People learning to read and then getting upset to discover Elmlea isn’t cream

[TheoGB]

AIBU to be annoyed by them???

It’s written on the packet. I can’t really understand why people are so annoyed. “I bought this cream substitute by accident and it was shit” seems like fairly average stuff. Getting angry about it seems odd; having consumed enough of it while not liking it that you feel aggrieved is just WTAF territory.

I thought it was just like uht milk. Like long life cream. I didn't realise until recently it was a cream alternative.

It didn't make me angry though. And I've never used/bought it.

To be honest I haven't ever really paid that much attention to what is written on the tub. I buy real cream so didn't know for deffo that it wasn't cream although I did suspect so because it is lower fat. To be fair though the pictures do give it the impression that it is cream and so does the fact that they call it single and double.

I also did not know people thought it was actually cream.

Round here it is one of those "Sunday lunch panic buys" - i.e.you go in the Spar shop for cream to go with a pudding and all that is left is Elmlea. It is not the same, but does the job.

so is Elmlea to cream what Flora is to butter?

Tom Kerridge has been peddling Elmlea on his latest diet TV series. But it has trans fats in it. Not very healthy

Sucked in to buying a long life cream has done me

@Haint yes! Think a more crap version of Flora. Stork maybe?

I was also taken aback when my friend was looking for high meat content dog food. When I looked at the tins, beef dog food for example had only 4% beef. Shocking. Bit like smokey bacon crisps being suitable for vegans.

I was raised on Elmlea, never had any problem with it! And yes, I have tasted real cream in my life

Elmlea is vegetable oil mixed with water. I've heard about a spreadable butter which is pure butter with air blended into it to make it spreadable, but I've never been able to find one that doesn't have oil mixed into it in the UK.

Good grief. Food has labelling for a reason. It's not as though the ingredients are kept secret.

I knew it wasn't cream but it is handy to have in the fridge for cooking that needs cream in it!

It's edible, it keeps for ages and is perfectly fine in cooking. Who cares what it's made of? But then I eat quorn

Do people who are horrified by oil blended into butter not cook with oil? I don’t understand why it’s such an issue?

On a similar note is Baby Bel real cheese or not?

I quite like it - can't be alone as they sell tons of the stuff.

Just like marge - it's just another one of those "only on Mumsnet, not in real life" things.....

I think babybel is processed cheese. Unless the ingredients have changed, there wasn't anything different from "real cheese" on their packaging. Probably not the worst of junk food.

This comes up often enough to be annoyed?

yes paxillin thank you for your input, helpful as always

Raised on Elmlea and Flora here, although my parents have just moved to Lurpak spreadable (shock!)

Can't see the issue personally

No wonder Tom Kerridge looks so awful nowadays then. Stick to cream Tom.

I'm not at all surprised so many people think it's cream. I actually think it's far more understandable than people on this thread are making out. And yes, I knew it wasn't cream.

It's next to the cream.

It's marketed with similar terminology - double vs single, which is incidentally written significantly larger than the word 'alternative' if I remember rightly. The packaging is also similar.

Most people don't read all the text on the products they buy.

There hasn't been any recent widespread advertising of it that has made it clear it's an alternative.

It's a brand and people in general are drawn towards brands. Actual cream products in the supermarket that have a similar price are own brand. Branded cream will be more expensive I imagine.

On a similar note is Baby Bel real cheese or not?

yes, its cheese. It's almost edam but not quite. It absolutely is cheese.