A Fraîche Perspective - Crème Fraîche

I have often sung the praises of Crème Fraîche, the luxuriant cultured cream product of Normandy. Not only does it have a more delicate flavor than sour cream, being slightly nutty with buttery undertones, it's actual fat content is higher (about 30%) as opposed the 18-24% found in sour cream.  This is fortuitous because you can heat it without it separating or seizing the way sour cream and yogurt do.  On top of all that, you can whip it just like Heavy Cream...

There is only one drawback to Crème Fraîche, it's exorbitant price.  A mere 5 oz container is often over 6 bucks. That's the domestic versions, if you want the stuff from France be prepared to fork out even more dough.  Sadly, 5 oz is just over 1/2 a cup.  But I am gonna let you in on a little secret....  You can make your own. (That is why I use it so much)

Though Crème Fraîche, in France, is made with UN-pasteurized milk and utilizes the natural bacteria in the area (which is why the best stuff comes from the Normandy region of France) Those cultures have been isolated and can be "purchased" from several vendors online in powdered form (which you can do if you like but the culture costs about as much as a tub of Crème Fraîche)  Here in the United states, all cultured products MUST be made with milk or cream that has been pasteurized first (this includes cheese as well as sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt and such)  thus the French method is not possible here in the U.S. HOWEVER.....

As with most "cultured" products such as Buttermilk, Yogurt and Sour Cream, Crème Fraîche is alive.  That means that if you can resist eating the last couple of Tablespoons out of the tub, you can make more.  True, that means you have to spend this initial 6 dollars for a tub, but continuously re-culturing your own will only cost as much as the heavy cream you are using.  Which is usually about 3 buck a pint, or 5 bucks for a quart (that's a lot of Crème Fraîche potential)  It won't taste like the French stuff... But you can get pretty darned close.

Let's get into a little food label word play... There is a difference between "pasteurized cultured cream" and "cultured pasteurized cream".  "Pasteurized cultured cream" means the product was pasteurized AFTER it was fully cultured, meaning that once the bacterium, that make the cream tasty, were done eating all the sugars, they pasteurized the product to prevent further bacteria growth and further "souring".  "Cultured pasteurized cream" simply means that the cream was pasteurized before it was inoculated with bacteria, then it was packaged and sent to your grocers' chill case.  Thus if left at room temperature for any length of time, the bacteria will "wake up" and continue consuming the lactose in the cream and further sour the product.  This is what you want the label to say....  Otherwise the culture is dead and this will not work.

You may be asking yourself why I am going to all the trouble of using Crème Fraîche as a culture base, since there are a million recipes out there for making Crème Fraîche with buttermilk as a starter.  Well, it's time for a little Lacto-Bacter 101.....

The Crème Fraîche "culture" is actually a "cocktail" of bacterium...  These include, but are not limited to  L. cremoris, L. lactis, and L. biovar diacetylactis.  Buttermilk, however, only has L. lactis (except in the case of Bulgarian Buttermilk when L. bulgaricus is used).  This is great for culturing butter, but not so much for making Crème Fraîche.  When we look at Yogurt we begin to see Thermophilic bacteria that need warmth to "ferment", being composed of S. Thermophilus mixed with a little L. acidophilus, L. helveticus, L. bifidus longum and L. bifidus infanti.  Sour Cream usually depends on Leuconostoc mesenteroides cremoris (say that 5 times fast) though sometimes it contains L. lactis, just like Buttermilk.

All of these mixes have a slightly different flavor.  Thus, if you attempt to use Buttermilk as a starter culture for Crème Fraîche, you will have cream that tastes like Buttermilk, not Crème Fraîche.  This is primarily due to the lack of L. biovar diacetylactis which produces the "Buttery" and Nut-like flavors that have made Crème Fraîche so popular, so luxuriously delicious and the main reason it works so well in both sweet and savory applications. (Like Mascarpone - But thats another post)

One other thing, in regards to the heavy cream you use;  just as with cheese, Ultra-Pasteurized Heavy Cream is a no-no.  It is a completely dead food with denatured proteins and warped fat molecules.  Don't use it, it's worthless.  Normally I am big on eating Organic as much as possible, but I have noticed a disturbing trend.  Most of the organic dairy products, from milk to cream and everything in between, are now being UHT'd.  I fail to understand why the producers are taking a perfectly healthy and viable product and "killing" it by super-heating it... Then charging MORE for it because of the Organic label....  I laugh in their face,(Ha Ha!) and refuse their dead products.  Luckily, there ARE a few Organic dairy producers who simply pasteurize their products.  Whew!

OK, I am off my soapbox... . Let's make some Crème Fraîche

Crème Fraîche

1 pint pasteurized Heavy Cream (should be over 30% - preferably 36-40%)
3 TB Crème Fraîche
1 Mason Jar
1 lid for the Mason Jar
1 warm spot to let is set and ferment (65-75 degrees)
Patience

Remove your current tub of Crème Fraîche from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

Pour pasteurized heavy cream into a medium saucepan and place over low heat.

