Cream vs. Paste: What's the Difference?
Edited by Aimie Carlson || By Janet White || Updated on September 18, 2023
"Cream" is a thick liquid or semi-solid emulsion, often used in cooking or skincare, while "Paste" is a thicker, often sticky mixture that can be either edible or inedible, used in various applications.
Key Differences
"Cream" is often derived from dairy, made by skimming the fatty layer off milk. Its applications range from culinary uses to skincare. "Paste," on the other hand, can be made from various ingredients, including flour, water, and additional elements depending on its intended use.
Both "Cream" and "Paste" have various consistencies but serve different functions. Creams are generally smoother and easier to spread, ideal for applications like baking or moisturizing. Pastes are usually thicker, used for adhering items or as a cooking ingredient.
While the word "Cream" often implies something luxurious or rich, "Paste" generally carries a more functional connotation. Creams are often associated with indulgence, like in desserts or high-end cosmetics. Pastes are thought of as practical, like in glue or marinades.
"Cream" and "Paste" can also differ significantly in their storage requirements. Creams, especially those that are dairy-based, may require refrigeration, whereas pastes often have longer shelf lives and can be stored at room temperature.
Comparison Chart
Consistency
Smooth, liquid
Thicker, sticky
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Common Uses
Cooking, skincare
Cooking, adhesive
Origin
Often dairy-based
Various ingredients
Storage
Refrigeration
Room temperature
Connotations
Luxurious, rich
Practical, sturdy
Cream and Paste Definitions
Cream
A culinary ingredient for richness.
The recipe calls for heavy cream.
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Paste
A thick mixture for adhesive purposes.
She used paste to stick the poster on the wall.
Cream
A smooth skincare product.
The cream moisturized her skin.
Paste
An edible blend of ingredients.
Add garlic paste to the curry.
Cream
The best part of a group or collection.
He is the cream of the crop in his field.
Paste
A thick substance for polishing or cleaning.
Use the paste to clean the silver.
Cream
The yellowish fatty component of unhomogenized milk that tends to accumulate at the surface.
Paste
A synonym for defeating or trouncing.
The team pasted their opponents.
Cream
Any of various substances resembling or containing cream
Hand cream.
Paste
A smooth viscous mixture, as of flour and water or of starch and water, that is used as an adhesive for joining light materials, such as paper and cloth.
Cream
A pale yellow to yellowish white.
Paste
The moist clay or clay mixture used in making porcelain or pottery. Also called pâte.
Cream
The choicest part
The cream of the crop.
Paste
A smooth dough of water, flour, and butter or other shortening, used in making pastry.
Cream
To form cream.
Paste
A food that has been pounded until it is reduced to a smooth creamy mass
Anchovy paste.
Cream
To form foam or froth at the top.
Paste
A sweet doughy candy or confection
Rolled apricot paste.
Cream
To have an orgasm.
Paste
A hard, brilliant, lead-containing glass used in making artificial gems.
Cream
To be excited or delighted about something.
Paste
A gem made of this glass. Also called strass.
Cream
To remove the cream from; skim.
Paste
A hard blow.
Cream
To take or remove (the best part)
Creamed off the highest-paying jobs for her cronies.
Paste
To cause to adhere by applying paste.
Cream
To take the best part from
Creamed the whole department to form his management team.
Paste
To cover with something by using paste
He pasted the wall with burlap.
Cream
To beat into a creamy consistency.
Paste
(Computers) To insert (text, graphics, or other data) into a document or file.
Cream
To prepare or cook in or with a cream sauce.
Paste
(Computers) To insert text, graphics, or other data into a document or file.
Cream
To add cream to.
Paste
To strike forcefully.
Cream
To defeat overwhelmingly
Creamed our rival on their home court.
Paste
To defeat soundly.
Cream
To damage severely; destroy
My camera got creamed when I dropped it.
Paste
A soft moist mixture, in particular:
Cream
Vulgar Slang To have an orgasm in (one's pants, for example).
Paste
One of flour, fat, or similar ingredients used in making pastry.
Cream
The butterfat/milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
Take 100 ml of cream and 50 grams of sugar…
Paste
(obsolete) Pastry.
Cream
The liquid separated from milk, possibly with certain other milk products added, and with at least eighteen percent of it milkfat.
Paste
One of pounded foods, such as fish paste, liver paste, or tomato paste.
Cream
The liquid separated from milk containing at least 18 percent milkfat (48% for double cream).
Paste
One used as an adhesive, especially for putting up wallpapers, etc.
Cream
(tea and coffee) A portion of cream, such as the amount found in a creamer.
I take my coffee with two cream and three sugar.
Paste
(physics) A substance that behaves as a solid until a sufficiently large load or stress is applied, at which point it flows like a fluid
Cream
A yellowish white colour; the colour of cream.
Paste
A hard lead-containing glass, or an artificial gemstone made from this glass.
Cream
(informal) Frosting, custard, creamer, or another substance similar to the oily part of milk or to whipped cream.
Paste
(obsolete) Pasta.
Cream
(figuratively) The best part of something.
The cream of the crop
The cream of a collection of books or pictures
Paste
(mineralogy) The mineral substance in which other minerals are embedded.
Cream
(medicine) A viscous aqueous oil/fat emulsion with a medicament added, used to apply that medicament to the skin. (compare with ointment)
You look really sunburnt; you should apply some cream.
