No, you cannot simply thin cream to make milk. While diluting cream with water will reduce its fat content, it will not create milk. Milk contains significant amounts of proteins and sugars in addition to fat, which are not present in cream in the same proportions.
Why Diluting Cream Isn't Enough
Multiple sources confirm that diluting cream, even heavy cream, with water only results in diluted cream, not milk. The resulting liquid will have the correct fat percentage mathematically (by adding water), but it will be deficient in the essential proteins and sugars found in milk. This is why a simple dilution is insufficient for creating a true milk substitute. See Reddit culinary discussions, Quora answers and StackExchange cooking forum discussions for detailed explanations.
- Fat Content: Cream has a high fat content (e.g., heavy cream is ~36% fat), while whole milk is only around 3.5% fat. Diluting cream will reduce the fat content.
- Protein and Sugar Content: Milk's unique properties come from its composition of proteins and sugars (lactose). Cream lacks the same balance of these components. Simply adding water doesn't add these crucial elements.
- Functional Differences: In cooking, diluted cream might work as a partial substitute for milk in some recipes, but it won't mimic milk's properties completely, especially in recipes requiring specific protein interactions (e.g., cheese sauces).
While you can use diluted heavy cream in some applications as a substitute for whole milk (e.g., using a 1:1 ratio of heavy cream and water to approximate 1 cup of whole milk), this is not truly making milk; it's creating a milk-like substitute with a similar fat percentage.
Practical Considerations
- Recipe-Specific: The success of using diluted cream depends entirely on the recipe. Some recipes might tolerate it, while others will not.
- Fat Content Matters: The specific type of cream used (heavy cream, half-and-half, etc.) significantly affects the outcome.
- Not a True Substitute: For most purposes, where milk's properties are crucial, a true milk substitute is necessary.
