Homemade creme fraiche

[MatthewB]

I'm going to "make" creme fraiche for the dinner that guajolote & I are doing for Saturday evening.

So, tomorrow morning I'd like to do this.

I'll always done this with sour cream & buttermilk before. However I found a new recipe last weekend in Helen Witty's "The Good Stuff Cookbook."

Witty's recipe calls for 1 pint of heavy cream warmed to 90* to 95* F. Then add 1/4 cup sour cream. Let sit, etc etc.

I can only find fresh "low-fat" buttermilk locally. So might Witty's recipe be better?

Advice?

[Suvir Saran]

A link from the past that may help you some Matthew.

[Suvir Saran]

Old thread on clotted cream has creme fraiche related posts towards the end.

[MatthewB]

A link from the past that may help you some Matthew.

Thanks, Suvir. I searched & found that thread but I'd assumed that it was just about the commercial product.

That thread covers the buttermilk method. And there's also Jim Dixon's yogurt method.

So which method might be "best": Witty's, the "standard" buttermilk, or Dixon's yogurt?

[Suvir Saran]

A link from the past that may help you some Matthew.

Thanks, Suvir. I searched & found that thread but I'd assumed that it was just about the commercial product.

That thread covers the buttermilk method. And there's also Jim Dixon's yogurt method.

So which method might be "best": Witty's, the "standard" buttermilk, or Dixon's yogurt?

I made both and my guests preferred the buttermilk one.

Keep us posted with your own findings about this.

[MatthewB]

Well, I'm completely off work tomorrow.

I might do all three & see what everyone thinks on Saturday evening.

[Suvir Saran]

Well, I'm completely off work tomorrow.

I might do all three & see what everyone thinks on Saturday evening. 

And remember to share with Sunday what people thought. All the best with your cooking.

[maggiethecat]

Well, I'm completely off work tomorrow.

I might do all three & see what everyone thinks on Saturday evening. 

A horizontal tasting of creme fraiche. Gawd. I'm breaking into a sweat. Yes, please let us know what the verdict is!

You hedonist, you.

[sladeums]

<snip>

I can only find fresh "low-fat" buttermilk locally.  So might Witty's recipe be better?

Advice?

I've never seen anything but low-fat buttermilk.

I thought buttermilk was low-fat naturally (well, so far as it's 'naturally' manufactured now) and that 'low-fat' label was just there to further entice fat-fearing consumers.

What other kind is there?

[MatthewB]

I've never seen anything but low-fat buttermilk.

I thought buttermilk was low-fat naturally (well, so far as it's 'naturally' manufactured now) and that 'low-fat' label was just there to further entice fat-fearing consumers.

What other kind is there?

Hell if I know.

I have no problem displaying & accepting my ignorance.

School me on buttermilk!

[sladeums]

I've never seen anything but low-fat buttermilk.

I thought buttermilk was low-fat naturally (well, so far as it's 'naturally' manufactured now) and that 'low-fat' label was just there to further entice fat-fearing consumers.

What other kind is there?

Hell if I know.

I have no problem displaying & accepting my ignorance.

School me on buttermilk!

I'm not sure I could be totally mistaken as well...I do know that buttermilk is by nature a low-fat product, though.

I'm willing to be a pupil as well.

Here's a little Q&A snippet (which doesn't answer the question) from TFN:

click for the 'If buttermilk is low-fat, will that change a recipe?' question and the non-comittal answer

It does state that manufacturers use low-fat or non-fat milk to make buttermilk and that "...You would actually be hard-pressed to find a buttermilk made with whole milk...".

[MatthewB]

Ahhh, thanks, sladeums.

I guess I shouldn't be concerned about "low-fat" buttermilk whilst making creme fraiche.

Cheers!

[MatthewB]

Just returned from the grocery . . .

Picked up three cups of heavy cream (pasteurized & *not* ultra-pasteurized)

And yogurt, buttermilk, & sour cream. (According to the packaging, all three contain active cultures.)

I'll put the three different versions together after lunch.

More later . . .

[Socrates]

Just returned from the grocery . . .

Picked up three cups of heavy cream (pasteurized & *not* ultra-pasteurized)

And yogurt, buttermilk, & sour cream.  (According to the packaging, all three contain active cultures.)

I'll put the three different versions together after lunch.

More later . . .

Please report in when yoiu finish the experiment.

Xan's c.f. rocks my world like she does. She makes it all the time and she goes back & forth between using 1c. heavy cream with 1 T. buttermilk (I know she doesnt heat it at all, just puts it in a jar w/ the top part-way on and leaves on a high shelf for @36 hrs.). Next time she will use 1 T. of the c.f. as the starter instead of buttermilk. As I said, she varies this every other time.

[PastryLady]

Just letting you know Costco sells 1/2 gallons of Heavy Cream real cheap. I think I paid $3.50-$4 for one. Heavy cream is so expensive and lately sold in pint size or less. Not ultra pasturized either.

