Making Non-Sour Creme Fraiche

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 14:02:15 -0600, Steve Wertz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How do you make a non-sour creme fraiche? Everything I see on the net says to use buttermilk or
yoghurt as a starter. I thought I had a recipe for using some rennet (Malaka Brand), but I can't
find it anyore.

Would just adding rennet to 110F cream work? Bascially I just need to it to stiffen up, right?

Hi Steve,

Creme fraiche is (slightly) sour.

I intend no disrespect when I ask if you have tasted the real thing. With regret, I don't know how
close the techniques you are using might come to the French product, but you may already be there.

To the question in the last line of yours above, I would say "No." Creme fraiche is not just a
thicker, or stiffer version of cream.

HTH,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

Kenneth said:

Steve Wertz said:

How do you make a non-sour creme fraiche? Everything I see on the net says to use buttermilk or
yoghurt as a starter. I thought I had a recipe for using some rennet (Malaka Brand), but I can't
find it anyore.

Would just adding rennet to 110F cream work? Bascially I just need to it to stiffen up, right?

Hi Steve,

Creme fraiche is (slightly) sour.

I intend no disrespect when I ask if you have tasted the real thing.

Mexcian markets make and/or stock a non-sour cream. Even their sour creams are superior to anything
from Borden or Daisy and the like. They're usually much more expensive though. I'm trying to
duplicate these (or at least their non-sour cremas).

Common brands would be Cacique and La Mexicana.

Quoted message said:

With regret, I don't know how close the techniques you are using might come to the French product,
but you may already be there.

It's good, but its slightly sour. The Mexican cremas aren't (and they don't contain any additives
that would reverse that effect).

Quoted message said:

To the question in the last line of yours above, I would say "No." Creme fraiche is not just a
thicker, or stiffer version of cream.

-sw

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 14:02:15 -0600, Steve Wertz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

A few nights ago I made Creme Fraiche using a pint of (UHT) heavy whipping cream and about 5Tb of
buttermilk. It took about 20 hours to set up in a 87-89F oven (just the pilot light).

What came out was more of a sour cream. Not as sour as sour cream, but still sour-er than what
I wanted.

According to "The Food Lover's Companion"

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

crème fraîche is supposed to be somewhat 'tangy.' Unpasteurized cream will set up on its own, but
commercial USAsian cream is pasteurized and requires an additional bacterial source, like
buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream as a 'starter'. If you can find some rich, unpasteurized cream,
you may be happier with the result. Similarly, 'clotted cream'

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

is also the product of unpasteurized milk.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 14:02:15 -0600, Steve Wertz <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

A few nights ago I made Creme Fraiche using a pint of (UHT) heavy whipping cream and about 5Tb of
buttermilk. It took about 20 hours to set up in a 87-89F oven (just the pilot light).

What came out was more of a sour cream. Not as sour as sour cream, but still sour-er than what
I wanted.

When I first tasted it after mixing the two together, it certainly tasted like creme fraiche, just
very runny.

How do you make a non-sour creme fraiche? Everything I see on the net says to use buttermilk or
yoghurt as a starter. I thought I had a recipe for using some rennet (Malaka Brand), but I can't
find it anyore.

Would just adding rennet to 110F cream work? Bascially I just need to it to stiffen up, right?

-sw

I hesitate to stick my oar in here, because I don't have a *lot* of experience with this, but, for
what it's worth: I think you should use about half as much buttermilk, and , at that temperature,
let it sit only about 12 hours or even less. It will continue to thicken after you refrigerate it,
so you don't need it to be at its final thickness before refrigeration.

Frogleg said:

Steve Wertz said:

A few nights ago I made Creme Fraiche using a pint of (UHT) heavy whipping cream and about 5Tb of
buttermilk. It took about 20 hours to set up in a 87-89F oven (just the pilot light).

What came out was more of a sour cream. Not as sour as sour cream, but still sour-er than what
I wanted.

According to "The Food Lover's Companion"

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

crème fraîche is supposed to be somewhat 'tangy.' Unpasteurized cream will set up on its own, but
commercial USAsian cream is pasteurized and requires an additional bacterial source, like
buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream as a 'starter'. If you can find some rich, unpasteurized cream,
you may be happier with the result. Similarly, 'clotted cream'

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

is also the product of unpasteurized milk.

How would I go about making sour cream, perhaps starting with creme fraiche? Here in France I can
get lots of that of course, but there seems to be no such thing as sour cream. I've been dreaming of
potato pancakes with sour cream - the potatoes are no problem, but the sour cream is something else.

Kenneth <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Steve Wertz said:

How do you make a non-sour creme fraiche? Everything I see on the net says to use buttermilk or
yoghurt as a starter. I thought I had a recipe for using some rennet (Malaka Brand), but I can't
find it anyore.

