THE crème fraîche

It is no secret that finding a product in a recipe that is most challenging is better than making the recipe itself since everyone can read a recipe and master it, too, yet not everyone can manage to get a product or even know what that particular product is. And one of those products, still quite particular to France yet possibly found all over the world, is crème fraîche /krɛm ˈfrɛʃ/.

Although close to sour cream, it is somewhere on its way to being one, and that is why it has less sourness and much more nutty and soft notes than its relative.

Crème fraîche, sold in France most of the time under the name crème fraîche d'Isigny AOP or crème fraîche de Bresse AOP, is a cream made from casein and whey that rises on top of the surface of the milk when it is resting (usually containing 30-40 % of fat). That creamy part then is mixed with lactic cultures, fermented for a while (not as long as sour cream), and thickened, making it a tiny bit sour. The fresher the cream (less pasteurisation), the less cultures are needed. And, although most of the time when crème fraîche is mentioned, one knows it is classical, one should know that there is another version called crème fraîche épaisse that is thicker than its cousin and holds its shape very well and is the most perfect addition to a berry or fruit or chocolate tart (in my humble opinion I share with other French people).

Crème fraîche de Bresse AOP. This, very well known in France but not so much anywhere else, cream is made in Saône-et-Loire and on the border of Jura, tasting fresher, more fruity and sweeter than its friend from Normandy.

Crème fraîche d'Isigny AOP. The most known and beloved of all, coming from Normandy (Cotentin Peninsula and Bessin) and matured somewhere between 16 - 18 hours, making it thick, creamy and buttery.