Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

similar to

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neuf ...

, a soured

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

containing 10–45%

butterfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. Butt ...

, with a pH of approximately 4.5. It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulations specify the two ingredients must be cream and bacterial culture. It is served over fruit and baked goods, as well as being added to soups and sauces. It is used in a variety of other recipes.

Sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

is a similar foodstuff, except that crème fraîche is less sour and has a higher fat content. Sour cream may contain

thickening agent A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering their ...

s not permitted in crème fraîche in many jurisdictions.

Terminology

The name is French, but similar soured creams are found in much of

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

, and a traditional soured cream ( in Spanish) used in Central America resembles it. A literal translation of is "fresh cream." However, in

French-speaking countries The French language became an international language, the second Lingua franca, international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... ...

, may refer to either: (A) the thick fermented product, or , or (B) a liquid cream, or . In these countries, without qualification, normally refers to liquid cream, with the thick form usually called, (thick cream). In other countries, however, without qualification usually refers to the thick, fermented product.

Production

Crème fraîche is produced by adding a starter culture to heavy cream and allowing it to stand at an appropriate temperature until it thickens. The culture is made up of a mix of bacteria including, '' Lactococcus'' species ''L. cremoris'', ''L. lactis'', and ''L. lactis'' biovar ''diacetylactis''. These bacteria give it the taste that distinguishes it from similar dairy products such as sour cream. Recipes for cooks making crème fraîche at home may substitute cultured

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...

with active cultures for the starter culture. In some places in Europe, the fat content of crème fraîche is regulated, and it may not contain ingredients other than cream and starter culture. In North America and the UK, products labeled "low-fat crème fraîche" with approximately 15% butterfat and with added stabilizers such as

xanthan gum Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars by fermentat ...

or starch from maize or corn, are commercialized. This product is less stable than crème fraîche when heated.

Physico-chemical properties

Crème fraîche consists of double cream and a starter culture. In most places in Europe, strict regulation is placed on the production of crème fraîche, prohibiting the addition of any stabilizers, bulking agents, or

emulsifiers An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although ...

. Standard crème fraîche contains around 30–45% milkfat while low-fat crème fraîche contains closer to 15% milkfat. During processing, the acidification of the

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

micelle A micelle () or micella () ( or micellae, respectively) is an aggregate (or supramolecular assembly) of surfactant amphipathic lipid molecules dispersed in a liquid, forming a colloidal suspension (also known as associated colloidal system). ...

begins at around a pH of 6.7; however, the pH of the cream must drop to below 4.6, the isoelectric point of milk, for the casein micelles to fully precipitate out of solution. The structure of crème fraîche consists of an acid gel composed of milk protein-covered fat globules that tend to agglomerate. This gives the crème fraîche its stability as a highly viscous thixotropic fluid. This gel is only stable in higher fat cultured creams, around 30%, and therefore is not stable nor ubiquitous in low-fat crème fraîche. This is partly the reason why it is impossible to make a low-fat crème fraîche without the addition of stabilizers and bulking agents to generate the same texture as found in regular crème fraîche. Around 50% of the

triglyceride A triglyceride (from '' tri-'' and '' glyceride''; also TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates ...

s in milk fat are long-chain triglycerides (LCT), which at refrigerator temperatures are solid. These triglycerides will tend to crystallize inside the fat globule adding to the gel's stiffness.

Regions

The crème fraîche from

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

is famous, and the crème fraîche from a defined area around the town of

Isigny-sur-Mer Isigny-sur-Mer (, literally ''Isigny on Sea'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department and Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of north-western Fra ...

in the Calvados department of Normandy is highly regarded. , it is the only cream to have an

appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

(AOC), which was awarded in 1986. It also is produced in many other parts of France, with large quantities coming from the major dairy regions of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, Poitou-Charentes,

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, and Champagne-Ardenne.

Uses

Crème fraîche is used both hot and cold in

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

. It often is used to finish hot savory sauces, and with its fat content greater than 30%,

curdling Curdling is the breaking of an emulsion or colloid into large parts of different composition through the physio-chemical processes of flocculation, creaming (chemistry), creaming, and coalescence (chemistry), coalescence. Curdling is purposeful ...

is not a problem. It is also the basis of many

desserts Dessert is a course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create des ...

and dessert sauces.

Similar products

'' Crema Mexicana'' is a similar cultured sour cream that may contain several other ingredients. '' Smetana'' from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

is very similar also. In Romania and Moldova, the product is called smântână.

Notes

References

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