Riiiight, Kasumi-mama.

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Nama Cream 「生クリーム」 literally means "raw cream", but in current times it's used to refer to any type of cream that is unadulterated, i.e., made from pure cream without any added vegetable fats or any other additives. Most of the products labelled 'nama cream' on shelves are actually pasteurized, so translating it as "raw cream" would be inappropriate. JP-EN dictionaries usually define 「生クリーム」 as "fresh cream" to avoid this issue.

In practice, cream sold in Japan usually have around 35% and 48% butterfat, so nama cream lies somewhat between (anglophone) whipping cream and double cream. American heavy cream also sits around there (in terms of butterfat), making it a close analog (that can be substituted for in recipes).

The other corresponding product is whip cream 「ホイップクリーム」, which can refer to either whipped cream (with air incorporated) or whipping cream (unwhipped, but intended for whipping). Since manufacturers would prefer to label their products "nama cream" if they can get away with it, these usually contain vegetable fats (to stabilize the whipped foam) and antioxidant preservatives (helps prevent rancidity).

NNescio said - Interesting stuff

Huh. Thanks for the explanation.