Easy Homemade Creme Fraiche with Yogurt or Yogurt Whey

Sneak Preview: It’s so easy to make homemade creme fraiche with yogurt or yogurt whey. No buttermilk is required. Many uses!

Check out the price of creme fraiche at your local grocery store if you can find it. Amazon Fresh is currently (8/2020) asking $5.99 for 8 ounces. Now you know why I like to make it.

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If you’re like me, you may be wondering what creme fraiche is (keep reading).

What is creme fraiche?

Creme fraiche originated in France, where they make it with unpasteurized heavy cream. The cream is naturally inoculated with the right bacteria to thicken it.

Since our cream is pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized, we must add bacteria back to the cream. This process makes a thick and slightly tangy cream.

How is sour cream different?

They look identical. However, sour cream contains less fat (made with whole milk), making it less stable and prone to curdling when boiled.

It often contains ingredients such as gelatin, added to make it thicker.

Creme fraiche is milder and richer in flavor with 36% butterfat. It won’t curdle when added to a hot or boiling mixture as sour cream does.

It’s also much more expensive to buy.

Although similar to sour cream, creme fraiche is not the same.

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FAQ

What’s in this magical stuff?

Two ingredients. That’s it. You can add sweetness such as sugar, honey, or an artificial sweetener. Extracts such as vanilla or almond are another way to customize this treat.

#1

HEAVY CREAM

Use heavy whipping cream, which has 36-38% butterfat. If you have a choice between heavy cream and whipping cream, the latter has less fat but will still work.

Half-and-half does not contain enough fat to get thick with this method.

Does it matter whether the heavy cream is pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized?

You will find many instructions online that say you must use pasteurized cream. However, that’s not my experience. I have only ever used ultra-pasteurized cream, and it works beautifully.

Some say it takes more time for ultra-pasteurized cream to set. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any only-pasteurized-cream in the store to experiment with so that I could speak from experience.

Even with ultra-pasteurized cream, it usually sets within 12 hours. So give it up to 24 hours, if necessary.

Time to set may vary according to the ambient temperature, the virility of the culturing bacteria, your technique, and the freshness of your ingredients.

Do I need to heat the cream first?

No. Heating the cream to room temperature is not necessary. Nor is it necessary to warm the yogurt or yogurt whey because they will come to room temperature fairly quickly.

You could warm the cream and the yogurt or whey to save on the “setting” time, but be careful not to overheat (over 100˚F) and kill the little yogurt bodies.

In my microwave, heating for 30 seconds on HIGH will bring a cup of cream up to 75˚F, saving me a little time. (If you want to try the same thing, consider that my microwave is relatively slow. Experiment to find how much time it takes in your microwave.)

#2

YOGURT or YOGURT WHEY

If you make yogurt, creme fraiche is another use for whey (the yellowish liquid that separates from yogurt).

Granted, you won’t need much–just one tablespoon for one cup of cream.

Instead of whey, you could use plain unflavored yogurt. But, again, one tablespoon is plenty for a cup of cream.

Avoid using yogurt with anything added, like thickening agents or flavorings.

Which is better for making creme fraiche? Yogurt or yogurt whey?

Whether you use Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, fat-free yogurt, or whey drained from yogurt doesn’t matter.

The most important thing is that the yogurt be fresh–no more than 7-10 days old.

In my experience, yogurt may thicken heavy cream a little faster than yogurt whey. However, the final product of either will be excellent provided you use fresh ingredients.

The longer yogurt or whey sits in the fridge or the store shelf, the less potent it becomes.

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How long will creme fraiche keep in my refrigerator?

You can store creme fraiche in the fridge for a week to two weeks. As with homemade yogurt, how long you can keep it depends on the freshness of the ingredients used when making it.

The longer you keep it, the more it will separate, just like yogurt. If the flavor starts to taste a little off, throw it out. If you see mold, it’s time to pitch it.

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Can I freeze creme fraiche?

I don’t even try–the texture changes when you thaw it. Theoretically, if you whip it enough, you can bring it back close to its original smoothness.

If you want to try, here is a detailed post on how to freeze individual servings of crème fraîche.

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How do I use creme fraiche?

#1

My favorite way to use creme fraiche is slathered on homemade bread, specifically rye bread. The characteristic flavor of rye and caraway seeds goes perfectly with the creamy but slightly tangy taste of creme fraiche.

#2

Substitute creme fraiche for sour cream in sauces or soups that need to simmer or might boil. It won’t curdle like sour cream because of the higher fat content.

#3

Use creme fraiche instead of whipping cream with fresh fruit. It’s the perfect foil for sweet fruits like these peaches.

#4

Make cultured butter with your homemade creme fraiche. I’ll be showing you how in a future post. Meanwhile, you can see the simple process for making cultured butter in this post from Mark’s Daily Apple.

#5

Try adding it to scrambled eggs. Gordon Ramsay has a famous recipe for scrambled eggs with creme fraiche that people rave about.

#6

THIS one is my favorite way to use creme fraiche. Spread it on hot bread and toast the same way you would butter. Creme fraiche won’t get hard like butter and contains fewer calories than butter (100 calories per tablespoon for butter vs. 52 calories per tablespoon for creme fraiche). BONUS: It’s always spreadable.

#7

Make creme fraiche ice cream. It’s fabulous. This particular recipe has chunks of Nutella added to it, which makes it even better.

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How to make creme fraiche with yogurt or yogurt whey:

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Would you like more recipes for using yogurt or yogurt whey?

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