Thursday, November 4, 2010

créme fraîche


Créme Fraîche

1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons buttermilk
Combine ingredients in a glass jar or bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours (Eight hours may be sufficient.), or until thick and creamy. Stir and use or refrigerate.

One of the simplest and most delicious things in life is créme fraîche. It can be used as a substitution for yogurt, sour cream, or whipped cream. It is divine as a garnish for soups, fresh berries, pie, or combined with heat or seasonings and herbs to create a dipping sauce. I recently made a lemon-raspberry pie that called for sweetened condensed milk. By using créme fraîche in place of some of the sweetened condensed milk, I made the pie really worth something! I'm still discovering uses for this (besides just eating it off the spoon), so if you have any to add please do so!

4 comments:

Katy said...

I have had creme fraiche several times, but I had no idea how easy it is to make. It is especially delicious in cream of mushroom soup, or any "cream of" soup for that matter! Way better than plain old sour cream. Can't wait to share it with Sam. Don't know why we've never thought of making it ourselves! Thanks!

Esther said...

Katy, That sounds delish! When you're making soup, do you just use it in place of the cream?

Katy said...

I guess you could, but I've usually just had a dollop added before serving. Maybe you're on to something. It'd be worth playing around with.

Esther said...

Oooo..That sounds so good! I've made a carrot soup that has a dollop on top but, you know, any of these fall soups (pumpkin or squash, for example) could benefit.