Do you have a Trader Joe's around? They have the good stuff (or did).

I agree...I buy Daisy or Knudsen sour cream because they are the only two brands around my area that are just "sour cream".

And whipping cream is the same way.. But haven't found a brand that doesn't add nothing..'cept from the local dairy. But they like you to order "minimums".

Try some of the organic brands. A couple of them are much better, although more expensive.

I have a pint of O Organics Heavy Whipping Cream I bought yesterday from Safeway. It's ingredients are "Grade A cream (milk), carrageenan.
But I wish it wasn't ULTRA pasturized. That's one of the things I like about getting the Dairy "fresh" cream. It's only barely pasturized.

I'll join your cream rant with a yogurt rant! Whatever happened to real yogurt? It tastes totally different from the stuff they now sell in the store called "yogurt." Now I know REAL yogurt made with active cultures is an acquired taste and not for everybody, but I still wish you could get at least ONE brand that is not just yogurt flavored pudding.

Labeling is just as shady as ever. Now there's so-called frozen yogurt in the ice cream section that tastes better than ice cream. Yogurt my a$$, heh-heh.

A hit local frozen yogurt chain store called Pinkberry got busted selling suff that had no yogurt culture in it. They have now added it.

IMO, if it is labeled "cream" it should be cream and nothing else. Why must everything be adulterated now? Can't trust anything.

Lpink, Dannon does have quarts of just plain whole-milk yogurt. It's the only kind I like, other than Fage Greek yogurt; I hate that guar-gum-thickened stuff. If Wegman's doesn't stock the "pure" Dannon, they might if you ask. I used to find it at Giant but now it's only at Redner's.

I can't eat whole milk yogurt or yogurt quarts. A quart would take me two months to use up. That's why I am "real" yogurt deprived. I even know a local mostly organic diary that sells real whole milk stuff. I splurge on a pint of that once and a while. I can also get 7 Star Farms good stuff at the local health food store (again they sell whole milk stuff, all quarts), but it is not open in the evenings and I often miss it on the only day I can go--Saturdays. Dannon does sell somewhat real plain yogurt in cups, I can find it sometimes. But Dannon ain't what it used to be in my youth! I couldn't stand yogurt until I got into high school though. I remember when Dannon still came in the wax cardboard cups!

L, I make my own yogurt. Of course, I make it a gallon at a time because Elery likes it, Amanda likes it, I like it. I use it instead of buttermilk in some baking and I use it instead of sour cream on top of baked potatoes and I use it mixed half and half with homemade salsa as a dressing for fish tacos.

I use skim milk for my yogurt, and it takes some dry milk, but it's easy. Heat milk and dry milk (1/4 cup to 1 quart of milk, it makes the yogurt thicker) to nearly boiling, cool to 115, add a couple of spoonsful of active yogurt or starter, stir in and put a lid on the jar of milk. Put the jar into a cooler filled with water heated to about 115-120F, put the lid on, cover with a thick towel and let it "work" for 8 hours or so. Voila! Yogurt!

I put mine in my dehydrator and it works great, but I used the warm water filled cooler for a long time.

Annie

Lpink,

I like the Continental brand or Brown Cow yogurts if you can get those. In the natural foods section. Or make your own. Mix in some live yogurt with some milk. Leave it over night in your oven with the lightbulb on. Voila, yogurt. I know your schedule is nuts but you could do this once a week, perhaps.

Annie, I guess we posted at the same time!

I use Brown Cow most of the time..in fact that's our favorite. The Cream Top.
I get it in the individuals for the boys and vanilla or plain for smoothies and baking.

There is another brand Straus or something like that that is really "yogurty"..even the vanilla.

I never realized that cream wouldn't be just cream! I couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong with the whipping cream we bought recently that was another brand than our usual...But after reading this, I looked at the ingredients and it had skim milk in it! Even the better stuff we've been using has carageenen. No wonder I've been preferring Daisy sour cream. I guess I need to find a dairy.

I was at Whole Foods tonight. They had Heavy Cream with no additives - just cream - 1/2 pint was $1.79. Is that much more than the regular grocery store?? This is in Northern CA.

Bonnie

I make my own yogurt and sometimes buy the Fage greek yogurt both the price is so high now. I tend to eat yogurt once a day. I wanted to add to Annies' post. I usually poor my milk and culture into a Thermos and leave it overnight. In the morning, the strain it through some cheese cloth and I have wonderfully thick greek yogurt for about $5 for a 32oz container. That would be $10-12 with Fage.

I shop mainly at whole foods and another local organic market. I noticed about two years ago that too many other ingredients were listed on simple things like cream, yogurt and bottle juice products. I have found the organic products cheaper at Whole Foods and the local organic stores than at Giant or Shoppers. My grocery bill is no higher now than it was before when I did not shop at Whole Foods. I only get Plugra butter from Trader Joes because so many of their products now have too many other ingredients for my personal taste.

Good luck!

cloud swift - I feel your pain. I am a label reader too and get frustrated a lot.
Why is there sugar in all but 1 brand of Red Kidney Beans?
Have you seen the commercial for..um...I can't remember the brand...tortilla chips where the woman is in the store reading labels and ends up choosing the brand with the simplest list of ingrediants?
I hope that catches on with manufactures.
Meanwhile all you can do is complain to the stores as loudly as you can to bring your Knudsens back.

My husband did find the good cream at Trader Joes.

Lpink, yogurt lasts a long time in the refrigerator. I can't recall it ever going bad.

I like to put some in my cereal in the morning with the milk. Like Annie, I use it in place of sour cream. It is good with fruit and a bit of maple syrup or brown sugar too.

You can also make yogurt cheese with some of the container. This takes almost zero work. I use the top to an old drip coffee maker. Put it over something to catch the liquid and put a coffee filter in and then put the yogurt in that. Leave it in the fridge for about 24 hours. You will get something the consistency of cream cheese with a lot less fat. I use it in place of cream cheese and like it just as well.