Thank heavens for the wonderful cows of Normandy. These cows live the life to the fullest. They are pasture fed, and pampered. It is no wonder they produce great dairy for delectably delicious butter, Camembert and other great cheese, and of course Crème Fraîche or “Fresh Cream”. Crème Fraîche is the French equivalent of sour cream; but much richer, flavourful and delicious. Unlike sour cream, Crème Fraîche tends to be higher in fat, making it an ideal cream to add to hot soups without the fear of it curdling. It is thickened with lactic acid bacteria or Streptococcus lactis, which is found in cultured buttermilk.
Crème Fraîche is readily found in the commercial market, however it is ridiculously expensive. It can easily be made at home, and as with many other ingredient recipes featured on my blog, gives you complete control of how tart you would like it to be. As mentioned above, it only contains two ingredients: heavy cream and buttermilk. When buying the heavy cream, try to find one that is just pasteurized versus ultra-pasteurized, because the latter takes longer to thicken.
The cream is slowly heated to 105°F (40.5°C), then a small amount of buttermilk is added. The cream is then allowed to stand covered at room temperature, for 24 to 36 hours; all depending on how thick and tart you would like it to be.
You can use Crème Fraîche in various applications. Typically, because of the higher fat content than sour cream, it is used as a finishing sauce because it does not curdle. Try to sweeten it and add it to fruit. Replace the sour cream in cheese cake with Crème Fraîche for a richer, smoother cheese cake. The possibilities are endless, it is up to your imagination!
Crème Fraîche
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk
Directions:
- Make sure the container that you will use to make the Crème Fraîche is throughly sanitized. To do this, simply place the container in a pot and cover it with water. Allow the water to come to a full boil, and boil for 10 minutes.
- Once the container is sanitized and air-dried, begin to heat the heavy cream to 105°F (40.5°C) at medium heat.
- Once the cream has reached the target temperature, transfer to the sanitized container and whisk in the buttermilk, and mix well.
- Loosely cover the container with plastic wrap, and allow for it to stand in a cool and dark place for 24 to 36 hours; depending on how thick and tart you would wish for it to be. Keep in mind that the Crème Fraîche will thicken and sour more as it ages in the refrigerator.
- The finished Crème Fraîche may be stored in the refrigerator up to 10 days.
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