fat.
Varies, depending on type (e.g., heavy vs. light cream).
Culinary Uses
Cooking, baking, spread.
Sauces, soups, whipped topping, ingredient in various dishes.
Production Process
Agitation or churning of cream.
Separation from milk.
Compare with Definitions
Butter
A rich cooking and baking ingredient made from cream.
This cake recipe calls for a cup of butter.
Cream
The fatty layer of milk.
He prefers his coffee with a splash of cream.
Butter
A solid dairy product derived from cream.
She spread butter on her toast.
Cream
A dairy product used to enrich foods.
This pasta sauce requires a cup of cream.
Butter
A yellowish edible fat used as a spread.
Buttered bread is a simple pleasure for many.
Cream
The uppermost, fatty part of unprocessed milk.
Fresh cream is a delight in homemade desserts.
Butter
A dairy product that enhances flavor in dishes.
Butter makes everything better, as the saying goes.
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top.
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat.
Cream
The yellowish fatty component of unhomogenized milk that tends to accumulate at the surface.
Butter
A pale yellow edible fatty substance made by churning cream and used as a spread or in cooking.
Cream
Any of various substances resembling or containing cream
Hand cream.
Butter
Spread (something) with butter
Lily buttered a slice of toast
Cream
A pale yellow to yellowish white.
Butter
A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food.
Cream
The choicest part
The cream of the crop.
Butter
A spread made from fruit, nuts, or other foods
Plum butter.
Cashew butter.
Cream
To form cream.
Butter
A vegetable fat having a nearly solid consistency at ordinary temperatures.
Cream
To form foam or froth at the top.
Butter
Flattery.
Cream
To have an orgasm.
Butter
To put butter on or in.
Cream
To be excited or delighted about something.
Butter
A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
Cream
To remove the cream from; skim.
Butter
Any of various foodstuffs made from other foods or oils, similar in consistency to, eaten like or intended as a substitute for butter (preceded by the name of the food used to make it).
Peanut butter
Soy butter
Chocolate butter
Cream
To take or remove (the best part)
Creamed off the highest-paying jobs for her cronies.
Butter
Any of various substances made from other (especially plant-based) oils or fats, used in moisturizers, cosmetics, etc.
Cream
To take the best part from
Creamed the whole department to form his management team.
Butter
Any specific soft substance.
Butter of antimony; butter of arsenic
Cream
To beat into a creamy consistency.
Butter
A smooth plane landing.
Cream
To prepare or cook in or with a cream sauce.
Butter
Someone who butts, or who butts in.
Cream
To add cream to.
Butter
(transitive) To spread butter on.
Butter the toast.
Cream
To defeat overwhelmingly
Creamed our rival on their home court.
Butter
To move one's weight backwards or forwards onto the tips or tails of one's skis or snowboard so only the tip or tail is in contact with the snow. Similar to applying butter to bread with then end of a butterknife.
Cream
To damage severely; destroy
My camera got creamed when I dropped it.
Butter
To spin on skis or a snowboard using only the tips or tails being in contact with the snow
Cream
Vulgar Slang To have an orgasm in (one's pants, for example).
Butter
To increase (stakes) at every throw of dice, or every game.
Cream
The butterfat/milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
Take 100 ml of cream and 50 grams of sugar…
Butter
Very smooth, very soft
That landing was total butter!
Cream
The liquid separated from milk, possibly with certain other milk products added, and with at least eighteen percent of it milkfat.
Butter
An oily, unctuous substance obtained from cream or milk by churning.
Cream
The liquid separated from milk containing at least 18 percent milkfat (48% for double cream).
Butter
Any substance resembling butter in degree of consistence, or other qualities, especially, in old chemistry, the chlorides, as butter of antimony, sesquichloride of antimony; also, certain concrete fat oils remaining nearly solid at ordinary temperatures, as butter of cacao, vegetable butter, shea butter.
Cream
(tea and coffee) A portion of cream, such as the amount found in a creamer.
I take my coffee with two cream and three sugar.
Butter
One who, or that which, butts.
Cream
A yellowish white colour; the colour of cream.
Butter
To cover or spread with butter.
I know what's what. I know on which sideMy bread is buttered.
Cream
(informal) Frosting, custard, creamer, or another substance similar to the oily part of milk or to whipped cream.
Butter
To increase, as stakes, at every throw or every game.
Cream
(figuratively) The best part of something.