Heat the cream to between 80 and 90 degrees (you are just trying to take the refrigerator chill out of it)
Remove the Heavy Cream from the flame and whisk in the Crème Fraîche, making sure it is "dissolved" into the cream for maximum exposure to available sugars.

Pour the whole mix into a mason jar.

Cover with a lid and place in a warm place for 24-36 hours (don't worry, the lacto-bacter will protect the cream from spoiling because they will acidify the cream)

Once the cream is "thickened" place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. (this will thicken it further)

If the Crème Fraîche is not as thick as you would like, simply drain with jelly muslin or several layers of cheese cloth for an hour or 2 to remove some of the whey. I don't usually do that because I prefer a little more movement in my Crème Fraîche.  Besides, after it sits for a day or two in the refrigerator there will be some separation anyway, you can simply pour off the whey at that point.

Spoon the unctuous deliciousness into a tub of your own.... It will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. (no freezing it will kill the culture and you will have to start over)

In case you were noticing, I made a double batch (1 quart). Why did I make so much?  Cause I need at least 1 pint to making Lavender Crème Fraîche Ice Cream and I needed some left over for the next dessert I posting about (made with fresh blackberries & hazelnuts - Very "Oregon" ) as well as some to continue my culture...   :)

Mangia!!
~~

I'm so Dizzy, My Cheese is Spinnin' - Mozzarella Mania Part 3

Fresh Mozzarella part 3
If you are just joining you might want to check out:

Fresh Mozzarella part 1 - Say Cheese!!!!

Fresh Mozzarella part 2 - Whey to Go, Curds!!!

This is the best part of the WHOLE process… Making the cheese balls.
Now I had issues with this part and I had several theories as to why, but I will go into that at the end. Suffice it to say that I should have picked up some litmus paper or an pH probe. I think my cheese was not quite acidic enough.
This was what my curd looked like, kind of a large disk of cheese curd.

The first thing that needs to be done, though, is to make the brine:

2 cups Whey

2 cups distilled water

1 TB kosher or pickling salt

Stir to combine then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

OK, the "spinning" curd part

By now your curd should be at least 5.2 pH or lower, preferably in the 4.9 arena.
I can see you looking at me like, “HUH?? How am I suppose to know that?”

I will explain. To check for “spinnability” heat 2 cups of water to 185 degrees.
break off a tiny bit of the curd and dip it in the hot water and wait a little bit.
Scoop it out with a spoon and see if you can make it stretch a little without breaking.
If it stretches, it’s ready… If it breaks, your curd is not acidic enough, cover and let it sit another couple of hours and try again.

Pretty cool, huh? Wanna know why? Aw, heck I’ll tell ya anyway….

Food Science Geek Tangent - Proteins 101….. If you really don’t want to know, go ahead and skip forward, I will not be offended, I promise.….

This “spinning” of cheese curd is closely akin to making a meringue. I am not trying to confuse, just bear with me, it will make sense in the end…

Meringue is made with egg proteins (Albumen) that are whipped until they “stretch” to encapsulate air and water, thus creating foam. If you want a stable Meringue, you add acid such rubbing a copper bowl with Vinegar or sprinkling in a dry acid like Cream of Tarter. This helps to “stabilize” the albumen during the whipping process.

What does stabilize actually mean?

In an acidic environment, protein molecules become more flexible and “stretchy” if you will. Thus, with added acid, your albumen can stretch further before breaking, in effect “stabilizing” it’s ability to hold a foam without collapsing. The result? Fluffy Meringue!

Or in our case, the Milk protein (Casein) in the curd can stretch enough to form layer upon layer of folded mozzarella goodness.
...OK, Tanget over...

Back to cheese:

If your curd is ‘spin’able, then it is time to heat up a lot of water, while that is happening, break up the curds into small chunks, to facilitate even warming.

Also prepare a bowl with about 2 cups of cold water and a few ice cubes.

I like to divide my curd into 4 oz piles and work with 1 pile at a time (4 oz is about the size of a lemon)
Place the curd in a shallow dish.

Pour 191 degree water over it and let is sit for about 1 minute.

Using a spoon, collect the curd to 1 side then press on it with the back of the spoon, it should kind of merge into 1 large curd.
Keep collecting curds and pressing them together until you have a large mass which will begin to stick to the spoon.

Begin folding it over onto itself and pressing it together with the back of the spoon… repeat a couple times.

Pull the curd from the hot water (it will still be hot, so where gloves) and start folding and pressing, and folding and pressing. (I need a second pair of hands to take pictures)

The curd will become shiny on the outside, that means it is done.

Drop it into ice water to firm it up.

