crème fraîche

Definition

Thick, tangy cultured cream with about 30% butterfat that won't curdle when heated, unlike its temperamental cousin sour cream. The French answer to the question 'how do we make cream even better?'

Example Usage

Finish the sauce with a dollop of crème fraîche for richness and a slight tang.

Origin

French, literally 'fresh cream'

Fun Fact

You can make DIY crème fraîche by adding buttermilk to heavy cream and leaving it at room temperature for 24 hours, though it won't have the same authentic French attitude.

Source: French dairy products and sauce enrichment

Related Terms

Intermediate

cluttons

The chaotic jumble of mismatched kitchen utensils living in that one drawer everyone has—wooden spoons, whisks, mystery tools, and at least three things you've never used but can't throw away. It's where culinary organization goes to die a slow, tangled death.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

score

Making shallow cuts in the surface of meat, fish, or dough to help with cooking, presentation, or fat rendering. Not to be confused with settling disagreements, though both involve knives.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

working clean

The practice of maintaining an organized, sanitized station during service—the difference between professionals and chaos agents. Easier preached than practiced when tickets are flying.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Advanced

goujon

Fancy French term for breaded and fried fish strips, because calling them "fish sticks" wouldn't justify the restaurant markup. Traditionally made from sole or other delicate white fish cut into elegant batons and deep-fried to golden perfection. It's essentially the grown-up, bistro version of what you ate from a box as a kid, but now it costs $18 and comes with aioli.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

brigade system

The militaristic kitchen hierarchy invented by Escoffier that turns cooking into a chain of command where the Chef de Cuisine reigns supreme. Think corporate org chart, but with more knives and yelling.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

Fold

A gentle mixing technique where you carefully combine a light mixture into a heavy one without deflating it. It's the culinary version of whispering -- aggressive stirring is strictly forbidden. Every baking show contestant has had a dramatic folding meltdown.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Translate This Term

See “crème fraîche” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

admissible evidence

Information that meets legal standards to be presented in court, having survived the gauntlet of relevance, reliability,...