Homemade creme fraiche

[MatthewB]

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®. )

No such pictures exist on my camera.

Perhaps gualojote has some?

[MatthewB]

I took about a dozen pictures of the various creme fraiches.

None of them turned out well, so I'll not bothering posting any.

But I'll try again when I repeat this experiment.

[PPX]

I have seen recipes for making a creme fraiche at home, but have never tried it. One version called for culturing buttermilk & cream, another used sour cream & cream. Anyone have a preference for one or the other? Can the heavy cream be ultrapasteurized? Could I make this in my Salton yogurt maker? I'd like to serve some whipped w/a fruit tart, and also to use to make chocolate truffles. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[chiantiglace]

look, creme fraiche has nothing to it. Its just souring cream in a warm place overnight or for about 12 hours give or take depending on room temp. All you need is 1 qt heavy cream UP or P, whichever and about a tablespoon of buttermilk. Let it sit over night in a warm place about 78degrees F and the next day return to the refrigerator. I just enhances flavor thats all.

Sour cream on the other hand is a "mock-up". It's not really creme fraiche but a lot of people use it as a "cheap" and non-time consuming method for making creme fraiche. The average person wouldnt know the difference because the average person has never even heard of creme fraiche.

[carswell]

Homemade is better than no crème fraîche but, in my experience, never quite equals the real thing. I have a slight preference for the buttermilk versions, despite the fact that I end up throwing out the 95% of the leftover litre of buttermilk (hate the stuff).

Since crème fraîche is only cream, the quality of the cream you use has a major impact on the quality of the end product. Ultrapasteurized cream is tasteless; no surprise, then, that crème fraîche made from it is unmemorable.

Don't see why you would want to use your yogurt maker. If room temperature is too cool, just leave the bowl in the oven with the oven light turned on.

Given homemade ultrapasteurized crème fraîche's lack of texture and tang, I wonder if you mightn't be better off using regular cream in your truffles and, for your tart, a mix of sour cream and whipping cream, 50-50, that you've set aside for an hour or so before whipping.

Edited May 16, 2005 by carswell (log)

[CanadianBakin']

Given homemade ultrapasturized crème fraîche's lack of texture and tang, I wonder if you mightn't be better off using regular cream in your truffles and, for your tart, a mix of sour cream and whipping cream, 50-50, that you've set aside for an hour or so before whipping.

Jamie Oliver also suggests using 50/50 sour cream and whipping cream in place of creme fraiche. I've used it in pasta dishes with success but haven't tried it just plain on fruit.

[carswell]

Jamie Oliver also suggests using 50/50 sour cream and whipping cream in place of creme fraiche. I've used it in pasta dishes with success but haven't tried it just plain on fruit.

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Jacques Pépin, too, reportedly, though I learned the trick years ago from a caterer.

[...tm...]

Butterminlk, sour cream, and creme fraiche are all cultures of the same bcteria, Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. What makes them all different are their fat contests. Buttermilk has almost no fat, while American sour cream is about 20% fat (and usually contains stabilizers like starch and gelatin) and creme fraiche is 30% fat or so. This is around the same percentage s whipping cream, so in theory you can just mix little buttermilk into whipping cream and leave it at the bacteria's preferred temperature (warm room temp--not as warm as a yogurt maker) and it will turn into deliciously thick creme fraiche, but I've never gotten quite as thick of a product as I would like. The 50:50 sour cream:heavy cream substitution is also not as thick, and less favorable than the homemade, so I prefer the homemade.

(fat percentages taken from Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, 2004)

[carswell]

Butterminlk, sour cream, and creme fraiche are all cultures of the same bcteria, Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides.

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This I didn't know, though it makes sense.

What makes them all different are their fat contests.  Buttermilk has almost no fat, while American sour cream is about 20% fat (and usually contains stabilizers like starch and gelatin) and creme fraiche is 30% fat or so.  This is around the same percentage s whipping cream, so in theory you can just mix  little buttermilk into whipping cream and leave it at the bacteria's preferred temperature (warm room temp--not as warm as a yogurt maker) and it will turn into deliciously thick creme fraiche, but I've never gotten quite as thick of a product as I would like.

