Gettin' Fraiche
Maybe it is the French-ification of American cuisine, or perhaps it is that the entire culinary world is getting downright bourgie, or maybe it is just that creme fraiche is tangy and delicious, but perhaps you too have noticed it creeping onto menus and into recipes a lot more lately. I can see why, the creamy mouth feel, the crisp flavor, the cooling appeal. Let's face it-- Creme Fraiche is 'da bomb!
But for many, it is still somewhat difficult to find. You may have even resorted to using sour cream, a paltry second in terms of complexity. Well, look no further, creme fraiche is infinitely easy to make. It is possible to have a small jar of the stuff, quietly cooling in the fridge, by this time tomorrow. Suzanne Goin, in her fabulous book Sunday Suppers at Lucques, taught me how to make creme fraiche, and now dear readers, I am teaching you.
Making creme fraiche is not a secret, or at least it shouldn't be. Simply take one cup of heavy whipping cream, and heat gently on the stove to body temperature. Remove the cream, place in a glass jar, and add two tablespoons of buttermilk. Mix, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Then set the jar on the counter, and leave overnight, or up to 24 hours. I was doubtful myself that much of anything would happen. But the next day, the cream had thickened to make creme! Refrigerate, and the creme fraiche will thicken even more. The creme fraiche will stay fresh, covered in the fridge, for a few weeks. The best part is, new batches of creme fraiche can be made by using this original creme fraiche starter, instead of buttermilk. Subsequent batches will be thicker and tangier.
I have been using my creme fraiche in everything. Spooned on a simple bowl of sliced strawberries; enriching whipped cream, and dolloped along side a slice of apple cake; along side a piece of chicken, accented with freshly chopped, springtime herbs; the possibilities are endless. So go ahead and get bourgie. Now that spring has arrived, throw on a tank top, slather on the Coppertone, then head to the kitchen to get fraiche yourself.
6 Comments:
Yup, it's sooo good. And the lucky thing about living in London is that it's readily available...but I'm sure many people will love the recipe. I highly recommend it - sour cream just doesn't compare!
if anyone doesn't have sunday suppers at lucques hurry up get it now but another equally great cookbook the vineyard kitchen by maria helms sinskey has the uncooked version of creme fraiche which is the recipe i used-so silky so smooth-i couldn't believe i made something soo so french (oui oui) nosh-love the blog. I'm like a panting bulldog waiting for the next entry.
Dang, that sounds really easy to make. Now that I know the ingredients, it is clear that making homemade creme fraiche is much more economical than buying it.
That looks and sounds so tempting. I bet it would work over the raspberries I have too.
Love your punny title btw. :-)
It is delicious, isn't it? I've been making this for years. In Mexican cuisine it is known as crema.
In one of Rick Bayless' cookbooks, he specifies that you can use either 1/4 cup of buttermilk or an equal amount of sour cream as the starter, as long as there are active cultures present. I've even made it with non-fat plain yogurt as the starter, and it turns out great every time. Once you get over leaving cream out on the counter all night, that is.
No one's died yet!
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