DCHP-2

coffee cream DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — British Columbia & Quebec, Food & Drink

  a blend of milk and cream usually with 18 percent milk fat content.

  Type: 5. Frequency — In nine out of Canada's 13 provinces and territories, coffee cream is the most popular term for cream with this milk fat content (see Chart 2). The term is most frequently used in Quebec and British Columbia (see Chart 1), which stand out in the Canadian context for a number of variables. As coffee cream is also commonly used internationally (see Chart 3), the term is only Canadian in the sense that it is a Canadian regionalism in Quebec and BC. In BC, it might be a reflection of (older) British use, while in Quebec its use is possibly influenced by the Quebec French (and French French) term "crème à café". This influence from French similarly appears to account for the higher frequency of "sofa" in Quebec as compared to "couch" in the rest of Canada (Dollinger 2015b: 292-3).
  Canadian packaging regulations require the percentage of milk fat to be prominently displayed beside whatever name is given on the package. Thus, confusion about whether coffee cream refers to a specific type of cream with a particular milk fat content or simply means "the cream I put in my coffee" can be easily enough resolved.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "coffee cream", which is marked "Cdn", a designation that does not appear to hold at the national level.

  See also: creamo  cereal cream  table cream