Creme Frai^che: the French Cook’s Secret

My first taste of creme frai^che was at a Paris restaurant called Cafe de Mars, where my aunt was the proprietor, my cousin the waitress and California cuisine the specialty of the house. There I was, 18 years old, on my first trip to Europe, sitting at the bar of this amazing yellow restaurant when my dessert arrived: an American-style chocolate brownie.

But there was something different, not quite American, about the dessert. It was the topping, a substance that looked like whipped cream but tasted decidedly different.

“What’s this?” I asked suspiciously. I’ve always been a picky eater, although now I prefer to call myself “discerning.”

“It’s sort of like sour cream,” my uncle responded. “It’s good.”

It wasn’t much like sour cream, but it was good. At the time, of course, I did not remark on the wonderful mellow complexity and luxurious texture produced by the lactic acid-making bacteria, lactobacillus. mBut I remembered the taste, and years later I wondered why creme frai^che is so hard to get in this country.

French cooks take creme frai^che for granted. It has a thick, velvety texture and subtle flavor, and it doesn’t curdle when heated in soups and sauces. It tastes distinctly different from either whipping cream or sour cream.

The region of France best known for creme frai^che production is Normandy, also the home of Camembert cheese and the apple brandy Calvados. Normandy’s cuisine is noted for its subtle and harmonious blending of the flavors of local ingredients.

Brigitte Tilleray, author of “The Frenchwoman’s Kitchen”(Cassell, 1990), calls creme frai^che “the essential ingredient of the cuisine of Normandy” and features it in a number of her recipes. Creme frai^che graces vegetable soups, garnishes garlicky buttered clams baked in the oven and makes a tart, creamy dressing for a salad of local lettuces, chives and apple cider vinegar. Poured into a pear pie through a vent in the top crust, creme frai^che acts as a catalyst in the heady flavor marriage of pear, Calvados and black pepper.

In “Pampille’s Table,” a translation of Marthe Daudet’s 1919 writings about the food of the French countryside, is a recipe for a Norman white sponge cake that is sprinkled with Grand Marnier, hollowed out and filled with creme frai^che. The top is fitted back into place and the cake is glazed with warm chocolate. She also describes a slightly sweet tart flavored with fresh goat cheese, creme frai^che and orange flower water.

Creme frai^che is widely used in other regions as well, showing up in Tilleray’s book in Burgundian sauces for frogs’ legs and snails and in recipes for meat, fish, poultry and game from all over France. Creme frai^che picks up and deepens flavors in all these foods, adding richness and complexity.

In the United States, we encounter creme frai^che most often as a topping for desserts, particularly those containing fruit. The slightly tangy, nutty flavor of the cream is a nice balance to the sweetness and acidity of fresh or poached fruit, fruit crisps and tarts.

Less frequently do we have the pleasure of experiencing creme frai^che’s positively mysterious effect on chocolate desserts. To a pastry chef, it’s more than a garnish. It has a range of applications as wide as heavy cream’s, contributing its unique flavor to custards, ice creams and baked desserts.

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Rarely do we Americans get to taste the depth that creme frai^che brings to soups, pastas and seafood or the dimension it adds as a garnish for appetizers. In such dishes, creme frai^che is not just a substitute for regular cream but a crucial flavoring ingredient.

In this country, creme frai^che is available at specialty food shops and some grocery stores, but it’s never quite as good as what you get in France. In “When French Women Cook” (Macmillan, 1996), Madeline Kamman dismisses both the pasteurized creme frai^che sold in the U.S. and the homemade American creme frai^che.

“The taste you are dreaming of,” she writes, “comes from the combination of grass from meadows 4,000 miles over the ocean, milk from breeds of cows that do not exist in the United States and bacterial fermentations that cannot be the same in the U.S. as they are in France.”

Baguettes never seem to taste as good here either, but that doesn’t stop me from buying the best quality French bread I can find. In truth, a delicious cultured cream that very nearly approximates the original can be made easily and inexpensively at home by introducing a culture found in buttermilk to a quantity of heavy cream. Left to stand at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, it will thicken and develop a muted acidity.

So how does creme frai^che manage to be overlooked by sophisticated cooks generally willing to go to a little extra trouble for superior flavor? I think the answer is a simple lack of familiarity with the flavor of cultured cream and few precedents for its use. These decidedly untraditional recipes demonstrate the remarkable flavor and versatility of this quiet marvel of French cuisine.

