What does 'half & half' mean?

[jennyema]

Lyn you can actually burn that stuff. It is an edible petroleum product.

Do you have a source for that info?

Coffeemate has been around for nearly 50 years and does not, I am pretty sure, contain any petroleum.

 

[DaCook]

Do you have a source for that info?

Coffeemate has been around for nearly 50 years and does not, I am pretty sure, contain any petroleum.

No, I could look for one, but I have actually seen someone do that. Cool Whip is also an edible petroleum product.
I did a search and this is what I found.

The principal ingredients in all of these nondairy creamers are sugars and vegetable oils. The three brands contain partially hydrogenated oils loaded with trans fats. The Coffee-mate label indicates the oil could be any of the following: coconut, palm kernel, soybean, cottonseed, or safflower. The sugars are a combination of corn syrup, maltodextrin, and sugar.
All three brands contain sodium caseinate. The sodium caseinate's purpose is to provide a hint of dairy flavor as well as to create a thickening and whitening for a creamy look and feel. Sodium caseinate is obtained from fresh and pasteurized skim milk by acid coagulation of the casein, neutralization with sodium hydroxide, and drying in a spray dryer. Common among the nondairy creamers is dipotassium phosphate (a powder used to moderate coffee acidity), mono and diglycerides (to prevent oil separation), and natural and artificial flavors and colors.
So I am wrong, doesn't surprise me, But I did actually see someone burn it and there were flames. Sorry.

 

[jennyema]

No, I could look for one, but I have actually seen someone do that. Cool Whip is also an edible petroleum product.

Looking for a source for your info would be good.

Coffee mate is not a petroleum product.

INGREDIENTS:

WATER, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, AND LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, POLYSORBATE 60, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN, BETA- CAROTENE COLOR.



Cool Whip is also not a petroleum product.

"Ingredients: WATER, CORN SYRUP, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OILS), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, XANTHAN AND GUAR GUMS, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, BETA CAROTENE (COLOR)."

I am highly doubtful that either will burn.

 

[DaCook]

See my edit, please. Sorry.

 

[jennyema]

They are not petroleum products, they contain vegetable oil and sugar and chemicals. And, they are mostly water.

If you can light Coffee Mate on fire right out of the bottle, you should be able to light salad dressing, too. No?

 

[Andy M.]

Hmmm, Cesar salad flambe'. An interesting concept!

 

[DaCook]

They are not petroleum products, they contain vegetable oil and sugar and chemicals. And, they are mostly water.

If you can light Coffee Mate on fire right out of the bottle, you should be able to light salad dressing, too. No?

I am not talking about the liquid, I am talking about the little powdered packets. I am not sure what is in the powdered form that makes it burn, but it really does.

 

[Andy M.]

I am not talking about the liquid, I am talking about the little powdered packets. I am not sure what is in the powdered form that makes it burn, but it really does.

I don't doubt it will burn. Still, as you observed, no petroleum products are involved.

 

[Caine]

Doesn't commercial half-and-half include some emulsifiers or other non-dairy/chemical ingredients?

I believe that would be "fat-free" half & half she was discussing, which a misnomer. Considering fat free cream would be skim milk, and fat free milk would be skim milk, what you actually have is skim milk with a thickening agent added to give it the consistency of real half & half.