Behind the French Menu: 2012-08-05

Crème Fraîche - Creme Fraiche. What is Crème Fraîche? Crème Fraîche on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Crème Fraîche d'Isigny sur Mer, AOC/AOP, 40% fat.

France’s top-rated crème fraiche.

There is no English translation for crème fraîche; it is a uniquely French creation and so crème fraiche it remains in English. (English translations mostly miss out on the accent over the i but that is all).

What is Crème Fraîche?

Crème fraiche has a creamy texture, and while it is not at all like sour cream or yogurt then neither is it a sweet cream. Crème fraîche is a pasteurized and naturally thickened cow’s milk with most offerings having 30%, or more, fat. The unique taste of crème fraiche comes from the milk bacteria that are added. This bacterium, originally, when made with non-pasteurized milk was a natural occurrence, now it is a supervised and inspected addition.

Crème fraiche has a creamy texture, and while it is not at all like sour cream or yogurt then neither is it a sweet cream. Crème fraîche is pasteurized and naturally thickened cow’s milk with most offerings having 30%, or more, fat. The unique taste of crème fraiche comes from the milk bacteria that are added. This bacteria, originally, when made with non-pasteurized milk was a natural occurrence, now it is a supervised and inspected addition.

Berries with crème fraiche

Photograph courtesy of Dana

www.flickr.com/photos/roseannadana/14637118730/

Crème Fraîche in French Cuisine.

French chefs use crème fraiche in many more sauce recipes than they will for sweet cream. It is crème fraiche that produces much of that important, je ne sais quoi; that inexplicable, different, creamy taste, to French sauces, soups, and other recipes. Crème Fraiche, sour cream, and yogurt all use particular bacteria to give them their tastes. Crème fraiche is added to other ingredients when served cold; you will note it is much thicker than sour cream though it does not have the tang of sour cream or yogurt. To cooked dishes, crème fraiche adds its unique taste and does not curdle like sour cream.

Crème fraiche is genuinely different; if a chef makes a sauce or soup with fresh cream or sour cream then a decidedly different taste is achieved; taste the same dish with crème fraiche, and your mouth will pop as you appreciate the difference.

Citrus pavlova with crème fraiche mousse

and Meyer lemon sorbet.

Photograph courtesy of Ralph Daily

www.flickr.com/photos/ralphandjenny/15815581804/

Crème Fraîche on French menus:

Escalope de Veau à la Crème Fraîche et aux Cèpes – A boneless cut of veal prepared with crème fraiche and France’s own porcini mushrooms.

Saumon Fumé par nos Soins, Mini Blinis et sa Crème Fraîche – Our home smoked Atlantic salmon served with mini blinis and crème fraiche. (A blini is a traditional Russian pancake made from buckwheat flour).

Caviar, poached egg yolk, crème fraiche, chives.

Photograph courtesy of T.Tseng
www.flickr.com/photos/68147320@N02/12353204685/

Œuf Coulant Sur Une Sauce Maroilles Et Crème Fraîche – A soft boiled runny egg served with a Maroilles cheese sauce made with crème fraiche.

Faisselle Du Vercors Avec Coulis De Fruits Rouges ou Crème Fraîche – A faisselle includes many soft fresh cheeses that may be made with cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and or sheep’s milk. This faisselle is served with a fruit coulis, a puree of red fruits and crème fraiche. (Here the cheese comes from Vercors and the Vercors Massif includes rugged plateaus and mountains to the west of the city of Grenoble in the region of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is part of the French pre-Alps. (The super region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was created on 1-1-2016 when France reduced the number of regions in mainland France from 22 to 13).

Noix de St Jacques Poêlées au Beurre Persillé et Crème Fraîche - The meat of the king scallop lightly fried with parsley butter and crème fraiche.

La Tarte Tatin Tiède Et Sa Crème Fraîche Vanillée - A warm Tart Tatin served with vanilla flavored crème fraiche.

Tiny toasts with smoked salmon crème fraiche and dill.

Photograph courtesy of KRebaud

www.flickr.com/photos/16993229@N06/6610151709/

Today crème fraiche is available in the larger supermarkets around the world, from the USA to Australia; only a few countries that are exposed to French cuisine do not have at least one local producer of crème fraiche.

