Decadent and thick, tangy and creamy; Creme Fraiche is a culinary delight that is taking the world by storm. Almost unheard of in America a decade ago, it is found on upscale menus so frequently that it's almost become gauche to be seen eating it in some circles! Personally, I'll leave that to the upper-crust to decide for themselves. I would never deprive myself of something so wonderful based on silly social trends. The real trouble with Creme Fraiche, besides finding it if you don't live in a hip urban area, is the cost when you do find it. For some reason, this delightful cream commands a serious price. Luckily for you, it doesn't have to! Creme Fraiche is very easy to make, and what you create in your own home will be better than the best your local grocery will have to offer. Let's take a look. Ingredients: - 1 cup of whipping cream, also called heavy whipping cream - 2 tablespoons of buttermilk - 1 jar, preferably a mason jar, but nothing metal - 1 rubber band - 1 disposable coffee filter That's it! Make sure your jar and stirring implement are washed very thoroughly. Likewise, wash your hands before handling your products. Creme Fraiche is the product of the lovely active bacteria in the buttermilk consuming the sugars of the heavy whipping cream to lend it the slightly tangy flavor it is famous for. You don't want to introduce other bacteria to the mix so cleanliness is important here. To actually make the Creme Fraiche, simply combine the ingredients in your jar, give it a quick stir, and use the rubber band to secure the coffee filter on top. You want to keep this in a dark, room temperature location for about 8 hours. Then, put it in the fridge for an additional 24 hours. Once that time has come and gone, your heavy whipping cream will have turned into a delightfully thick artisan sour cream that you will adore. A final word of advice; Creme Fraiche is among the most perishable foods you will find. It has a shelf life of about three days, maybe less if your jar wasn't as clean as it should be. It does not freeze well, either, so it must be used promptly. It is one of the true delights in life that you can take something so simple and make something so wonderful. I hope you will give this recipe a try.
The truth is I did search the web to know what a creme fraiche is, and luckily found it interesting. So creme fraiche is some sort of a sour creme very much similar to yoghurt and stuff. I like the recipe you shared but I find the shelf life very short. Is there a way to lengthen it a bit so that you can enjoy the product for a bit long? Anyway, I love your recipe and your desire to help save money by making your own produced with simple ingredients.
@TheOtherSide Yes, Creme Fraiche is a product that is very similar to standard store-bought sour cream. What differentiates it is that it's higher fat content makes it more suitable for baking applications. It won't break as easy. The flavor profile tends to be less sour than sour cream, but more creamy. As for the shelf life, the only thing you could really do would be to pasteurize it to stop the bacterial growth from spoiling the product and add chemical binders to keep it shelf-stable. This would dramatically impact the flavor and thickness, negating the point of having made it for yourself in the first place. This is why Creme Fraiche recipes tend to be for small, immediately usable amounts.