That's so funny. Malaka is a Greek pejorative that I have usually heard translated as "jag-off." If
you just want to stiffen it up, whip it.

-bwg

Steve Wertz said:

Kenneth said:

Steve Wertz said:

How do you make a non-sour creme fraiche? Everything I see on the net says to use buttermilk or
yoghurt as a starter. I thought I had a recipe for using some rennet (Malaka Brand), but I can't
find it anyore.

Would just adding rennet to 110F cream work? Bascially I just need to it to stiffen up, right?

Hi Steve,

Creme fraiche is (slightly) sour.

I intend no disrespect when I ask if you have tasted the real thing.

Mexcian markets make and/or stock a non-sour cream. Even their sour creams are superior to anything
from Borden or Daisy and the like. They're usually much more expensive though. I'm trying to
duplicate these (or at least their non-sour cremas).

Common brands would be Cacique and La Mexicana.

Quoted message said:

With regret, I don't know how close the techniques you are using might come to the French product,
but you may already be there.

It's good, but its slightly sour. The Mexican cremas aren't (and they don't contain any additives
that would reverse that effect).

Quoted message said:

To the question in the last line of yours above, I would say "No." Creme fraiche is not just a
thicker, or stiffer version of cream.

-sw

Hi Steve,

I guess I was thrown off by the name you used originally (Creme Fraiche) which is French.

I know nothing at all about the Mexican version, ...sorry.

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

"Ellie C" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Frogleg said:

Steve Wertz said:

A few nights ago I made Creme Fraiche using a pint of (UHT) heavy whipping cream and about 5Tb
of buttermilk. It took about 20 hours to set up in a 87-89F oven (just the pilot light).

What came out was more of a sour cream. Not as sour as sour cream, but still sour-er than what I
wanted.

According to "The Food Lover's Companion"

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

crème fraîche is supposed to be somewhat 'tangy.' Unpasteurized cream will set up on its own,
but commercial USAsian cream is pasteurized and requires an additional bacterial source, like
buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream as a 'starter'. If you can find some rich, unpasteurized
cream, you may be happier with the result. Similarly, 'clotted cream'

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

is also the product of unpasteurized milk.

How would I go about making sour cream, perhaps starting with creme fraiche? Here in France I
can get lots of that of course, but there seems to be no such thing as sour cream. I've been
dreaming of potato pancakes with sour cream - the potatoes are no problem, but the sour cream is
something else.

Crème Fraiche is pretty close. How about trying quark?

Charlie

Ellie C said:

Frogleg wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

According to "The Food Lover's Companion"

eat.epicurious.comindex.ssfOpen ↗

crème fraîche is supposed to be somewhat 'tangy.' Unpasteurized cream will set up on its own, but
commercial USAsian cream is pasteurized and requires an additional bacterial source, like
buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream as a 'starter'. If you can find some rich, unpasteurized cream,
you may be happier with the result.

How would I go about making sour cream, perhaps starting with creme fraiche? Here in France I
can get lots of that of course, but there seems to be no such thing as sour cream. I've been
dreaming of potato pancakes with sour cream - the potatoes are no problem, but the sour cream is
something else.

Ellie, I thinik (no authroitatve source) that 'sour cream' is just thick creme fraiche, usually
commercially produced here. It seems as if cream, either unpasteurized or with a culture added, will
continue ferment/xour/thicken with time. Faster at room temperature. Come to think of it, commercial
cartons of sour cream here will thicken a bit as well as develop what I suppose is whey (that I pour
off) upon storage. They all look like a product of milk's yearning to be cheese. My carton of sour
cream lists "cultured pasteurized milk, cream and non-fat(?) milk, and enzyme" as ingredients. Try
leaving creme fraiche at room temperature for a day, and see what happens.

Kenneth said:

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 18:08:41 -0600, Steve Wertz <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Mexcian markets make and/or stock a non-sour cream. Even their sour creams are superior to
anything from Borden or Daisy and the like. They're usually much more expensive though. I'm trying
to duplicate these (or at least their non-sour cremas).

Common brands would be Cacique and La Mexicana.

Quoted message said:

I guess I was thrown off by the name you used originally (Creme Fraiche) which is French.

I know nothing at all about the Mexican version, ...sorry.

It's the same stuff from what I understand. Every time somebody asked for creme fraiche, they are
always pointed to the Mexican dairy sections.

-sw

Steve said:

It's the same stuff from what I understand. Every time somebody asked for creme fraiche, they are
always pointed to the Mexican dairy sections.

Creme fraiche is *not* the same thing as Mexican crema.

Bob

Bob said:

Steve said:

It's the same stuff from what I understand. Every time somebody asked for creme fraiche, they are
always pointed to the Mexican dairy sections.

Creme fraiche is *not* the same thing as Mexican crema.

OK, what's the difference? In taste and in the manufacturing of it?

-sw