Aren’t creams and purées the same? It’s true that these terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. A cream is a thick soup, while a purée is a paste made from legumes, vegetables, or other foods, cooked, mashed, and often mixed with water or broth.

Despite their differences, when it comes to applying a sterilization or pasteurization treatment, you should follow the same instructions and heed the same warnings.

The creams and purées we’ll discuss here are made with high-quality ingredients, prepared in small batches with great care. Our focus is on gourmet cream and purée preserves. Interested? We’re sure you are!

Creams and purées: Quick to prepare and nutritious dishes

As we mentioned, creams and purées are similar but not the same. They are prepared differently, resulting in distinct consistencies and textures—creams are more liquid and light, while purées are thicker and creamier.

Both foods are essential for the nutrition of babies and individuals with dysphagia, who cannot consume solid foods. They are also popular among many people and often used in weight-loss diets.

Like other ready-made dishes, canned creams and purées offer a way to:

Eat healthy and quickly, as they’re usually made from vegetables and only need heating.
Make use of seasonal, leftover, or unsellable vegetables due to size or appearance.

Creams and purées are primarily made with vegetables, broth or water, and sometimes dairy.

Additional ingredients such as legumes, seafood, or meat can be included, enriching them with minerals, vitamins, and fiber.

The nutrients and properties of creams and purées depend mainly on the ingredients used. To learn more about their main characteristics and how to process them, we recommend checking out the different food sterilization articles we’ve prepared.

Consumption of creams and purées

You might be someone who thinks that packaged creams and purées always contain additives for preservation and can’t offer the same nutrients and minerals as homemade recipes.

We’re here to tell you that these are myths about canned foods. Preservatives aren’t always necessary, as pasteurization or sterilization partially or completely eliminates microorganisms, spores, and enzymes, and with airtight packaging, food spoilage is prevented.

Experts recommend closely examining the ingredient list on the creams and purées you buy, as the first ingredients listed are the most abundant. They also suggest choosing options with low salt content—ideally, less than 1 gram per 100 grams of product.

According to various studies, the rise in the vegan population and the increase in plant-based products will drive growth in vegetable-based canned creams and purées. Additionally, the number of consumers with dairy allergies is expected to rise, and a report by Allied Market Research predicts that dairy-free creams will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3% through 2027, reaching a value of $2.38 billion.

Types of creams and purées

As we mentioned in the article of broths and soups, creams and purées are considered thick or blended soups with an opaque appearance and a creamy, thick consistency.

Within this category, there are two types of preparations with distinct characteristics:

Creams

Derived from the French word “crème” (cream), as they originally always included this ingredient. Today, however, the term is used for any medium-thick soup made with blended ingredients, with or without milk, cream, yogurt, or cheese.

Purées

Also from French (“purée,” meaning “purified or refined”), this term is used for similar preparations but with a denser consistency.

Gourmet creams and purées

There is a wide variety of ready-made creams and purées on the market, ready to heat and enjoy. Among the most popular are:

Various vegetables: zucchini, pumpkin, asparagus, carrot, mushrooms, broccoli, artichoke, etc.
Legumes
Seafood
Fish
Meat
Fruits
Nuts
Baby food

In this section, we focus on gourmet creams and purées crafted by our clients. These are recipes made with the highest quality ingredients, produced in small batches, free from preservatives and colorings, and prepared with great care.

All our clients already know that to market their preserves or prepared dishes, they must first pasteurize or sterilize them in accordance with current health and hygiene regulations, ensuring they can be consumed safely.

How to make gourmet cream and purée preserves

As with any other prepared dish, making a gourmet cream or purée requires high-quality ingredients, thorough washing, and slow cooking to achieve the desired recipe.

Once prepared, they should be sealed in airtight containers and undergo a thermal treatment to ensure proper preservation.

Reminder:

If you’re using our autoclave, avoid fully cooking your cream or purée beforehand. This allows it to finish cooking inside the autoclave during the thermal treatment, ensuring the product doesn’t become overcooked.

Sterilization of creams and purées

Gourmet creams and purées are typically pasteurized, meaning they undergo a low-temperature thermal treatment for a specific time to eliminate and inactivate potential pathogens and reduce microbial load without significantly affecting product quality.

Because pasteurization is less intense, it only partially eliminates microorganisms, making refrigeration mandatory and resulting in a shorter shelf life of up to 3 months.

However, some creams and purées are sterilized, which involves a higher-temperature process that eradicates nearly all microorganisms, extending the product’s shelf life without the need for refrigeration.

If you don’t apply the thermal treatment immediately after cooking your creams and purées, it’s essential to store the product by rapidly cooling it with a blast chiller to prevent microbial growth.

If you apply the thermal treatment immediately after cooking, remember that once the process is complete, the preserves should be cooled as quickly as possible to prevent overcooking. Our autoclaves feature a rapid cooling system for this purpose.

