Grocery Outlet Ethical Bargains

I’ve never come across a vegan whipping cream before, so when I saw a carton of Silk heavy whipping cream at the Grocery Outlet, I decided to give it a try. The official product name, by the way, is Silk Dairy-Free Heavy Whipping Cream Alternative. Silk is a vegan dairy brand that began in Boulder, Colorado, all the way back in the 1970’s, but is now owned by French multinational food corp., Danone Group. I’ve previously discussed Silk’s ownership by Danone in an evaluation of Silk Organic Soy Milk, so I’ll refer you to that article for more on that topic.

Here, I want to focus on evaluating this vegan whipping cream in terms of how well it works as a cream replacement in various situations. I’ll finish off with an evaluation of social and environmental impact and an ethical rating. First off, when I opened the carton and, of course, picked up a little cream with my finger to try it, I was pleasantly surprised by how thick and creamy it is. The taste is fairly neutral – there’s a faint coconut flavor but it’s not strong compared to coconut cream. I buy coconut cream for making dishes like korma, where the flavor adds to the dish. But you may not want a strong coconut flavor in other situations, such as pasta sauce or coffee, so the Silk product looks like a good alternative, so far.

So I ended up trying the Silk heavy cream in a number of situations and here are the results:

Silk vegan cream over pie

Because the Silk vegan cream is already quite thick, I didn’t bother whipping it on first try and just poured it over a warm piece of fruit galette. In this situation, the suggested serving size of 1 tbsp. (15 mL) won’t go very far, so you’d be better off whipping it to add volume if you’re watching your fat intake. That said, it worked pretty well on the pie – similar to regular cream, it melted into the warm fruit while not disappearing completely. As far as replicating the flavor of cream over pie, I would give it an A or B+.

Silk vegan cream in coffee

Added to hot coffee, the Silk heavy whipping cream again works about as well as regular dairy cream. I’d recommend adding a little water first, before adding the Silk cream to the coffee, to dilute it a little. This turned out to be a good way to use up the last of the cream, as the last 20% was too thick to pour out of the carton. Just add some cold water to the carton, shake to mix, and (hey presto!) it’s a perfect strength for adding to coffee, just like half-and-half.

In hot coffee, the Silk cream didn’t separate at all, which was impressive, nor did it ruin my coffee by altering the flavor. It’s almost as good as the barista version of Bamnut milk, another Grocery Outlet find and my favorite product to add to coffee. (I’m still working on a recipe for homemade vegan milk – will let you know if I get there!) I think the Silk cream deserves a B+ for use in coffee – I wouldn’t use it every day but it’s a good way to use up the last of the cream.  

Alfredo pasta sauce

The Silk vegan cream product page has several recipes to try, including vegan chocolate truffles and Alfredo pasta sauce. The recipe for Alfredo sauce entails blending the ingredients (vegan cream, cashews, onion, garlic, herbs, seasoning, etc.) and then warming it to serve with pasta. I improvised something similar, but with no blending, by cooking onion, garlic, herbs, mushrooms and half-crushed cashews and then turning the heat off and stirring in the Silk vegan cream at the end.

This was my second-favorite way to use the cream – it produced a very satisfying creamy sauce for pasta and I can imagine buying the product again for this application.  Score: A or A+.

Vegan version of Bailey’s Irish Cream

On a whim I decided to try adding this Silk dairy-free cream to whiskey, and it turned out to be my favorite application! It was so good, in fact that I think I could easily sell this product, if I had the inclination and a license to sell alcohol. A couple of human test subjects – one who especially loves Bailey’s Irish Cream – agreed with me that it was really good. We were all impressed that the cream didn’t split when mixed with whiskey, nor did it mask the whiskey’s flavor. I don’t drink Bailey’s much (I find it a bit artificial) and think that this vegan product was actually better than the original Bailey’s. A definite A+ for this application of the vegan cream. Here’s my recipe for vegan Bailey’s:

Recipe for Vegan Irish Cream

In a small shot glass, mix 1 tsp. of brown sugar with 1 tbsp. of hot water. Stir to dissolve and allow it to cool for a moment.

Pour three measures of whiskey into a jar and stir in the brown sugar syrup. Then add around five measures of Silk vegan heavy cream. This doesn’t have to be exact, but these proportions will give you a final product that’s around 15% alcohol. Mix by stirring with a spoon and then chill in the fridge. If you can make it in a jar you can simply shake it before serving, but I found that it didn’t separate at all.

You could add a few drops of vanilla or almond essence to this, but with good-quality whiskey I think it’s great without any additions. It has a cool, creamy texture and a fairly neutral flavor that allows the whiskey to shine. Without sugar is fine too but I like it slightly sweet.

Overall verdict on Silk heavy whipping cream

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this Silk vegan cream – it works well in various situations, doesn’t split when mixed with hot drinks or alcohol, and contributes a creamy texture without overpowering the flavor of your dish or drink. If you want to try it out, you may be able to pick up Silk vegan heavy cream at the Grocery Outlet, as I did, for $1.99 (it normally retails for $5-6).

(By the way, like all of my posts, my opinion here is completely independent and uncompensated – my only motivation is to find good-quality products that encourage ethical consumption, mitigating climate change, animal cruelty, etc.)

Next, let’s take a quick look at the product’s ingredients and nutritional profile.

Silk dairy-free heavy whipping cream – Ingredients and Nutritional Info

Ingredients: Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Faba Bean Protein, Guar Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Natural Flavors.

Like regular dairy cream, this product is predominantly fat. However, compared to dairy-based heavy whipping cream (see image below) it has a few advantages. Silk vegan cream a little less total fat, per serving, compared to dairy cream: 5 g instead of 6 g. The Silk cream is also cholesterol-free and because the major source of fat in the Silk product is coconut oil, it’s rich in medium chain triglycerides, which can support brain and gut health. 

Ethical rating for Silk dairy-free heavy whipping cream

I’m rating Silk dairy-free heavy whipping cream 4/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact for these reasons:

• All Silk products are vegan. Adopting a plant-based diet is the top thing you can do to mitigate climate change, deforestation, animal cruelty, and food scarcity.
• 100% of the electricity used to manufacture Silk products comes directly from renewable sources, or via renewable credits.
• Producing Silk vegan dairy products requires 65% less water, on average, than conventional dairy.
• Silk is a charter sponsor of Change the Course, and has funded the restoration of groundwater and aquatic habitats in Colorado and California for 15 years.
• Danone North America, Silk’s parent company is a certified B Corporation, with a score of 98.
• The product is certified by the non-GMO project. Although this doesn’t guarantee sustainable agricultural practices, non-GMO products are less likely to entail the heavy use of harmful herbicides and pesticides.
• The cardboard in the refrigerated carton packaging is technically recyclable but a specialized facility to separate it from the plastic lining. If it ends up in landfill (which in many cases it will) it’s at least composed mainly of cardboard, a renewable material.
• Parent company, Danone, has several ethical issues related to production of bottled water, dairy, and products that contain palm oil, such as infant formula. You could argue that by purchasing Silk products you’re supporting a step in the right direction for Danone.

Summary scores (out of 5) for Silk dairy-free heavy whipping cream:

4.5 gold stars for quality and value.

4 Green Stars for social and environmental impact

If you have a different opinion, please share your rating as a comment below.

Join the movement (and win a prize!) by including a Green Stars rating whenever you write a product or company review and let me know if you do.