Empty the water from the dish and re-heat your distilled water to 185 degrees…. Place aother 4 oz in the bowl and repeat the steps above to make your second, third and fourth mozzarella balls. (you will get about a pound of Mozzarella from 1 gallon of milk.)
When they are all chilled in the ice water, go ahead and move them to the brine.

Store in the refrigerator for 3 hours before eating.

Mozzarella is best consumed within 3 days of this process…..
It will keep for about 10 days though, it’s just better the first 3.

Things I learned from this process….
First of all, I will not try to do this during a work week, this is a weekend project, but OH YES!! I WILL be doing this again….

I wrecked my 1st ball because my water was too hot and the curd melted into nothingness….
The second one, I ate before it even went into the salt brine… LOL
The third and forth, I got a little carried away and kept folding the cheese after it was getting too cool, so I lost my shiny coating on the outside. Still tasted good though…
Why did I go to all this trouble of making homemade mozzarella?

For this-----

Pizza Margharita!!!

the BESTEST EVER Pizza Margharita, I swear!!!
Mangia!!!!

Whey to Go, Curds!!!! - Mozzarella Mania part 2

Fresh Mozzarella Part 2

Before we begin you’re gonna need some equipment….

• 2 Stainless steel stock pots (4 quart and 6-8 quart)
• Colander
• A long knife
• Cheese cloth
• Temperature gage
• Slotted spoon
• Stainless steel measuring spoons
• Glass Measuring cups

And it ALL need to be sterilized… I cannot emphasize this enough.

Place about 1 quart of water in each stock pot and heat them to a boil.

Place measuring cups, spoons, knife blades and anything else that you will be using in the pots and cover with the lids… let steam for 5 minutes…. For the colander, a good steaming is in order, place the colander in the pot and place the lid on top of the colander to get it steamed well.

You have got to be able to control the bacteria here. Wipe all counter surfaces and the sink with a mild bleach solution… Maybe I am a little paranoid, but the curd will be aging in this recipe, it’s not one of those, “add citric acid and use the microwave” types. So prepare your environment well to ensure the proper bacteria (the ones YOU are adding to the milk) are going to be the ones that grow and flourish.
If my mom was right, and cleanliness is next to Godliness, then making cheese is a religious experience. I cannot stress the cleanliness and sterilization enough… If you think it’s clean, go ahead and clean it again, better safe than sorry.

OK, now that I have succeeded in scaring everyone away from making cheese with my own “Pathogen Paranoia”.

Let’s begin… You will need the following ingredients…

1 gallon un-homogenized pasteurized milk (no Ultra-Pasteurization or Homogenization)
1/4 tsp Vegetable Rennet
3 TB Whole Milk Yogurt
3 TB Cultured Buttermilk
2 TB Crème Fraîche Salt
Lots of Distilled Water

Warm the milk to 90 degrees in your sterilized stainless steel pot over LOW heat, with the cover on. This must be done at very low heat to ensure it down not scorch, since the milk needs to remain covered and as sterile as possible before inoculation.

(I used the diffuser that I use when I am slow cooking tomato sauce)

Meanwhile, in a small glass measuring cup, mix your vegetable rennet with 1/4 cup distilled water.
In another glass measuring cup, mix the Yogurt, Buttermilk, and if you are using it, the Crème Fraîche.

When the milk hit’s 90 degrees, add the yogurt/buttermilk mixture and stir to disperse the culture throughout the milk.

Wait approximately 15 minutes.
Then add the rennet mixture, stirring well with the slotted spoon to ensure it is mixed thoroughly.

Cover the milk and let it sit for 45 minutes to 1 hour (Mine took 1 hour)
You will know the curd is ready when you get what is called a “clean break”, that is when you can stick your finger in and the curd splits without clinging to your finger like syrup.

Using a long knife, cut the curds in a crisscross pattern, than at an angle to achieve a ¾ inch curd, or at least close to it.
(I tried taking a picture, but everything was so 'white', that you could not see the lines where I had cut... Sorry)

Begin reheating the curds & whey to 90 degrees again, stirring gently and breaking up any larger curds into small pieces so they are as uniform as possible.


After re-warming and stirring, let the curd rest again for 15 minutes so proteins in the curds to “Squeeze” more whey out of themselves.

Pour off some of the whey and save (you will need about 3 cups)

Using the slotted spoon, scoop the curd into another stock pot filled with 2 quarts of cold distilled water.

After they have cooled for about 15 minutes, pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander and let them drain.

Let them drain for about 10 minutes...

Pick the assembly up and place it in the smaller stock pot and place the lid on top of the colander and store the cheese at room temperature for the bacteria to grow and acidify the curds – about 8-10 hours (I let mine sit for 18)

Chill the reserved whey in the refrigerator (Although you can also leave this out overnight if you would like to acidify it as well)

Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion -- I’m So Dizzy, My Cheese is Spinnin’

or check out to part 1 of the series-- Say Cheese!!!!