- Crème Fraiche makes an awesomely delicious addition to many desserts and soups. This thick sour cream has a subtle nutty taste.
- Most people use Crème Fraiche to infuse their soup and dessert recipes with flavor. If you want to relish your meals with crème Fraiche, you could be considering purchasing this cream at some point.
- But due to its short shelf-life, you could have it rough getting fresh crème Fraiche at your nearest grocery store.
- Where to Find This Sour Cream in the Grocery Store
- Crème Fraiche is available in most grocery stores. However, you are unlikely to get this cream from the dairy product section of the nearest grocery store. Instead, you will get this cream at the store’s deli section.
- The section also has other daily products such as cheese and butter.
How to Make Your Own Crème Fraiche
Crème Fraiche is more costly than ordinary sour cream. Luckily, you can make this delicious cream at home. Check these tips on how to make a mouth-watering.
Ingredients
You don’t require a long list of ingredients to make your homemade crème Fraiche. You need just a pint of heavy cream and two tablespoons of cultured buttermilk.
You can still use the regular buttermilk in your recipe, although cultured buttermilk produces the best homemade crème Fraiche. Cultured buttermilk also has plenty of bacteria and less lactic acid.
Directions
- Whip the heavy cream in a bowl
- Pour the whipped cream into a clean bowl.
- Add two tablespoons of cultured buttermilk to the heavy whipping cream.
- Transfer the resulting cream into a clean glass container. Cover the container and keep it at room temperature. Preferably, keep the glass container on the kitchen counter to protect your crème fraiche from direct sunlight.
- Keep your cream untouched for about 8 hours to give the cream time to thicken. You can later keep the crème fraiche in your refrigerator for future consumption.
Can You Buy Crème Fraiche At Grocery Store?
Yes, you can buy this sour cream at a grocery store if you can’t make one at home. The grocery store, however, has to have a specialty food section.
Crème Fraiche is a highly perishable food item. It, therefore, needs special storage requirements to keep in a stable condition. Even in the specialty food section, this cream isn’t always readily available in most grocery stores.
The few green stores that stock this cream has it in the deli section of their dairy products. Therefore, you can purchase crème Fraiche in a green store that already has a deli section under its daily products.
What is Crème Fraiche in a Grocery Store?
Crème Fraiche isn’t your ordinary daily product in a grocery store. Dairy product is regarded as among the most sensitive dairy products. Grocery stores sell multiple forms of crème Fraiche.
The most common form of this milk comes in 8oz plastic tubs. Other forms of crème Fraiche are available in 60oz glass containers.
Where can I buy crème Fraiche in the United States?
You can buy crème Fraiche in the US. Nonetheless, this cream isn’t readily available in all the grocery stores across the US.
The best place to purchase crème Fraiche is in the dairy aisle, preferably one that sells cream cheese. Alternatively, you can buy crème Fraiche from local supermarkets.
But not every local supermarket stocks crème Fraiche. You are likely to get the cream from a supermarket with a designated deli section. The deli section is near the supermarket’s mascarpone gourmet cheese section.
What is Crème Fraiche in Canada?
In Canada, creme fraiche is a cultured heavy cream. Culturing crème Fraiche is essential since it enables the cream to thicken and ferment quickly.
Most Canadian crème Fraiche brands have a slightly sour and pleasant taste.
Canadians prefer crème Fraiche over ordinary sour cream since it is easier to whip into whipping cream.
Unlike sour cream, crème Fraiche does curdle after boiling.
Is Mascarpone the same as crème fraiche?
At first sight, mascarpone and crème Fraiche may look pretty similar to each other. After all, these two dairy condiments are natural sweeteners in soups and desserts.
Nonetheless, crème fraiche isn’t the same as mascarpone.
Crème Fraiche is made by culturing cream using ingredients with lactic acids, such as buttermilk. Culturing is paramount for making the cream thick and sour.
Stabilizers such as gelatin and polysaccharides are at times added to the cream to amplify the fermentation process.
The result of the fermentation process is a thick crème Fraiche with a smooth texture.
Mascarpone, on the other hand, uses cheese cream as its main ingredient.
However, acid elements such as citric acid, lemon juice, and vinegar are added to the cream while making mascarpone.
These acid elements help thicken the cheese cream into a thick cream known as mascarpone. Mascarpone has a uniquely buttery and rich flavor, thanks to its rich butterfat content.
The type of cream used for making mascarpone and crème Fraiche is another crucial difference between these two products. Crème fraiche for instance, is made using unpasteurized cream.
The cream contains natural bacteria, which helps in the fermentation and thickening of the cream. Mascarpone strictly uses pasteurized cheese cream, which lacks the bacteria present in unpasteurized cream.
In terms of fat content, crème Fraiche has a higher fat content than mascarpone.
What Does Crème Fraiche Tastes Like?
Crème Fraiche has a distinct taste that makes it unique from sour cream and other dairy products. Crème Fraiche has a light textured consistency that is similar to yogurt or ordinary cream.
The cream has a remarkable tangy and nutty flavor. The flavor is also slightly sour due to the culturing of the high-fat content in the cream.
Furthermore, crème fraiche’s flavor is far creamier and richer on the palate compared to yogurt, sour cream, and other dairy products.
Conclusion
Crème Fraiche is a beautiful treat of its kind. This pleasantly tasting cream will enrich the flavor of your meals and soups.
The best news is, that you can purchase crème Fraiche from your nearest grocery store.
Alternatively, you can make one at home.
