I decided to follow the directions that came with my crème fraiche culture, at least for this first round. They were just too simple to pass up. The directions said to heat one quart (4 cups) of raw cream to 78 degrees and then add the culture, allowing it to soak for 2 minutes before stirring it until it is dissolved. It then says to cover and let sit at 72 degrees for up to 12 hours, or until thickened, then to refridgerate and enjoy.

      

 

 

Cream heating on the stove 

 

 Trying to get the right temperature

 

 Crème fraiche culture

 

 Cream and cultures mixture in jars

 

Jars submerged in a warm water bath to keep a consistent

 temperature (I put the lid on after the picture was taken)

 

      Now, here are the ways I (unintentionally!) deviated from those instructions. First off, I somehow let the cream get to 100 degrees, so I had to let it sit a cool for a bit. I added the culture at a slightly higher temperature, somewhere around the mid-eighties and began trying to dissolve the culture right away before I remembered it had to sit for a couple of minutes. I then allowed it to do so and then stirred it at the point the directions specified. I poured the cream and cultures mixture into 2 pint jars, which I then submerged in 100 degree water in a crockpot, to help keep the temperature up, but not too hot. I then left for my Anatomy class and when I came back to temperature had barely gone done at all (woops!). Now, just a four hours in and there seems to be a cheese-like mass in the jar, surrounded by what I can only imagine is whey. More updates on when I figure out what possibly could be going on.....

 Look at that whey!

 

 I wish my yogurt came out this thick, not my crème fraiche

 

Trying to strain it and chill it to see if maybe the lack of whey

will make it taste better....if that is even possible.

 

 

 

        Alright, batch # 1 has turned out to be a failure. It probably has a lot to do with letting it sit at too high a temperature. For the next round I am going to try and find another recipe, if for no other reason than to compare and contrast methods. In the meantime, my partner Nick and I will be gargling mouthwash and watching kung fu in an attempt to try and forget what just put in our mouths.....