The cream of the crop
The cream of a collection of books or pictures
Butter
An edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use
Cream
(medicine) A viscous aqueous oil/fat emulsion with a medicament added, used to apply that medicament to the skin. (compare with ointment)
You look really sunburnt; you should apply some cream.
Butter
A fighter who strikes the opponent with his head
Cream
Semen.
Butter
Spread butter on;
Butter bread
Cream
(obsolete) The chrism or consecrated oil used in anointing ceremonies.
Butter
Churned cream used in culinary preparations.
For flaky pie crusts, cold butter is essential.
Cream
Cream-coloured; having a yellowish white colour.
Cream
To puree, to blend with a liquifying process.
Cream the vegetables with the olive oil, flour, salt and water mixture.
Cream
To turn a yellowish white colour; to give something the color of cream.
Cream
(slang) To obliterate, to defeat decisively.
We creamed the opposing team!
Cream
To ejaculate used of either gender.
Cream
To ejaculate in (clothing or a bodily orifice).
Cream
To rub, stir, or beat (butter) into a light creamy consistency.
Cream
(transitive) To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream.
Cream
To take off the best or choicest part of.
Cream
(transitive) To furnish with, or as if with, cream.
Cream
(intransitive) To gather or form cream.
Cream
The rich, oily, and yellowish part of milk, which, when the milk stands unagitated, rises, and collects on the surface. It is the part of milk from which butter is obtained.
Cream
The part of any liquor that rises, and collects on the surface.
Cream
A delicacy of several kinds prepared for the table from cream, etc., or so as to resemble cream.
Cream
A cosmetic; a creamlike medicinal preparation.
In vain she tries her paste and creams,To smooth her skin or hide its seams.
Cream
The best or choicest part of a thing; the quintessence; as, the cream of a jest or story; the cream of a collection of books or pictures.
Welcome, O flower and cream of knights errant.
Cream
To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream.
Cream
To take off the best or choicest part of.
Cream
To furnish with, or as with, cream.
Creaming the fragrant cups.
Cream
To form or become covered with cream; to become thick like cream; to assume the appearance of cream; hence, to grow stiff or formal; to mantle.
There are a sort of men whose visagesDo cream and mantle like a standing pool.
Cream
The best people or things in a group;
The cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War
Cream
The part of milk containing the butterfat
Cream
Toiletry consisting of any of various substances resembling cream that have a soothing and moisturizing effect when applied to the skin
Cream
Make creamy by beating;
Cream the butter
Cream
Put on cream, as on one's face or body;
She creams her face every night
Cream
Remove from the surface;
Skim cream from the surface of milk
Cream
Add cream to one's coffee, for example
Cream
Thick milk-based liquid used in culinary arts.
The dessert was topped with whipped cream.
Cream
A milk derivative with higher fat content.
She bought light cream for her recipe.
Common Curiosities
Is butter healthier than cream?
Both are high in fats; moderation is key. Specific health effects depend on diet and individual health concerns.
Can you make butter from any type of cream?
Typically, butter is made from heavy or whipping cream.
Why does butter solidify but not cream?
Butter is the fat concentrated from cream, making it solid at room temperature.
Does all cream turn into butter when churned?
Most heavy or whipping creams can be churned into butter.
Is cream always liquid?
Primarily, but it can be whipped into a semi-solid state, like whipped cream.
Can I use cream instead of butter to reduce fat?
Not directly; while both are fatty, their roles in recipes can differ significantly.
Can I use butter instead of cream in recipes?
Not always directly; it depends on the recipe, as they have different consistencies and fat content.
Is whipped cream the same as butter?
No, whipped cream is aerated cream, while butter is the solid fat separated from liquid buttermilk.
How is cream separated from milk?
Before homogenization, the fat-rich cream naturally rises to the top of milk.
Why is butter yellow?
The yellow color comes from the beta-carotene in the grass that cows eat, which then appears in their milk.
Can butter be turned back into cream?
No, once the butter is made from cream, it cannot be reverted to its original state.
Are there non-dairy versions of butter and cream?
Yes, there are plant-based alternatives like soy or almond-based products.
Is cream the only way to make butter?
Traditional butter is made from cream, but there are other types of spreads and butters from different sources.
Why is cream sometimes sour?
Sour cream is intentionally fermented with lactic acid bacteria.
Which has more uses in baking: butter or cream?
Both are versatile, but butter is more commonly used as a base in baking, while cream adds richness and moisture.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
