Homemade is better: yogurt (left) and crème fraîche (right).
Homemade is better: yogurt (left) and crème fraîche (right).
There are a few cultured dairy products that are well worth making at home, and they’re hardly anything you would call a major project. They mostly involve simply warming milk or cream, inoculating it with live active cultures, and waiting a day or two. The work is easy and pleasurable, and your homemade products will be tastier and cheaper than store-bought. Obviously, you’ll choose the very best, freshest organic milk and cream you can get to turn into yogurt, crème fraîche, or fromage blanc.
Yogurt at Home
Let’s talk about yogurt. I know I’m opinionated, but I have no use for most of what is sold in supermarkets. Whole-milk yogurt tastes best to me. I’d rather have a small amount of that than a large bowl of thin-tasting, watery low-fat yogurt. Commercially made American yogurts can be bland, and are usually too thick and not sour enough—tangy yogurt just tastes better. So-called Greek-style yogurt may have the correct thickness, but it lacks the tartness of the real thing. And don’t get me started on sweetened and adorned yogurt products with “fruit” on the bottom or candy on top. But I’m happy to have yogurt for dessert, topped with a spoonful of good raw honey or homemade apricot jam. Now that’s delicious.
Often my preference is for yogurt sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil as a snack. Yogurt seasoned in a more elaborate way can accompany a savory dish (see Red Lentil Dal), but sometimes a spoonful of good plain yogurt is all that’s required to embellish, for instance, a beet salad or a smooth soup.
The yogurt process involves a several-hour period of incubation in a warm environment, but there is no one right way to do it. I have a friend who swears by her old-fashioned method of wrapping the jar of warm cultured milk in a thick blanket overnight (and another friend who actually sleeps with his jar of yogurt under the pillow). It can also be accomplished in a thermos or an insulated cooler. The idea is to try to keep the soon-to-be-yogurt mixture at a steady warm temperature so it will culture and thicken properly. Or you can purchase a yogurt-making kit, which gets the job done easily—you just have to plug in the incubator, fill the jars, and set the timer. For the starter, you can use a spoonful of plain commercial yogurt made with live cultures or purchase powdered yogurt cultures online from sources such as www.culturesforhealth.com.
Put 1 quart whole milk in a stainless steel saucepan set over medium heat and heat to 180 degrees. Let cool to 100 degrees, then whisk in ¼ cup plain commercial yogurt made with live cultures or a teaspoon of powdered yogurt culture. Transfer to 1-cup jars (or smaller ones) and incubate at about 100 degrees for 8 to 12 hours, until the yogurt is set and slightly tart in flavor. (As with crème fraîche, the longer you let it culture, the more tart it will become.) Refrigerate for several hours before using. The yogurt will keep for a week or more. Makes 1 quart
Homemade Crème Fraîche
There are hundreds of uses for crème fraîche, the thick, tangy French version of sour cream. Use a spoonful in savory sauces, hot or cold, or to accompany desserts instead of whipped cream. One of its many virtues is that because it’s made only from cultured pure cream, it won’t curdle when heated and can be simmered to make a reduced sauce. For the best flavor, use organic raw or pasteurized cream (not ultra-pasteurized).
Heat 1 cup heavy cream in a stainless steel saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 110 degrees. Let cool to just below 80 degrees, then stir in 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk. Transfer to a sterilized jar or crock and leave at room temperature, loosely covered with a clean cloth, for 12 hours, or until thickened and mildly tangy. For a thicker and more sour crème fraîche, let stand for up to 12 hours longer. Cover the crème and refrigerate overnight before using. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. Makes 1 cup
Note: Purists may consider purchasing a crème fraîche culture from an online source instead of using buttermilk.
Homemade Fromage Blanc
Everyone seems to be jumping on the homemade ricotta train lately, but to me, it never tastes right—it’s too rich and creamy compared to the Italian ideal. Instead, I prefer to make a simple kind of fromage blanc. Like ricotta, this is best eaten very fresh, within a day or two at most. Fromage blanc can swing both ways sweet or savory—so it goes with toast and jam for breakfast and with prosciutto on a crisp baguette, as well.
Put 1 gallon whole milk in a stainless steel saucepan set over medium heat and bring to 100 degrees. Whisk in ½ cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt. Turn off the heat, put on the lid, cover with a towel, and leave for 30 minutes.
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and line it with doubled cheesecloth. Check to see if the milk has clabbered nicely—that is, separated into curds and whey. If so, carefully ladle the curds into the sieve, allowing the whey to drain off. If not, wait for another 30 minutes or so. Leave the curds to drain for about 2 hours, until spoonable. The whey makes a nutritious beverage or can be used in baking.
Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth and lay them over the top of the drained curds. Put a small plate on top as a weight and place the draining cheese in the refrigerator, where it will firm further. Chill for several hours or overnight, then unwrap and transfer to a serving bowl. Makes about 1½ cups
Clarified Butter and Ghee
For adding flavor to vegetables and sauces or for making pastry, “whole” butter is ideal, but for sautéing and frying, I use clarified butter or ghee, which has been cooked to remove the milk solids (and for longer keeping). Clarified butter and ghee are interchangeable, but ghee has a pronounced lightly toasted flavor and clarified butter tastes buttery but neutral. For both, it’s best to use unsalted butter. Oysters panfried in clarified butter are outrageously tasty; a drizzle of ghee gives basmati rice sparkle.
To Make Clarified Butter
Melt 1 pound unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then turn the heat very low and allow the butter to simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until the water in the butter has evaporated and the milk solids have risen to the surface. Skim the milk solids from the top using a fine-mesh skimmer or slotted spoon. (You can save the skimmed solids to flavor soups and dishes such as mashed potatoes.) Ladle the clarified butter into small containers (strain through cheesecloth if you wish) and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 months. Makes about 1½ cups
To Make Ghee
Proceed as for clarified butter, but once the water in the butter has evaporated and the milk solids have risen to the surface, continue to simmer for another 20 minutes or so, monitoring the butter closely, until the milk solids have sunk to the bottom and taken on a golden color and the butter has a toasted, nut-like aroma. Take great care during the last few minutes not to let the butter or milk solids get too dark, or the ghee will taste burnt instead of toasted. Ladle the ghee into small containers (strain through cheesecloth if you wish) and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 months. Makes about 1½ cups