Paste
(transitive) To stick with paste; to cause to adhere by or as if by paste.
Cream
Semen.
Paste
To insert a piece of media (e.g. text, picture, audio, video) previously copied or cut from somewhere else.
Cream
(obsolete) The chrism or consecrated oil used in anointing ceremonies.
Paste
To strike or beat someone or something.
Cream
Cream-coloured; having a yellowish white colour.
Paste
To defeat decisively or by a large margin.
Cream
To puree, to blend with a liquifying process.
Cream the vegetables with the olive oil, flour, salt and water mixture.
Paste
A soft composition, as of flour moistened with water or milk, or of earth moistened to the consistence of dough, as in making potter's ware.
Cream
To turn a yellowish white colour; to give something the color of cream.
Paste
Specifically, in cookery, a dough prepared for the crust of pies and the like; pastry dough.
Cream
(slang) To obliterate, to defeat decisively.
We creamed the opposing team!
Paste
A kind of cement made of flour and water, starch and water, or the like, - used for uniting paper or other substances, as in bookbinding, etc., - also used in calico printing as a vehicle for mordant or color.
Cream
To ejaculate used of either gender.
Paste
A highly refractive vitreous composition, variously colored, used in making imitations of precious stones or gems. See Strass.
Cream
To ejaculate in (clothing or a bodily orifice).
Paste
A soft confection made of the inspissated juice of fruit, licorice, or the like, with sugar, etc.
Cream
To rub, stir, or beat (butter) into a light creamy consistency.
Paste
The mineral substance in which other minerals are imbedded.
Cream
(transitive) To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream.
Paste
To unite with paste; to fasten or join by means of paste.
Cream
To take off the best or choicest part of.
Paste
Any mixture of a soft and malleable consistency
Cream
(transitive) To furnish with, or as if with, cream.
Paste
An adhesive made from water and flour or starch; used on paper and paperboard
Cream
(intransitive) To gather or form cream.
Paste
A tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers
Cream
The rich, oily, and yellowish part of milk, which, when the milk stands unagitated, rises, and collects on the surface. It is the part of milk from which butter is obtained.
Paste
Join or attach with or as if with glue;
Paste the sign ont the wall
Cut and paste the sentence in the text
Cream
The part of any liquor that rises, and collects on the surface.
Paste
Hit with the fists;
He pasted his opponent
Cream
A delicacy of several kinds prepared for the table from cream, etc., or so as to resemble cream.
Paste
Cover the surface of;
Paste the wall with burlap
Cream
A cosmetic; a creamlike medicinal preparation.
In vain she tries her paste and creams,To smooth her skin or hide its seams.
Paste
A computer command to insert copied data.
I'll just paste this text into the document.
Cream
The best or choicest part of a thing; the quintessence; as, the cream of a jest or story; the cream of a collection of books or pictures.
Welcome, O flower and cream of knights errant.
Cream
To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream.
Cream
To take off the best or choicest part of.
Cream
To furnish with, or as with, cream.
Creaming the fragrant cups.
Cream
To form or become covered with cream; to become thick like cream; to assume the appearance of cream; hence, to grow stiff or formal; to mantle.
There are a sort of men whose visagesDo cream and mantle like a standing pool.
Cream
The best people or things in a group;
The cream of England's young men were killed in the Great War
Cream
The part of milk containing the butterfat
Cream
Toiletry consisting of any of various substances resembling cream that have a soothing and moisturizing effect when applied to the skin
Cream
Make creamy by beating;
Cream the butter
Cream
Put on cream, as on one's face or body;
She creams her face every night
Cream
Remove from the surface;
Skim cream from the surface of milk
Cream
Add cream to one's coffee, for example
Cream
A dairy product made by skimming milk.
She added cream to her coffee.
Cream
A term for beating ingredients until smooth.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
FAQs
What is Cream?
Cream is a thick liquid or semi-solid emulsion often used in cooking or skincare.
Is Paste always edible?
No, some pastes like adhesive or polishing pastes are not edible.
What is the consistency of Cream?
Cream is generally smooth and liquid or semi-solid.
Does Cream require refrigeration?
Dairy-based creams usually require refrigeration.
Does Paste have a long shelf life?
Many pastes have a long shelf life and can be stored at room temperature.
Can Paste be diluted?
Some pastes can be diluted to achieve a desired consistency.
What is Paste?
Paste is a thicker, often sticky mixture used in various applications like cooking or adhering items.
Can Cream be non-dairy?
Yes, there are non-dairy cream alternatives made from plants.
Is Cream used in cosmetics?
Yes, cream is often used as a base in skincare products.
Is Paste the same as glue?
Not necessarily, though some pastes have adhesive properties similar to glue.
Can Paste be used in cooking?
Yes, some pastes like tomato paste or curry paste are used in cooking.
What is the consistency of Paste?
Paste is usually thicker and may be sticky.
Can Cream be whipped?
Yes, certain types of cream can be whipped to create whipped cream.
Is Cream used in desserts?
Yes, cream is often used in desserts for its rich texture.
Can Cream and Paste be interchanged?
Generally no, as they have different properties and uses.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Aimie CarlsonAimie Carlson, holding a master's degree in English literature, is a fervent English language enthusiast. She lends her writing talents to Difference Wiki, a prominent website that specializes in comparisons, offering readers insightful analyses that both captivate and inform.