Pan-fried lightly smoked salmon.

With horseradish-mustard creme fraiche and fennel flowers

Photograph courtesy of Jeremy Keith

www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/6059465231/

All over France crème fraiche is produced by dairies large and small; however, one small town, along with its surrounding villages, is recognized as the producer of the very best crème fraiche the Crème Fraîche d’Isigny AOP. Isigny sur Mer in Normandy is in the department of Calvados so famous for its apple brandy of the same name. With a population of 12,000 Isigny sur Mer apart from crème fraiche also produce an AOP butter, the Beurre d'Isigny AOP and a whole range of other excellent butter and milk products. You may be sure that a large percentage of the population from Isigny sur Mer, from all the generations, are involved 24/7 in making their unique milk products. When you are visiting Calvados in search of their famous apple brandy, consider stopping for lunch in one of Isigny’s local restaurants where crème fraiche and Calvados will be part of many dishes on the menu.

Homemade crème fraiche.

Recipes for homemade crème fraîche mostly include mixing sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk. (Buttermilk is the liquid left over from making butter and not to be confused with whey which is the liquid left over from making cheese). None of these recipes has a result truly close to real crème fraiche, but they remain the closest option in countries where real crème fraiche is still not available.

Chilled asparagus soup.

With that essential ingredient crème fraiche.

Photograph courtesy of stu_spivak

www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/2476719729/

Crème Fraîche or Crème Fraîche Epaisse

When the label reads Crème Fraîche Épaisse then that is the full name for crème fraiche that has 30% or more fat; there is no legal upper limit on the percentage of fat. Look for the percentage mark next to the word grasse on the label. (Grasse translates as fat in English). The word épaisse may translate as thick in your French-English travel dictionary; however, Crème Fraîche Épaisse is the standard crème fraîche.

Yoplait Crème Fraîche Légère
Low fat crème fraiche with 15% fat

Low fat crème fraiche means less than 30% fat, and depending on the producer it may be as low as 15%. There may be some out there that have a lower fat content, but I have never seen crème fraiche with less than 15% fat.

-----------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

---------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

------------------------------------

Connected posts:

Asperges en La Cuisine Française – Asparagus in French cuisine. The Artists who Painted Asparagus or Lived Near Argenteuil.

Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.

Calvados – The Most Famous Apple Brandy in the World. Calvados on French Menus.

Caviar in France. The Different Caviars on French Menus. Sturgeon, the fish, Esturgeon on French menus.

Ciboulette – Chives, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Citron – The Lemon. The Lemon, the Lime, the Citron, the Kaffir Lime and the Pomelo in French Cuisine.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle. The King Scallop and the Queen Scallop on French Menus. The Coquilles Saint-Jacques, and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle in French Cuisine.

Escalope de Veau or Paillard de Veau. Veal in France II - A Veal Cutlet, Escalope, Escallop or Scallop.

AOC and AOP on France's Foods and Wine labels? Why did the AOC add an AOP?

Maroilles AOP. Maroilles the Cheese. The Village of Maroilles That Gave the Cheese its Name.

Regions - France’s Mainland Regions and Their Borders Have Changed. Keep This List With Your GPS and Map.

Saumon, Saumon Atlantique – Atlantic Salmon. Salmon on French Menus. Atlantic Salmon is the only Salmon Generally Available in France.

Sorbet - Sorbet. Sorbets on French Menus.

Tarte Tatin - The Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin, the Tart made by the Tatin Sisters. Tarte-Tatin on French Menus.

The Cèpe Grows Wild in France. The Cepe is the French Porcini Mushroom. The Cepe on French Menus. The Mushrooms Of France III.

Bisques and Seafood Bisques on French Menus

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

A crab bisque.

Photograph courtesy of Geoff Peters

www.flickr.com/photos/gpeters/3110265844/

Bisques began as rich fish soups, changing with the years to pureed shellfish soups that may include white wine, fresh cream, or crème fraîche; however, if the fish's texture is right, a fish bisque may still be on the menu. Shellfish bisques can be distinguished by their texture and then vegetable bisques and bisque sauces with the right textures were added to many menus.

A few of the bisques that may be on your menu:

Bisque de Crevettes – A shrimp bisque.

Bisque d'Écrevisses – A crayfish bisque.

