Alternatively, maybe people think whipped cream has to have sugar in it? This one is simple: whipped cream should not have sugar in it. If you’re eating whipped cream on something sweet it doesn’t need sugar because the other thing is sweet, while if you’re having it on something savory it doesn’t need sugar because that would taste funny.
This is false. You forgot about an entire basic flavor: sour.
Obvious counterexample to your claim: whipped cream on berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.). Do the berries taste sweet? No, not really (even the sweeter cultivars / crops don’t contain enough sugar to be “dessert”-level sweet). Are the berries “savory”? No. Does sweet whipped cream “taste funny” on berries? No, it tastes exactly perfect.
(Other examples in the same vein: Key lime pie; blueberry/peach cobbler—recall that it’s usually served with either sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream—which is certainly sweet.)
This is probably another preference thing, but I’m quite happy to eat plain whipped cream on plain berries (or Key lime pie, or cobbler). They’re all plenty sweet as is.
Note, however, that in the case of cobbler or pie, you can reduce the sugar in the dessert itself, compensate partly by sweetening your whipped cream, and thereby achieve both a reduction in total sugar content, and a more complex flavor profile.
That’s fine if you like it, though I would like it less. I really enjoy the contrast between the cool smooth unsweet whipped cream and the strongly flavored warm sweet cobbler.
This is false. You forgot about an entire basic flavor: sour.
Obvious counterexample to your claim: whipped cream on berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.). Do the berries taste sweet? No, not really (even the sweeter cultivars / crops don’t contain enough sugar to be “dessert”-level sweet). Are the berries “savory”? No. Does sweet whipped cream “taste funny” on berries? No, it tastes exactly perfect.
(Other examples in the same vein: Key lime pie; blueberry/peach cobbler—recall that it’s usually served with either sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream—which is certainly sweet.)
This is probably another preference thing, but I’m quite happy to eat plain whipped cream on plain berries (or Key lime pie, or cobbler). They’re all plenty sweet as is.
Note, however, that in the case of cobbler or pie, you can reduce the sugar in the dessert itself, compensate partly by sweetening your whipped cream, and thereby achieve both a reduction in total sugar content, and a more complex flavor profile.
That’s fine if you like it, though I would like it less. I really enjoy the contrast between the cool smooth unsweet whipped cream and the strongly flavored warm sweet cobbler.