Heavy Cream vs. Heavy WHIPPING Cream: Is There a Difference?

Okay, so I've done some googling because I have questions about things, and I know I'm not the only one.

The other week, I had a recipe that called for heavy cream, and when I went to the dairy aisle in my local Stop & Shop, I encountered heavy cream and heavy whipping cream. I wasn't sure if they were the same thing, or if it was just someone's idea of a sick joke to try to confuse me more and defeat me.

I did some googling, and here's the deal with cream. It's all about the milk fat, especially with your heavy creams. Your heavy cream and your heavy whipping cream have 36% milk fat, or so the Google tells me, making them pretty much the same thing. 

However, just plain old whipping cream without the heavy in front of it has 30% milk fat, so it is a little different. One's going to—I guess, I don't know—stay aloft better as you whip it.

Don't ask me which one. I can only give you so much, but that's the difference. 

So heavy whipping cream and heavy cream, 36% milk fat, pretty much the same thing. Plain old "whipping cream" without the "heavy" has less milk fat.  

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I certainly sound like I do. Anyway, that's what I'm going with.

[Editor's note: heavy cream and heavy whipping cream will hold its shape better than just "whipping cream." Save the half-and-half for coffee or for recipes that specifically call for it.]