[KatieLoeb]

Am I mistaken, or isn't "buttermilk" what's left after you've overwhipped the whipped cream and it's coagulated/glommed into butter? If that's the case then I think it would be low-fat by definition, since the fat went into the butter as it emulsified out of the buttermilk, no?

[alanamoana]

my favorite brand of creme fraiche is from california "kendall farms", rich creamy and delicious.

when i make creme fraiche, i do the buttermilk method (48 hours with cheesecloth on top...i don't have the ratio in front of me right now)...

it comes close!

[Bux]

Am I mistaken, or isn't "buttermilk" what's left after you've overwhipped the whipped cream and it's coagulated/glommed into butter?  If that's the case then I think it would be low-fat by definition, since the fat went into the butter as it emulsified out of the buttermilk, no?

That used to be the case. The buttermilk we find in our supermarkets today is not the by-product of hand-churned butter. The buttermilk in your grocer's dairy case is made commercially by adding a lactic acid bacteria culture to pasteurized skim or non-fat milk. At least that's what sladeums link says.

[Bux]

Picked up three cups of heavy cream (pasteurized & *not* ultra-pasteurized)

That's a good start. Pasteurization is why the cream isn't creme fraîche in the first place, but that Ultra stuff is really a crime.

And yogurt, buttermilk, & sour cream.  (According to the packaging, all three contain active cultures.)

I wonder if the difference between the three will have as much to do with the brand as well as the product. I suspect that using three different brands of sour cream or buttermilk wouldn't produce three different tastes as well, assuming you could distinguish between the tastes of the original products.

[MatthewB]

I wonder if the difference between the three will have as much to do with the brand as well as the product. I suspect that using three different brands of sour cream or buttermilk wouldn't produce three different tastes as well, assuming you could distinguish between the tastes of the original products.

My hunch is that you're absolutely right, Bux. I noticed in one of the links that Suvir provided above that Jim Dixon is fairly adamant about a particular brand of yogurt. Unfortunately, that brand wasn't available to me whilst shopping yesterday.

Perhaps someone will followup my quick-&-dirty experiment with one or more that compare particular brands of yogurt, buttermilk, & sour cream?

My batches are still brewing, but here's what I did:

Heated three cups of the cream to 95* F.

Separated cream into one pint jars--all labeled to note the appropriate mixture. (Thank goodness I remembered to do that! )

Added 2 tablespoons of Country Fresh Buttermilk to one jar.

Added 2 1/2 tablespoons of Organic Valley Organic Sour Cream to one jar.

Added 2 1/2 tablespoons of Dannon Natural Plain Yogurt to one jar.

Mixed, covered, etc.

I was disappointed that the only plain active yogurt I could find was Dannon. And the line drawing of Rachel Ray on the packaging didn't make up for this disappointment.

I'll report after we compare the mixtures at the dinner gathering this evening.

[MatthewB]

The results are in.

From best to lesser . . .

1. Buttermilk

2. Sour cream

3. Yogurt

Gualojote & I tasted last night before serving--ummm, in a wine haze we forgot to serve the creme fraiche with the blueberry gratin.

Buttermilk was the clear winner; however, it could have used more fermenting time. (18 hours plus 5 in the fridge.)

I re-tasted just now & the sour cream is quite close to the buttermilk.

Where I'd go from here . . .

I'm convinced that sour cream & yogurt can beat buttermilk. But it all comes down to the quality of the product & the amount of active cultures. The Organic Valley sour cream definitely created more volume & I'm assuming that this is due to more active cultures--it's a good quality sour cream. I wouldn't bother trying this with Dannon yogurt again.

I'll scout out better yogurt (and perhaps some other sour creams) & try this experiment again soon. For now, it's quality quality quality. (Big surprise, huh?)

Edited August 24, 2003 by MatthewB (log)

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks Matthew for giving the rest of us so much to fall back on when making creme fraiche next. Any pictures???

[MatthewB]

Thanks Matthew for giving the rest of us so much to fall back on when making creme fraiche next.  Any pictures???

What type of pictures would you like?

I was thinking of the jars--the volume difference between the yogurt & sour cream shows well this way. (We used some of the buttermilk version with berries after we finished the gratin & realized our faux paux. So volume with the buttermilk won't contrast with the others.)

And perhaps in a dish?

Let me know & I'll take some pictures today & post them tomorrow.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks Matthew for giving the rest of us so much to fall back on when making creme fraiche next.  Any pictures???

What type of pictures would you like?

I was thinking of the jars--the volume difference between the yogurt & sour cream shows well this way. (We used some of the buttermilk version with berries after we finished the gratin & realized our faux paux. So volume with the buttermilk won't contrast with the others.)

And perhaps in a dish?

Let me know & I'll take some pictures today & post them tomorrow.

Any and all you take and want to share. You are too kind.

[Alex]

What type of pictures would you like?

How about one of you and Mr. g with the jars in a wine haze? (Sounds like the eG version of Clue®. )