CREME FRAI^CHE

5 cups heavy whipping cream

5 tablespoons buttermilk

Warm cream to 100 degrees, or just above lukewarm. Remove from heat and stir in buttermilk. Transfer to clean plastic container. Allow mixture to stand, loosely covered, at warm room temperature until thickened, 12 to 36 hours. Stir and taste about every 8 hours. Final creme frai^che should have slightly tart flavor. Once thick, it can be stored in refrigerator up to 10 days.

Makes 5 cups

CHICKPEA FLOUR AND GREEN ONION PANCAKES (VEGETARIAN)

Dot these savory little pancakes with creme frai^che for a delicate appetizer.

Olive oil

3/4 cup minced green onions

1 tablespoon Sherry (optional)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons parsley, minced

Cold water

1/2 cup creme frai^che

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet. Add green onions and saute until soft. Add Sherry, if desired, and deglaze skillet by cooking over high heat until Sherry reduces.

Combine all-purpose flour, chickpea flour, baking powder, salt, pepper to taste and parsley in bowl. Add sauteed green onions and cooking sauce and stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water until batter has consistency of heavy cream. Let rest in refrigerator 2 to 3 hours.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet. Using 2 teaspoons of batter for each cake, fry pancakes until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels and garnish with creme frai^che.

40 pancakes. Each pancake with 1/2 teaspoon creme frai^che:

34 calories; 45 mg sodium; 4 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH ORANGE CREME FRAI^CHE (VEGETARIAN)

This delicate spring soup is from “Fields of Greens” (Bantam Books, 1993) by Annie Somerville. It’s substantial enough to be a main course for a light supper when served with bread and a salad.

ORANGE CREME FRAI^CHE

1/2 cup creme frai^che

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/4 teaspoon minced orange peel

SOUP

3 pounds asparagus

5 cups hot vegetable broth

1 tablespoon light olive oil

2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion, about 1 onion

Salt

White pepper

1 baking potato, peeled, sliced, about 1 cup

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

ORANGE CREME FRAI^CHE

Combine creme frai^che, orange juice and orange peel. Makes about 1/2 cup.

SOUP

Break off woody ends of asparagus and add them to Vegetable Stock. Cut remaining asparagus on diagonal into 2-inch pieces.

Heat olive oil in soup pot and add onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch pepper. Saute over medium heat until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add potato and 1 cup vegetable broth, cover and cook until potato is soft, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup asparagus tips for garnish and add rest to soup with 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 4 cups vegetable broth. Cook uncovered over medium heat until asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes.

Puree soup in blender or food processor, return to pot and add orange juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring lightly salted water to boil, add reserved asparagus tips and cook until just tender, about 1 1/2 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking unless soup is to be served immediately. Garnish each serving with few asparagus tips and swirl of Orange Creme Frai^che.

2 quarts or 8 servings. Each (2-cup) serving with 1 tablespoon Orange Creme Frai^che:

148 calories; 673 mg sodium; 19 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.75 grams fiber.

ADD VEGETARIAN ICON FOR RECIPE BELOW

BLACKBERRY CREME FRAI^CHE ICE CREAM (VEGETARIAN)

2 pints fresh ripe blackberries

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 egg yolks

2 1/2 cups milk

2 cups creme frai^che

Puree blackberries in food processor or blender. Add 6 tablespoons sugar and refrigerate.

Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat milk with remaining sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Whisk little of hot milk mixture into yolks, then whisk yolk mixture into rest of hot milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Stir in creme frai^che and refrigerate overnight.

Just before freezing, combine blackberry puree with custard mixture. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

7 cups. Each 1-cup serving:

531 calories; 72 mg sodium; 247 mg cholesterol; 28 grams fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 3.37 grams fiber.

CHOCOLATE CREME FRAI^CHE SOUFFLE CAKE

1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1/3 cup creme frai^che

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Beat butter until light and creamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended.

On low speed, mix in half of flour mixture. Mix in creme frai^che. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Whip egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla until frothy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue whipping until stiff shiny peaks form. Gently fold whites into batter in 2 additions.

Pour batter into greased and floured 6-inch round cake pan and bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Dust with sifted powdered sugar.

6 servings. Each serving:

252 calories; 190 mg sodium; 73 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.22 gram fiber.

* Cassis & Co. tablecloth and bowl (photo designation), French antique reproduction serving pieces (photo designation) and plate (photo designation) from In the House in Beverly Hills and Chinzia in Santa Monica.

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Kitchen Tip

Chickpea flour--finely ground chickpeas (garbanzos)--is sold in Indian markets as besan. In Indian cooking, vegetables are often dipped in chickpea batter before frying to make snacks called pakoras. Chickpea flour is also used in Ethiopia, where it is called shiro. Ethiopian cooks make porridges and fish-shaped vegetarian snacks of shiro.