The market · Dairy and eggs · Northern and Central Europe

Crème fraîche

Cream soured with lactic bacteria — thick, rich and gently tangy. Full-fat crème fraîche can boil without splitting.

tangy · rich · creamy

What to do with it

Ibu Sari's Beef rendangCrème fraîche would cut through its richnessRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleCrème fraîche would soften its edgeAna Etxarri's Pil pilCrème fraîche would cut through its richnessIbu Sari's Sambal ijoCrème fraîche would soften its edge
Classics built on it
LyonnaisPoulet de Bresse à la crèmeA Bresse chicken browned gently in butter, then simmered and finished in thick cream, often with mushrooms.No one here has made it yetAlsatianTarte flambéeBread dough rolled paper-thin, spread with fromage blanc and cream, scattered with onion and bacon, and baked in seconds in a blazing oven.No one here has made it yetNormanMoules à la normandeMussels steamed open in cider with shallots and butter, the juices finished with crème fraîche.No one here has made it yetNormanTarte normandeApples in a pastry case, covered in a custard of eggs, cream and sugar, often laced with Calvados, baked until just set.No one here has made it yetNormanPoulet vallée d'AugeChicken browned in butter, flamed with Calvados, simmered in cider and finished with cream and mushrooms, sometimes with apples.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Full-fat
Around 30% fat or more; the one to cook with.
Half-fat
Splits when boiled.

If you can't find it

Supermarkets' dairy aisle.

  1. 1Sour cream
    The same — but it splits if boiled
    You lose the richness and heat-tolerance.
    Gets some back stir it in off the heat.

Goes with

mushroomtarragonsmoked salmonpotato

Knowing it

Where to buy
Supermarkets; French delis for Normandy's crème fraîche d'Isigny.
Worth knowing
Stir it into a pan sauce at the end, or spoon it cold onto something hot.

Kitchens that keep it in

Lyon and its hinterland — the Rhône and Saône valleys, from Bresse to the DauphinéLyonnaisA city's cooking, rich and unfussy: pork and offal in the bouchons, cream and butter from Bresse, fish from the rivers, and the wines of the Beaujolais to wash it down.9 classicsAlsace — north-eastern France, between the Vosges and the RhineAlsatianFrench and German at once: sauerkraut and pork, yeasted cakes and bread, fresh cheese and cream, cooked with the dry white wines of the Vosges foothills.9 classicsNormandy — north-western France, along the Channel from the Seine to Mont-Saint-MichelNormanButter, cream, apples and the sea: orchards turned into cider and Calvados, pastures into Camembert and Livarot, and shellfish and sole from the Channel.9 classicsBurgundy — east-central France, from Chablis down to the MâconnaisBurgundianRed wine in the pot as much as the glass, with Charolais beef, bacon, mushrooms, snails, mustard and the cheeses and hams of the hills.7 classics

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