Creme Fraiche is a popular French version of sour cream. It has a tangy, almost nutty, flavour that is wonderfully smooth. We sell the heirloom version which means you can continue to produce creme fraiche time and time again by reculturing cream from the previous batch you made. An organic creme fraiche starter is quite hard to come by these days. It’s a fantastic way to ferment and preserve cream. It also tastes great and has many uses in the kitchen.
Our organic creme fraiche starter is an active culture containing the following lactic bacteria: lactococcus lactis supsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris
Allergens – Contains milk (cows).
Recommended activation date for culture:
1 year from the date of shipping. Best stored in the freezer if the product can not be activated on arrival.
Please note that we do not send printed copies of instructions with your purchase. If you would like to have a printed version, you can open a printable PDF by clicking here.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Organic creme fraiche starters are freeze dried and can be stored at room temperature until the activation date on the back of the packet. If you do not plan to activate the creme fraiche before that date, it can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 years.
A glass jar and a breathable cover such as a muslin cloth or paper towel.
To activate the organic creme fraiche starter, boil 150ml of whole pasteurised milk and allow it to cool back to room temperature. We recommend boiling the milk for the activation stage so that any microbes in the milk are killed off, giving the starter the best chance of success, Put the milk into a jar (ideally 1 litre capacity). No cream is required for this stage. Place the sachet of freeze dried creme fraiche into the milk and cover the jar to stop dust getting in. Do not cut off the airflow completely. A paper towel fastened with a rubber band works well. Leave it at room temperature for 24-72 hours until you notice that the milk has set. Then proceed with the steps listed below.
Creme fraiche will work great with any type of cream made from animal milk. This includes goats, sheep and buffalo milk.
Sadly not. Creme fraiche requires lactose present in animal milk to successfully ferment.
Yes, you can. However, we would still recommend you follow the activation process with pasteurised milk. Another thing to note is that due to the high microbe and bacterial levels present in raw milk, the starter will compete for dominance. This can lead to a thinner consistency overall.
You can freeze the creme fraiche for short periods of time (1-3 months). Beyond that, the bacteria will start to decline.
You can also dehydrate the stater by pasting a thin layer onto parchment paper and leaving it to dry in a well-ventilated area. Dehydrated starters can be kept in the freezer for a number of years without losing potency.
Sadly neither of these methods are full proof and we can not guarantee they will always work. Overall though success rates are very high. The best way to preserve the bacteria in the starter it to use a freeze-dry method which requires specialist equipment.