Taste Crème Fraîche
2 c heavy cream
2 T buttermilk
;; Place heavy cream in
a bowl or large jar. “The
cream shouldn’t be ultra-pasteurized or full of
additives; that kind doesn’t
work well, so check the
ingredient list,” Wizenberg
says. Add the bu;ermilk,
which will act as the
culture. Partially cover the
jar or bowl and let it sit at
room temperature until
mixture has thickened
to approximately the
consistency of yogurt.
“Stir it gently a couple of
times over the course of
the process so you can
keep tabs on how it’s
doing. You’ll notice that
it thickens in clumps
at first, and then more
broadly. Depending on the
temperature of my house,
it takes between 12 and 48
hours to thicken properly.”
;; When it’s ready, give it
another good (but gentle)
stir, cover, and refrigerate
for at least a day before
using. “It needs this time to
thicken to its final texture.”
Reserve a bit to use as the
culture in your next batch,
instead of bu;ermilk. “The
flavor is be;er, I find, when
I use crème fraîche than
when I use bu;ermilk.”
;;;;;;;;;;;;
Once you make
crème fraîche for the
first time, you’ll wonder
why on earth you waited
so long. We’ve had
a batch going ever
since trying
Wizenberg’s
recipe.
MOLLY WIZENBERG,
author of
A Homemade Life,
Seattle,
Washington;
orangette
. blogspot.com
RM
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