Sunday Forward — Pantry Staple · Week 1
Homemade Crème Fraîche
Two ingredients · one jar · start the night before
Pantry StapleMake-Ahead2 Ingredients
2
Ingredients
5 min
Active
12–48 hr
Set Time
Used In
Cream
Heavy Cream
Not ultra-pasteurized if you can find it — the active cultures work faster and more reliably
1¼ cups
Culture
Cultured Buttermilk
The live cultures are what does the thickening — check the label to confirm "live and active cultures"
2–3 tbsp
Method
0 of 1 steps complete — click a step to check it off
1Jar
Combine, Cover & Wait
Stir the buttermilk into the heavy cream in a pint Mason jar. Loosely cover — not airtight — and leave at room temperature until thickened. Start checking at 12 hours; it may take up to 48 depending on your kitchen temperature and the cream you used.
✓
On Timing
Freshness, kitchen temperature, and whether your cream is ultra-pasteurized all play a role. Under ideal conditions the cultures thicken the cream overnight. It can take considerably longer — our recent batch took almost 48 hours. Don’t rush it.
Re-Culture Your Next Batch
The extra ¼ cup is intentional — use a full cup in the recipe and save the rest as a starter. Stir it into another 1¼ cups of heavy cream and the culture is already established. Your next batch will thicken much more quickly.
Check the Label
Ultra-pasteurized cream (common in most grocery stores) still works, but takes longer to set because the high heat partially deactivates the cultures. Look for regular pasteurized heavy cream at a local dairy or natural foods store when you can find it.