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CRÈME FRAICHE: BY |
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Years ago when we needed crème fraiche for a recipe, we headed for the liquor store. They carry crème de menthe, crème de cocoa. Wasn’t it a natural? Not really. They didn’t know what it was either. We faked the crème fraiche using sour cream and wondered for some time where to buy crème fraiche. It turns out, you make it yourself unless you live in special parts of the world. What makes crème fraiche special? Why would it have been nice in our Forty-clove Garlic Chicken recipe? Originating in the Normandy and Brittany regions of France, this special cream ranks high on the popularity list. Equally at home in sweet, savory and fruit dishes as well as a spread for breads, it is thick, rather tangy and velvety. It also has a nutty flavor with a texture ranging that of sour cream to nearly as solid as room-temperature butter. A few artisan creameries in the U.S. carry natural creme fraiche, predictably located in and around California and New England. Most people living in the United States must make their own crème fraiche. To get around strict pasteurization standards, the creativity of frolicking dairy cultures must be re-introduced to cream -- Mother Nature needs to trick sterile, heavy cream. The "trick" is both honorable and pure. The task: deceive the Pasteurized with the charming culprit, Lactobacillus culture. Find the active cultures in yoghurt, sour cream or buttermilk. The rest is simple: How to make Crème Fraiche 1 cup heavy cream 2T cultured buttermilk, sour cream or yoghurt. Combine cream and cultured dairy product in glass container. Shake to mix well. Let stand at room temperature for up to 24 hours, until very thick. Stir, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days. It is possible to simmer crème fraiche which it curdling. NUTRITION: One tablespoon of crème fraiche contains 52 calories, .42 g carbohydrates, total fat, 5.5 g. USES FOR CRÈME FRAICHE Dessert toppings Add to sauces Soups Fresh Fruit Warm Cobblers Crab Cakes Vegetables Salads Latkes Mashed Potatoes Casseroles Blintzes Salmon Caviar DO YOU KNOW YOUR CREAMS: Half and half, a mixture of equal parts of milk and cream, 10 to 18 percent butterfat Light cream, also coffee or table cream, 18 to 30 percent butterfat. Light whipping cream 30 to 36 percent butterfat Heavy or heavy whipping cream, 36 percent or more. Clotted cream, also Devon cream, Devonshire cream, double cream about 50 percent butterfat, or more. It is made from heating rich, unpasteurized milk until a semi-solid cream forms on the surface. Once cooled, the cream is separated and stored as a high butterfat cream delicacy. Sour cream contains from 18 to 20 percent fat, and has been treated with a lactic acid culture to add its characteristic tang. Sour cream often contains additional ingredients such as gelatin or rennin. Light sour cream, made from half-and-half and contains about 40 percent less fat. There's also a nonfat sour cream which is thickened with stabilizers. There’s a separate category of non-dairy milks and creams: Almond milk, coconut butter, coconut cream coconut milk, cream of coconut, oat milk, rice milk and soy milk.
PUREED BROCCOLI WITH CREME FRAICHE 2 bunches of broccoli, about 5 lbs. 1 c. crème fraiche 4 T. sour cream 2/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper Salt to taste 2 t. unsalted butter Trim and chop broccoli (including peeled stems), leaving 8 small florets whole. Drop chopped broccoli and whole florets into 4 quarts of boiling water. Cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer broccoli, reserving florets, to a food processor. Add crème fraiche and puree thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scrape puree into a bowl and stir in sour cream, parmesan, nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste. Mix well. Mound in an ovenproof serving dish, dot with butter and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until puree is steaming hot. Garnish with reserved florets and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings. From "The Silver Palate Cookbook," It is possible to order crème fraiche culture from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co., P.O. Box 85, Ashfield, MA 01330 (http://www.cheesemaking.com.)
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