Not only is making your own sour cream at home easy, but it will be the most amazing sour cream you've ever tasted. Now, for the rest of this post we are going to stop calling it sour cream, because it's actually Crème Fraîche, and yes, it's French.Crème fraîche is originally from Normandy, France, and simply means "fresh cream," which is funny since it's not fresh cream, it's sour cream. That aside, crème fraîche is such a great ingredient - you can cook with it, use it anyway you use sour cream, and sweetened, makes the best whipped dessert topping ever.
This video recipe shows the simple two-day process for turning plain cream into crème fraîche, but make sure you pay attention to the part of the video that says to use "pasteurized" not "ultra-pasteurized" cream. "Ultra-pasteurized" cream is heated to a higher temperature when processed and will not work as well.
Other than that, make sure all your tools and jars are super-clean, and there's really nothing to go wrong. While you're waiting for your crème fraîche to do its thing, you can think of all the recipes to use it with - salad dressing, smoked salmon, horseradish sauce for roast beef, potato pancakes, baked potatoes, pies, fresh fruit, and… I have to stop. Enjoy!
Click here for ingredients and recipe transcript.
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33 comments:
That is very cool! I love these kind of recipes. Thanks!
Jeff
The little design on the top - if it were pink - would look just like the Nat'l Breast Cancer Awareness sign. (or as my husband says, Breast Awareness!)
I used yoghurt (with active bacteria ,easier to find in the store then buttermilk) and got the same result.
yes, that's known as Creme Fraichegurt
Thanks, yum!
Ahhh, Chef John you've done it again! Thanks for the great post and for making my kitchen adventures more fun and more flavorful!
Now I gotta tell all my friends what you went and did.... :)
fishes and loaves
so whats the main difference between creme fraiche and sour cream?
Hey! Two quick questions....
1. Where do you find pasteurized heavy cream (and not ultra)? I was only able to find ultra at my grocery store, so mine probably won't turn out very well. But - the store brand, the Dean's Milk brand and the Land-O-Lakes brand were all ultra. In fact, every cream and half-and-half in the dairy case was ultra.
2. Will it make a difference if you use lowfat buttermilk vs. regular? I bought both and am going to try a batch with both.
Thanks Chef John! Another great recipe!
the main difference is the butterfat content of sour cream is 18%, creme fraiche about 35%.
i used Clover brand, but its local to Nor Cal. The buttermilk just needs to be "active culture"
I would try and find the cream before trying, the ultra probably wont thicken and the bacteria will be hard to grow.
call around, Whole foods? Call a dairy!
Mmm, beef stroganoff. I wish I knew how to make that. Hint, hint.
Thank you! I'm new to creme fraiche as it has never been in my local grocery store. About two months ago I finally special requested it. I couldn't believe how good it was. I have always liked sour cream but now I can barely stand to buy the stuff. Unfortunately, the grocery store is now out of (my) creme fraiche. Who needs 'em? A commentor on my blog left me the info to make my own but your video sealed the deal for me. Thanks!
~ingrid
I suggest reading the ingredient list on the buttermilk or yogurt that you use as a culture starter. When the complete ingredient list reads "Milk, dried milk, a lactobacillus culture" you are more likely to have a healthy living culture buttermilk (or yogurt) than if it contains added thickeners (carob bean gum, xanthan, starch, gelatin). See, with thickeners they can make even a crappy culture product to set.
So, can I make sour creme if I use a not so heavy cream?
Heavy creme is about 38% fat, but I can get a cream at about 10% fat. Will this be to little fat?
Chef John, do you know how to make "fromage frais"? (almost like creme fraiche, but low fat)
I'm not sure. I'm just a simple man. Maybe one of your more scientific cheese heads will chime in.
Aw, I followed the recipe, its been 24 hrs and my creme craiche hasn't thickened up yet, did I do something wrong?
was the cream "ultra-past.?" Was the BM active culture? Stir and give it another day. Maybe in a warmer spot.
the bm was just "cultured", should I drop in a tablespoon of 0% fat greek yogurt?
yes.
"How to Make Crème Fraîche (check out those gourmet-looking accent marks, oo-la-la)"
You are the cutest thing ever. Also, I love your blog.
Hi,
As a french I can also give you the "traditional" recipe for the crême fraîche. I am not really good in converted into american standards, so I will use french one.
Just boil for 30 min 0.5 liter of fresh NOT pasterized milk.
You will get a thick part on the top when it is ready (this is the fat).
http://www.reaux.fr/creme.html
Than transfer all (boiled milk & fat) into a trasparent bottle.
Cover it and leave it 24h out of the fridge. Temperature of the room is 25°C.
This is ready when you can see that:
-the thick creame is separated of some kind of light-yellow liquide.
Just take over teh thick part; this will be the crême fraîche.
You can drink the liquid, we call it "petit-lait".
DO NOT eat or drink if it smells with a weird odor... I am not responsible for any accident or deaths; this is just a comment on how we make it at home in france...
Nicolas
http://www.reaux.fr/creme.html
Does that jar have to be clean or sterile? And how if the later?
Love your site,
John M.
I just wash, but to be safe many people boil the jar for a minute.
Amazing to learn that crême fraîche is "exclusive" and expensive in de US. I bought 125ml for about a dollar today in the supermarket here in the Netherlands... I use it to make spinache or endive à la crème. I first let some butter melt in a pan on a very low fire, ad the boiled and fine cut spinache, black pepper and salt and then the crême fraîche. And what to think of stirring some as "la pièce de la résistance" in a fresh tomato soup...? I also use it in a very good Italian beet salad.Crême fraîche should be sold at every corner of the street in the US! Crême fraîche is a fantastic product!
I am wondering if anyone has ever taken the creme fraiche and put in it one of those Isi whipped cream dispensers (metal bottle pressurized with a NO2 cartridge). I of course love the whipped cream that I easily make with mine, and I know that other thin creamy ingredients can also be put in there. This could be something new to try. Anybody?
*drool*
RE: Make Creme Fraiche:
It is illegal to sell or buy unpasteurized milk here due to the threat of Antrax or Mad Cow Disease which can prove deadly to humans. Can homemade "buttermilk" (milk + vinegar/lemon juice) be used to successfully make this Creme Fraiche recipe? I wonder ..
Chef John ROCKS!
not sure that would work since it wouldn't have the cultures (bacteria)
Hi Chef John - question about creme fraiche: I have tried your method twice & just don't get a nice thick consistency. But I have fabulous results with Julia Child's method, using 1 part sour cream to 2 parts heavy cream. Is there a difference or advantage of one over the other? I really enjoy your vids! Thank you for taking the time to share with us!
no! use the one that works for you.
I'm making another batch of creme fraiche (thanks for the recipe!) and had an idea. Usually this is dangerous, so I'm going to ask you before I do anything else:
If heavy cream is whipped long enough, it separates into butter and buttermilk. So if I whip the heck out of some creme fraiche... can I make my own cultured butter?
What do you think?
never tried, but sounds semi-logical ;-)
(If I double post, I apologize. My connection dropped during posting)
I live in Asia so creme fraiche and buttermilk is not available in the local grocery. But I read in the comments you can substitute yogurt, if so how much yogurt should I use?
Thank you so much for the excellent demo! You not only demystified this unfamiliar ingredient you made it clear how to use it, and why we would want to. You really excel at these videos!
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