My experience has been that buttermilk produces a slightly tangier, nuttier and thicker result than sour cream, though I've never done a side-by-side comparison. Maybe it's the additives in the sour cream or the age of the bacteria? In any case, irrespective of the souring agent, I've never succeeded in making a really thick crème fraîche, a point driven home recently when Liberty, a local dairy products company with an international reputation for its cream cheese and yogurt, began marketing Quebec's first widely available crème fraîche. It's not only thick enough to hold up a spoon, it's so gooey I immediately checked out the ingredient list, expecting to see that they'd added stabilizers and thickeners. But, no, it's 100% pasteurized (not ultra) cream. I wonder what makes the difference. Bacteria strains?

[culinary bear]

I've had a very tasty result by incubating single cream (18% butterfat) with a tablespoon of live yoghurt culture. If your starter yoghurt culture is of the set variety, your consistency will more closely match the shop-bought version.

In addition to the Leuconostoc and Lactococcus spp, you'll also get Bifidus and Lactobacillus spp, which in my experience tend to give a more rounded flavour.

[PPX]

Thanks for all the info. I think I'll start by searching for a good quality heavy cream.....then I'll try culturing a batch of CF with buttermilk. Using yogurt for starter sounds interesting too......

[Trishiad]

I do 1 cup of cream with 1 tablespoon of buttermilk in a closed jar (old mayo jar) on top of the stove for up to 24 hours. This makes a nice thick, tangy cream which I use for truffles.

[sugarbuzz]

Here's a recipe for coconut creme fraiche that works really well.. especially with desserts. It gets really thick..you could stick a spoon in the middle of it & it will stand straight up.

2-1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) coconut milk

2 tablespoons buttermilk

To make the crème fraîche: In a medium bowl, blend all ingredients together and let sit in a warm place (85 to 90 F) overnight.

I usually just let it sit in the oven overnight.

[FoodMan]

I guess it's already been said , but I also use buttermilk to make creme fraiche since the stuff is so damn expensive and I NEVER buy it. My end result is quiet thick with a nice tang to it. I also use the only cream I can find...ultra-pasturized. I've used sour cream with live cultures to make it as well but I prefer buttermilk. My ratio is about 2Tbsp. of buttermilk per cup of cream and let it sit at room temp for about 12 hrs although I let it sit close to 24hrs. and I got a more sour end result but still very good.

Elie

[takomabaker]

...despite the fact that I end up throwing out the 95% of the leftover litre of buttermilk (hate the stuff).

I'm in the same boat. Has anyone tried powdered buttermilk? I haven't yet, but want to try.

[sugarbuzz]

I hate wasting product..even buttermilk..I usually just make a few batches of muffins & freeze them.

[carswell]

I'm in the same boat. Has anyone tried powdered buttermilk? I haven't yet, but want to try.

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But would the essential bacteria survive the drying process?

[jgarner53]

I've found that the powdered buttermilk is OK in baked goods, but not in something like pancakes. You just don't get the same effect.

[Bond Girl]

I never bought creme fraiche in a store, so can't make the comparison, but I've made it at home by dropping a huge dollop of yogurt in heavy cream and leaving it out on the counter for 24 hours. The trick is to shake it thoroughly once in a while. When the cream thickens, I pop it in the fridge...I even use it to make ice cream in the summer. So far, there has been no complaints. Then again, I live alone and the neighbors are grateful enough for any food I feed them.

[takomabaker]

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[PPX]

I attempted a small batch of cultured cream yesterday---I had some plain yogurt on hand, & made it a la Bond Girl method. I checked it after it had been sitting on my counter for 12 hours or so. Upon lifting off the plastic wrap, I got a whiff of warm yeasty(!) cream, and was so turned off that I dumped the whole thing. Perhaps I shouldve let it go longer, but I thought that it was contaminated! Should I have heated the cream first? I had tasted the heavy pasturized cream ahead of time & it seemd fine--the use by date was looming in the very near future, but it had still smelled fresh. I'll try again with fresh(er) cream & buttermilk.......