How to Make Crème Fraîche

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Today’s Special Fork Video Friday features our easiest video yet. You just mix two ingredients and leave it alone for 10 hours. Period!

Crème fraîche, like sour cream, is used to dollop on soups, as a dessert topping, and for many sweet and savory recipes when a thick, tangy creaminess is desired. It’s fairly expensive to buy but the ingredients used to make it, heavy cream and buttermilk, are more budget-friendly. When you mix the two ingredients together and let it stand at room temperature, the mixture thickens and turns tangy. Once it thickens, store the mixture in the fridge up to 10 days, where it will continue to get thicker and tangier.

You don’t really need a video or a recipe, but we thought a demo will show how easy it is to make and give you a sense of the texture you’re after. You just need to plan ahead since the mixture needs to sit out for at least 10 hours.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Crème Fraîche
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk

In a glass container or glass jar combine cream and buttermilk; stir to blend. Cover and let sit at room temperature (about 75°F) for 10 to 24 hours. When thickened to the desired consistency, stir well and refrigerate, covered. Crème fraîche will keep about 10 days. Makes 1 cup.

If you have leftover crème fraîche after you use it in a recipe, sweeten it with a little brown sugar and drizzle over cut-up fresh fruit. Or dip strawberries in crème fraîche, then in turbinado or brown sugar, for a sweet treat.

Here are some Special Fork recipes where you can use the crème fraîche you make:

• Asparagus Soup with Citrus Herb Crème Fraîche – the crème fraîche finishes the soup beautifully, both in flavor and aesthetics
• Crab Cakes – Crème fraîche is one of the topping choices for these delectable appetizers
• Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes – try crème fraîche instead of sour cream for these feather-light stacks
• Pumpkin Panna Cotta – the crème fraîche topping makes this dessert decadently luscious

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