Substitutes for double cream in cookery?

Apart from yoghurt, most of the things you have nentioned wouldn't be much of a saving - if at all.

I live abroad and we can’t get double cream here. Mascarpone is a brilliant substitute .

I think mascarpone is more expensive than double cream.
I'd expect to pay, say 40p per 100ml for double cream and about 70p for 100g mascarpone.

Not sure how this works in your recipe.

I generally use yoghurt as it has a lower fat content.
If you do use Greek style (or any) yogurt, make sure you add a tablespoon of cornflour as it stops the splitting.

It would depend on the recipe, your question is too vague.

Creme fraiche is much cheaper than double cream (in Lidl and Aldi anyway). I often use it in cooking instead of cream. It also keeps better than cream - weeks. It's a handy staple to have in fridge.

I always have 3-4 cartons of UHT cream in the fridge. They are not expensive. I use them for most things and, as they are always chilled, I can whip them at any time if I need whipped cream.

In Germany however, the default for such things is always the UHT version. I was here for quite a while before I learnt that you could actually get fresh milk and cream.

As an alternative to double cream I would have suggested silken tofu, but that is probably more expensive.

It depends on the recipe if it’s sauce milk with a bit of butter to thicken yoghurts good for cakes. I have made chocolate desserts using both tofu or avocado with very good results.
I find the bigger the tubs of cream work out cheaper.

If you don’t need to whip it I find evaporated milk is a good substitute.

I turn semi-skimmed milk into full fat by adding creme fraiche for a white sauce and often use it instead of double cream. As said upstream it keeps a long time .

Sago

It would depend on the recipe, your question is too vague.

Really just asking for general guidance to see what the kind Gnetters may suggest.

Coconut cream from a can is vegan and cheap - plus you can freeze the rest.

Full fat greek yogurt
Creme Fraiche
Oatly coconut creme fraiche
Coconut thick cream

However the prices may be no better I'm afraid, I'm not sure

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. There are items mentioned I would not have thought of and some very healthy ones too.

Silken tofu
Coconut cream
Avocados in a few dessert recipes.

Farmor15

Creme fraiche is much cheaper than double cream (in Lidl and Aldi anyway). I often use it in cooking instead of cream. It also keeps better than cream - weeks. It's a handy staple to have in fridge.

I would pay more for crème fraîche to be honest - around 45p (just looked it up) for 100g - but I don't tend to buy it.
Only Greek yogurt seems a cheaper option in "real" products rather than "fake cream" type.

I use crème fraiche.

Oh, and coconut cream!

I would definitely recommend coconut cream, but want to add that it is labelled coconut milk on cans in the UK for some daft reason! It is nothing like the coconut milk you can buy in cartons amongst the oat milk, soy milk , almond milk etc. milk alternatives.

When buying, choose the ones that are NOT labelled 'light'. I keep mine in the fridge, so that if you want thick cream it separates so that the 'water' bit is on the bottom. Then you can spoon the thick bit out, and use the water bit to thin it out if you want to.

I use it successfully to substitute for all the times I would have used dairy cream in the past.

Avoid the ones from Thailand if possible; in some parts monkeys are used to pick the coconuts and treated very cruelly.

So I had a look this morning whilst shopping. The only cream that you can get in Germany is 30-32% fat. Proper double cream in the UK is 48% fat.

All milk is homogenised so there is no such thing as "Top of the milk" either. All other available creams are soured - sour cream or creme fraiche and other German variants thereof.

You used to be able to get something called creme double but that was nearly as thick as butter.

The price for 200g of fresh cream and 200g of UHT cream was identical (comparing supermarket own brand). €1.09.

JackyB

So I had a look this morning whilst shopping. The only cream that you can get in Germany is 30-32% fat. Proper double cream in the UK is 48% fat.

All milk is homogenised so there is no such thing as "Top of the milk" either. All other available creams are soured - sour cream or creme fraiche and other German variants thereof.

You used to be able to get something called creme double but that was nearly as thick as butter.

The price for 200g of fresh cream and 200g of UHT cream was identical (comparing supermarket own brand). €1.09.

My German friends used to talk about Quark and Topfen. Never was sure what they were but had some in dougnuts. Yum!

Oooh Jacky B that brings back memories; top of the milk was such a treat, and probably the closet we got to real cream in my childhood!

When I was a kid, my mum had a Bell cream maker, which worked by emulsifying milk and melted unsalted butter.
With this in mind, depending on the recipe, I'd use milk and melted unsalted butter.

RakshaMK

When I was a kid, my mum had a Bell cream maker, which worked by emulsifying milk and melted unsalted butter.
With this in mind, depending on the recipe, I'd use milk and melted unsalted butter.

Another memory of a cream making attachment on my Kenwood Chef! That used a mixture of milk and butter too.