Smooth crème fraiche (fresh cream) is comparable to sour cream, but slightly less tangy. If you taste it plain, it is creamy and ever-so-slightly nutty when it first hits your palette. Then on the back end, the richness and tanginess intensify. When making a sauce, it does not tend to break easily as does sour cream. You can even add it to a Stroganoff and it will hold up. It pairs very well with fruit or potatoes. Use it in a dressing or sweeten it for a fruit dip. A little dollop of crème fraiche on a bowl of gazpacho also quite nice.
If you purchase it ready-made, assuming you can find it, it will set you back a pretty penny. However, it is almost embarrassingly easy to make at home, and you get to save money and control ingredients too!
Homemade Crème Fraiche
Ingredients
- One cup heavy cream (I use organic)
- 1-2 T buttermilk
Place both ingredients into a bowl. Stir. Cover loosely with a clean towel. It needs to breathe and also be protected from contamination. Leave it on the counter overnight. That’s it.
It will not spoil. We want bacteria to grow. This is good bacteria! After 10-24 hours, it will thicken. At this point, it should be refrigerated and will last a good week or so.
For a silky thin texture, use only one tablespoon buttermilk. The mixture pictured above was made with two tablespoons buttermilk and is quite thick. It will thicken more as it sits longer. Refrigeration slows down, then stops the process. That is why people who fear bacterial growth and refrigerate this product complain that it does not work. 🙂
Special Diet Notes for Lactose-Intolerance: Follow the same procedure, using One cup lactose-free milk to at least 2 T lactose-free yoghurt. Alternatively, add a few drops of Lactase enzyme. Allow to sit 24 hours while lactose is broken down. Lactose-free products are a bit sweeter – glucose is naturally sweeter than lactose.
Here is a great article on Lactase Enzyme Drops. Another money saver! Click here.
Enjoy!
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Well, “surprised again!”, I always thought Creme Fraiche was some kind of instant whipped cream, or artificial whip creme. I learn something new everyday.
You really can’t afford NOT to make this. 🙂