As we’ve mentioned, when sterilizing or pasteurizing your canned creams and purées, you must always comply with specific food safety, quality, and hygiene regulations. This requires a thermal treatment using professional equipment, and you must record the results of each batch’s treatment, as our TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves do.

pH of gourmet creams and purées

The pH of a food is one factor to consider when determining the temperature and time for thermal treatment, as it affects which microorganisms can grow. Lower pH means higher acidity, which inhibits microbial growth, while higher pH is less acidic and more conducive to growth.

At TERRA Food-Tech^®, we can’t provide a specific pH guide for creams and purées because pH values vary based on ingredients and preparation methods. However, we can offer general references.

For creams, pH varies significantly depending on their composition. Dairy-based creams typically have a pH between 4 and 5.5, while broth-based creams range from 6 to 7.5. Purées are generally more acidic, with fruit purées ranging from 3 to 4.5 and vegetable purées from 4 to 6.

F₀-P₀ values of cream and purée sterilization

Maintaining texture, flavor, and color is critical in all foods, especially in creams and purées. In most cases, gourmet creams and purées are pasteurized, typically at low temperatures of 85-90ºC.

When pasteurizing or sterilizing a food with diverse ingredients, it’s essential to focus on the most critical ingredient to adjust parameters based on its characteristics, ensuring safe consumption.

F₀ and P₀ thermal values depend on various factors, such as the type of product, ingredients, pH, and preparation. To determine the best values for your gourmet cream or purée, measure the pH of each ingredient and perform post-production checks to evaluate the entire process, selecting F₀-P₀ values best suited to your preserve.

F₀ refers to sterilization values, used when temperatures exceed 100ºC. P₀ relates to pasteurization, used at temperatures below 100ºC.

For foods with a pH above 4.5, sterilization is generally applied at 113-118ºC with an F₀ of 7-8 minutes. For foods with a pH below 4.5, pasteurization is recommended, using a P₀ of 10-40 minutes at 85-90ºC.

Common issues in cream and purée sterilization

The main challenge in pasteurizing or sterilizing creams and purées is the wide range of ingredients they may contain. This diversity requires focusing on the predominant ingredient to determine the appropriate temperature and time, as previously explained.

It’s also important to remember that overly aggressive thermal processes can impact the product’s sensory and nutritional quality. While they may eliminate microorganisms and ensure safety, the texture, flavor, and color may be compromised.

Ideally, ensure the product is uniform before sealing to avoid temperature variations.

During thermal processing, liquid movement causes hot liquid to rise and cool liquid to descend, altering internal temperatures. To accurately monitor the exact temperature applied during thermal treatment, position the flexible probe at the thermal center of the product, about ⅓ from the bottom. This is essential because the geometric and thermal centers differ in liquids.

It’s also common for canned creams or purées to develop layers after pasteurization or sterilization. This natural result is unrelated to the treatment or autoclave; a simple shake before consumption will blend the layers.

For bacteria that can develop in any cream or purée, the most common are:

In terms of fungi, molds can also develop in these products.

This is why accurately measuring pH and applying the appropriate thermal treatment is crucial to maintain the product’s nutrients and organoleptic properties while ensuring safe consumption.

Recommended containers for cream and purée sterilization

Glass jars are the most common choice for packaging creams and purées, although pouches and cans are also used.

For glass containers, remember to leave some headspace between the product and the lid when filling to ensure a proper seal and allow room for the food to expand when heated during the thermal treatment.

It all depends on what you are packing, but in general, as a minimum, you should leave 1-2 centimeters above.

If you’re still undecided about the container that best suits your product, budget, and preferences, we recommend reviewing the pros and cons of each type of packaging.

At TERRA Food-Tech^®, we ensure our autoclaves are suitable for pasteurizing and sterilizing all types of containers.

Sterilizing creams and purées with TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves

TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves offer the ability to cook products before subjecting them to thermal treatments like pasteurization or sterilization. Thanks to the counterpressure they generate, they prevent container deformation. To avoid undesirable overcooking, these autoclaves feature a rapid cooling system that starts immediately after the thermal treatment.

If you are looking for reliability, safety, and efficiency in producing gourmet preserves, a food autoclave is the ideal choice.

With TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves, you can not only sterilize but also cook and pasteurize—three functions in one device.

Using our food autoclaves ensures compliance with safety, quality, and hygiene regulations for canned foods and prepared dishes. They are essential for those who wish to market these products.

TERRA Food-Tech^® autoclaves were created to meet the needs of micro-entrepreneurs, chefs, cooks, farmers, livestock producers, and social enterprises who have made gourmet preserves their life’s work.

Success stories of gourmet cream and purée preserves

There are many types of gourmet creams and purées on the market. You may have even tried one from one of our clients. Check out our success stories section to discover their experiences in creating and marketing these delicious recipes.

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