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Making crème fraîche is very easy. Takes 5 minutes to make and 2 days to wait. And much cheaper than store bought (in some regions and states it’s even illegal!) It’s way better than sour cream. It’s luscious and custardy, buttery, rich and tart. Enriched with wonderful probiotics and enzymes. Can be incorporated into sweet or savory dishes, top anything with it and it will make everything better! It doesn’t curdle or separate when cooked.
Ingredients
Raw, organic, pasture-raised is preferred, I used Organic Valley products, and they work too.
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons of full fat sour cream
Instructions
- Mix cream and sour cream in a glass jar.
- Cover with cheesecloth and let sit at room temperature (70 to 75 degrees F) for 24 hours.
- Stir, and refrigerate for 24 hours before using.
Sally Fallon Morell’s Variation
- 1 pint good quality cream
- 1 tablespoon commercial or whole-milk buttermilk, commercial creme fraiche, or creme fraiche from previous batch
- To make creme fraiche at home, start with the best quality cream you can find. Raw cream is best but pasteurized will do. Do not use ultrapasteurized cream.
- Place in a clean glass container. Add buttermilk or creme fraiche, stir well, cover tightly and place in a warm spot for 20 to 24 hours. Chill well.
- Note: If you can find neither good quality cream nor creme fraiche, use the best quality American-style, additive-free sour cream you can find in all recipes that call for creme fraiche or piima cream.
I’ve done this before and mine doesn’t thicken up nearly as much as the one in your photo! It’s more like a runnier version of sour cream. I’m using Good Culture sour cream and raw cream from a cow. Any idea what’s going wrong?
Different heavy creams act differently, as long as it tastes good.
By full fat sour cream, do you mean heavy cream that you let sour over time?
I used store bought sour cream, but many things can be used:whey, splash of sauerkraut juice, kefir, yogurt-to kick start fermenting.
Raw heavy cream probably does not need kick starter.
I make it in my proofing box and add come milk Keifer to culture my raw Jersey cream. It comes out really good!
I make it and eat 2 tablespoons with bit of honey and ground raw almonds on top. Mid morning everyday.
Trying this today! I tried it with kefir (store bought) as the culture last week and it didn’t work out, hopefully better luck this time!
What if the room temperature is 95-100F? I’m in Queensland Australia.
Gets fermented faster.
This really is so easy and a great way to use the cream before it starts to sour on its own. This will keep in the refrigerator for a long time. I cover the jar with lid and it works fine. Also, because our house is colder at night, I wrap it in a dish towel secured with rubber band to keep it warm. It’s ready in 24 hours. Delicious and so good for you, too!