By: Tom Kearney | Feb 02, 2010 | #
Crème Fraîche
So we prepare this at the restaurant routinely, but it’s just as easy to do at home. Crème fraîche is also not something I’m seeing in the average grocery store. You do see the ingredients for it though. I would say try to acquire the best ingredients you can in making something like this. Look for local organic dairy products. In Brooklyn there’s no shortage of easy to find local organic dairy products. Take 1 pint of heavy cream and stir in 1 tablespoon of buttermilk. Store this mixture in a jar covered with a paper towel or cheesecloth that you’ve tied to the mouth of the jar so that air passes in and out. Let this sit in a warm environment (75˚F or so), something like the middle section of the stovetop or the top of the refrigerator. Wait 24 hours. The next day refrigerate for another 24 hours. Yes this is a slow-food concept. After 24 hours refrigeration you’ll have something like a cousin to sour cream but with much more creamy overtones and textural richness. Unlike sour cream you can heat and cook with crème fraîche. We use it as an ingredient in a lemon loaf cake we serve at breakfast, it’s an ingredient in a creamy dressing for our smoked trout salad for brunch, you could serve it whipped along side a slice of apple pie, it adds richness to the body of soups and sauces. Endless possibilities. Clara, my French friend who cannot find crème fraîche on Cortelyou Road, try this at home. For anyone who is adventurous and totally curious about using raw milk products for something like this then try this link: Traditional Nutrition Guild