Go to the Recipe: Crème Fraîche
Interesting article…but I’m logged-in & not seeing what I recognize as a ‘recipe’?
Does it matter if you use pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized cream?
Can I substitute buttermilk ? In Brazil os hard to find
AH-HAA! THERE IT IS!
(Must have been a glitch? Thanks!)
Because of gut issues I use many fermented foods we make ourselves. I think, after reading this, is that I’m making a type of crème fraiche. I use a pint of organic whipping cream and half a cup of organic kefir and leave it out on counter for two to three days. Shake it whenever I walk by. Delicious and guaranteed to heal your gut!
This is how I make mine too! Good comment!
Any cultured yogurt should work, see comment above. And if you can't find that Yakult should work, in theory. It would be sweet but it would create the culture that you could use for the next batch. Aproveitem!
Use whatever you can find but less processed is always my suggestion.
Couple of comments from my own experience:
First, I used bog-standard grocery store buttermilk, which had added salt. It imparted a slight saltiness to the finished crème fraiche that probably wouldn’t have happened if I’d used higher quality buttermilk.
Second, I used a sous vide setup (24 hours at 110° F) to encourage better results, and I had to refrigerate the crème fraiche overnight before straining. One of those two deviations from the standard recipe yielded a very thick result with almost no whey- that’s not a complaint, but just a tip for others going the sous vide route.
But overall a fantastic result! Super easy!
Hey, is the recipe right? it looks unusually high amount of butter milk, I have researched quite a few recipe and they only call for 2-4 tbsp butter milk for every 2 cups of cream. Thanks
This was the best version of creme fraiche I tested. Of course you can use any amount of buttermilk and yogurt you wish. Flavors vary with every new formula. Each jar has its own unique culture and will act according to the culture base you build and product you use.
My first time making creme fraiche was with this method. The original recipe called for buttermilk or kefir but i used 50/50 greek yogurt and its whey and for the 12 of the 12-24 hrs it had mentioned. The end result was exactly as the original heavy cream so I added a second tbsp of just yogurt and ran the sous vide for another 8hrs and got an amazing end result. Rich buttery and tangy. I usually just buy it because it's become more readily available than in the past but as it only sells for in 8 oz quantities homemade is my go to whenever I need large amounts. Glad to know others are using the full sous vide method too.
Any experience using leftovers from a previous batch to kickstart the next, like sourdough? Would you replace the yogurt and buttermilk quantity?
Once you create the culture you can use just like making new yogurt or sourdough. This replaces the need for yogurt or buttermilk.
So, if using the crème fraîche culture for 100% yield, are we following the directions above or following the directions of the culture based on the packaging?
Directions above will be close to culture packaging. You can sous vide at 86°F for consistency if your kitchen is chilly at night.
What is the fat content of the finished product please
For thick, no straining required. I do 1-2L pure pouring cream (min 36% fat) with 250g tub sour cream (freshest I can get in Supermarket - Australia). Stir together then culture at 37°C 8 hrs. Chill. It thickens a lot over time in fridge and stores well. fyi I use the Thermomix Fermentation Mode for the 8 hr no stir culture step.