Bisque de Homard - A lobster bisque.

Bisque de Tomate de Vigne Grillée – A tomato bisque made with grilled vine tomatoes, only partly pureed so that a bisque texture remains.

Shrimp bisque

Photograph courtesy of Zarleenalin

www.flickr.com/photos/21348045@N06/3784580564/

Bisque de Rascasse et sa Rouille - A bisque made with the scorpionfish (sea robin) fish: served with a spicy rouille sauce on the side. You add the rouille to your taste. The rascasse is one of France’s tastiest and firm-fleshed fish caught in the Meditteranean and also an essential part of a real Bouillabaisse. Unlike a real scorpion fish, it has no stinger in its tail, rather it has poisonous spines; fishermen and women pick them out of the net wearing gloves.

Red Scorpion fish.

Photograph courtesy of Yellow.Cat FF

www.flickr.com/photos/9084427@N07/3232839908/

Bisque de Tomate de Vigne Grillée – Grilled vine tomatoes partly very roughly pureed, flavored with herbs and made into a bisque with added white wine and crème fraiche.

Chefs know they need to create interest for new dishes, especially dishes that use ingredients prepared differently, Here are grilled vine tomatoes presented in a manner rarely seen in bisques. The chef has inferred a connection to the texture of a seafood bisque and that will have French diners thinking, wondering and then, probably try it.

A Tomato bisque.

Photograph courtesy of Ernesto Andrade

www.flickr.com/photos/dongkwan/921915567/

At this point, I should emphasize how educated French diners are. They begin learning to appreciate food at an early age. In State-run schools, there is a three-course meal every day, accompanied only by water. The meal must take a minimum of thirty minutes and the children know what they are eating.

Adding crème fraîche

Photograph courtesy of Joy

www.flickr.com/photos/joyosity/9686979521/

Bisque d'étrilles - A bisque made with the crabe étrille also called the crabe batailler.
This is a small but tasty crab, the velvet swimming crab. While they are one of those tastiest crabs they are considered too small to be served on their own as they are rarely more than 7 cms (3") across and 50% of that is the shell. Nevertheless, unnamed on most menus, the velvet swimming crab is used to add flavor to crab soups and or fish soups. In this menu listing these tasty, small, crabs are honored by being offered in a soup where they play the leading role. (The most popular crab in France is the larger edible crabe tourteau, the edible brown crab).

The crabe etrille – the velvet swimming crab.

Photograph courtesy of cd100

Connected posts:

Bouillabaisse and Bouillabaisse Marseillaise. Links to Recipes for Bouillabaisse.

Cognac; the World's Most famous brandy and a French Creation. Deciphering Cognac Labels and How to Tell the Age and Grade of a Cognac. Cognac 1.

Crabs – Among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu. Crustaceans II .

Crayfish, Crawdad, Crawfish, the Freshwater Crayfish are Among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu. The Écrivisse. Crustaceans III.

Crème Fraîche, creme fraiche. What is Crème Fraîche? Why is Crème Fraîche part of so Many of France’s Famous Sauces and More -

Homard - The Two Clawed European Lobster. Lobster on French Menus.

Rascasse - The Scorpion or Sea Robin family of fishes in French cuisine.

Soup on the French Menu. A Soup by Any Other Name, but France has So Many Names for Soup.

Shrimps and Prawns among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu.

Tomate – Tomato. France’s Greatest Tomato, the Tomate de Marmande AOC. The Tomato in French Cuisine.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

For information on the unpublished book behind this blog contact Bryan Newman

behindtheFrenchmenu@gmail.com

Châtaignes and Marrons - Chestnuts. Chestnuts in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

The Châtaigne with its multiple chestnuts.
Its very, very close cousin has a single fruit.

Photograph courtesy of Otto Phokus.

/www.flickr.com/photos/jbmac/3978185109/

Châtaignes and Marrons, the sweet chestnuts of France.

These two sweet chestnuts taste, to most of us very similar and in a blind tasting of, I failed to tell any difference. Since they are so similar in taste and both are excellent, it is not surprising that French recipes use these two members of the chestnut family interchangeably.

Altogether some 25% of France is covered with chestnut forests from the north to the south. Chestnuts were, for hundreds of years, the primary food of the French peasantry; it kept them alive through the winters as chestnut flour stored well. Chestnuts were also used to make beer, and the stored chestnut peelings were the food of the farm animals in winter and summer.

