How to make Créme Fraîche

Créme Fraîche is probably the easiest fermented thing to make, and it adds so much goodness to your cooking.

How to make Créme Fraîche

Take 2 tablespoons of créme fraîche and place it in a clean* glass pint jar (480ml).  Put around 2 tablespoons of fresh pouring cream (this needs to be 100% cream, no additives, no preservatives) into the jar, and stir with a spoon to mix it in.  Add a bit more fresh cream and mix it again.  Then fill the jar up completely with cream and stir again.  Leave to sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, until thickened and slightly sour, then store in the fridge.

How to store and serve créme fraîche

This is wonderful with all kinds of fruit crumbles, fresh fruits, and anywhere that you would use sour cream.  I like to add it to frittatas and quiches for added depth of flavour.

Créme fraiche will keep in the fridge for around 2 weeks.

How to find starter culture for créme fraîche

Jars of créme fraîche to use as a starter culture is usually found lurking in the refrigerated section of snobby grocery shops, usually with the other cream, but sometimes with the specialty cheeses and smallgoods. Once you have your first jar of it, you can keep culturing your own créme fraîche in the safe surroundings of your home forever.  The ingredients on it should just be cream and cultures.

Alternatively, you can use cultured buttermilk, or milk kefir. Use around 2 tablespoons milk kefir for every pint jar (480ml) cream that you want to culture. I find the taste of the créme fraîche to be the same, whether it’s made with milk kefir or créme fraîche from the shop.

*I heat sterilise all my jars by taking the lids off and putting them in a warm oven (110ºc or 230ºf).  I bring a pot of water to the boil, then boil the lids for 30 seconds, tip the water out, put the lid back on and allow to cool, then when the jars have heated up enough I turn the oven off and put the lids in the oven to dry.  For a longer explanation see this post.