When faced with not being able to find an ingredient or a product I need, I generally resort to making it from scratch if possible. This was the case recently when I really wanted crème fraîche. Jamie Oliver dollops it into several of his recipes and I have several of Jamie’s cookbooks. So needs/wants, I needed some. So what is crème fraîche? For those of you who don’t know of its silky smooth, decadent creaminess, it’s cream with a culture added to it so it’s thick and decadent, sporting a slight tang. It’s usually served dolloped on fruit or desserts such as a Blackberry Apple and Cornflake Crisp or a pie – such as this cherry pie. Or it’s stirred into a creamy sauce in place of sour cream or cream. So, how to make crème fraîche? Well, that’s easy, you just have to have a little patience – two days patience to be exact. And two ingredients. That’s it.
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Heavy cream and cultured buttermilk are all you need to make as little or as much crème fraîche as you want.
Crème fraîche is used mainly in northern Europe and England and loosely translated means ‘fresh cream’. Its fat content is somewhere between 30 – 45%. The higher fat content is one of the reasons it’s good to add to sauces because it won’t split.
All I had to do was combine the cream and the cultured buttermilk and leave it to stand at room temperature – anything over 70 degrees (or 21 for the metrics) with a piece of breathable cloth over it, for 24 hours. Initially I thought it wasn’t going to work – how could I screw up two ingredients in a recipe? But it did work. At the end of the 24 hours it was thick and luxurious. So I screwed the lid on the jar and into the fridge it went for another 24 hours. And cest voila! Crème fraîche. If you like trying food science experiments, then you need to try making your own ricotta cheese – infinitely better than the store-bought stuff and simple. As is the case with most processed foods, homemade is best. Toodles, Lovoni xo
CRÈME FRAÎCHE
Equipment
- 1 pint/600ml wide-mouth jar
- small piece of cheesecloth or other light, breathable fabric
Instructions
- Combine the two ingredients together in a jug. Pour into a clean jar large enough to accommodate all the liquid, about 600ml/1 pint.
- Cover the jar with a piece of breathable material such as cheese cloth. Let stand in a warm place, about 70F (21C) for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the crème fraîche should be the consistency of sour cream. Place a lid on the jar and refrigerate for 24 hours. This will keep for 2 weeks stored in the refrigerator.
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