Creme Fraiche for Everyone

Creme fraiche is a very clever ingredient that will make itself invaluable to you in a short amount of time. It's kind of like yogurt, and kind of like sour cream, but not really on either. Really, creme fraiche is buttermilk cream. It's tangy and creamy and will liven up a soup, stew, sauce, burrito, taco, salad, or just about anything else. You can sweeten it for a pastry filling or, as my wife keeps hinting, as an ice cream base.

If there's a problem with creme fraiche, it's that it is and expensive ingredient. Well, also that it is full of fat, but don't use that much of it. Back to the expense: around here, it is about $8.00 for a very small tub, which is far too expensive for what it is.

In "less enlightened" countries, creme fraiche is made with raw cream. By and large, we in the US are frightened to death of anything that hasn't been blessed by Louis Pasteur's magnificent process, so raw dairy is hard to come by. Fortunately, there is an easy way to make creme fraiche without putting your health at risk.

Start with some cream. Heat it to 100 degrees F. Add a touch of cultured buttermilk.

Put into some sort of clean storage container.

Let sit for 6 to 24 hours, mostly depending on the ambient temperature of the room. You'll want to lightly cover the container, but not tightly. There will be bacterial growth, which means that gasses may be released as part of the process, or gasses may be needed for the process. Keep things loose and breathable. You know it is ready when it is closer to the consistency of yogurt than of cream. Refrigerate it once it's thickened. Now you can use it to enhance just about any meal you can think of.

Now, some of you are a bit concerned about this whole "leave milk out on the counter for a day" thing, and that's understandable. We love our refrigerators and wouldn't dream of abandoning them for anything. In this case, though, you're going to want to hold off. The key to the process is letting the bacteria in the buttermilk, which gives the buttermilk it's tang, a chance to grow. You're not going to spoil the milk.… well, you are going to spoil the milk, but you're going to do it on purpose, so it's not really spoiling. You want the bacteria to do their thing, and because the majority of the bacteria that you put in the cream will be from the buttermilk, none of the other bacteria are going to get a chance to grow and cause you any troubles. Certainly not in a day.

Enough with the blah blah on the bacteria blah blah. How is it used? For soups and stews, especially chili, I like to add a dollop in the center. For sauces, just add in whenever it's close to being done. Don't worry about it curdling or separating, the high fat content in the creme will protect it from most dangers. Use it like you would sour cream. Use it like you would yogurt. Mix it with some syrup, put it into a pastry. Mix it with vegetables, and put it in a pastry. Serve it in a salad. Add some to your hot chocolate. Go crazy. It is the sourdough bread of the cream world, and its uses are infinite.

And, more importantly, you can easily make it any time you want.

Creme Fraiche

Ingredients

1 quart cream 

1.5 ounces buttermilk

Directions

Heat cream to 100°F.

Remove from heat.

Add buttermilk.

Let sit, loosely covered, for 6 to 24 hours until slighty thickened.