Rating the chestnuts in France.

Two French chestnuts are considered genuinely superior; though the others are excellent. The first is the Châtaigne d'Ardèche AOP, from the forests in the department of Ardeche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the second is the Châtaigne Périgord Label Rouge, IGP which while bearing the name Perigord come from the forests in ten different departments in France's southwest. What makes the difference from chestnuts grown elsewhere apart the place of origin is the way they are grown and stored when fresh. With the AOP or IGP label on the bag you know they are grown with care for the environment and the consumer. These two chestnuts may be France's best but when there is an excellent chef in the kitchen you may not know if he or she is using an also-ran from a forest nearby.

Single fruit chestnuts

Photograph courtesy of EgnaroorangE

www.flickr.com/photos/egnaro/2946201087/

Chestnuts on French menus:

If you begin your acquaintance with French chestnuts at the beginning of the season, then freshly roasted chestnuts will be sold on street corners; elegantly served in brown paper bags so you may eat them as you stroll along. However, if you prefer chestnuts prepared by a chef there will be many opportunities for enjoying them as you travel around France.

Lentil and chestnut soup

Photograph courtesy of Jessica Spengler

www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/378624516/

Chestnuts on French menus:

Ballotine de Dinde Rôtie aux Marrons – Roasted, boned, turkey served with chestnuts.

Crème Brûlée aux Marrons, Caramélisée au Sucre Vergeoise - Crème Brûlée with chestnuts; caramelized with the brown sugar made from French sugar beets.

Venison, chestnut puree, served with Sauce Grand Veneur
Sauce Grand Veneur translates as the sauce of a great hunter. This is a traditional sauce that was created to serve with wild game. The recipe has changed over time and now is usually made with red wine vinegar, butter, fresh berries, and crème fraîche.

Photograph courtesy of Miriam Kato

www.flickr.com/photos/sushi_kato/4679899419/

Filet de Grondin Rouge en Beignet à la Farine de Châtaigne – A filet of red gunard, the fish, dipped in chestnut flour and then deep fried.

Gâteau à la Farine de Châtaigne Corse AOP – A cake made with the famed chestnut flour, the Corsican Farine de Châtaigne Corse AOP. Chestnut flour is used in many other crepes, and cakes.

Marron Glacé – Candied Chestnuts are one of France's most famous sweets, candies, and are often part of a dessert. France has hundreds of years of experience in removing the water from fruits and replacing it with sugar, formerly honey. I shall have to write a post on Fruits Confit or Fruits Glacés, candied or crystallized fruits.

Marrón Glacé – Candied Chestnuts.

Photograph courtesy of TripAdvisor

Ravioles de Cèpes et Châtaignes au Parfum de Truffes – French Porcini mushroom and chestnut ravioli scented with truffles.

Mont Blanc dessert

Photograph by courtesy ofsaksan

www.flickr.com/photos/sakfli/4671612804/

In the old region of Languedoc-Roussillon, now part of the super region of Occitanie in-season local restaurants will be offering their famous Figarette, a chestnut and porcini mushroom soup. In the old région of Limousin, now part of the super region of Nouvelle Aquitaine all year round you will be offered their Liqueur de Châtaignes, a 40% alcohol chestnut liquor.

Liqueur de Châtaigne

When the conquistadors brought corn, maize, from the New World chestnut flower became less of a staple, but the magnificent forests remain as home to a wide variety of wild game from wild boar to deer.

The different types of chestnuts.

The châtaigne is correctly called the Spanish Chestnut or Sweet Chestnut and from each fruit, there will anywhere from one to five nuts, usually three. The marron is the American chestnut; it usually has a single larger nut in each fruit, sometimes two. The people who brought most of the châtaignes, the Spanish chestnut trees, to France were the usual suspects, the Romans.

Not all the châtaignes are chestnuts.

Châtaigne d'Eau, Macre or Macre Commune - The water chestnut.

Châtaigne de Mer or Oursin - The sea urchin. This odd spiny little sea creature, so beloved of the French. The sea urchin will need a separate post, save to say only its inside is eaten. The spines are left untouched.

-----------------------------------