Posted by Witley (1035 days ago)
This should probably be in the food/recipes section, but here goes anyway...
I Googled sour cream, double cream and creme fraiche and below is an extract from just one of the many sites that came up with the info you're after:-
"...I live in a country where it is difficult to find all the ingredients for recipes. What is the difference between the following and can any of them replace another: crème fraîche, fromage frais, fromage blanc, yogurt, sour cream, cream, double cream, whipping cream?
The dairy products you mention fall into perhaps three categories: creams and soured creams, yogurt, and fresh cheeses.
We assume you’re not asking what cream is, but what a recipe writer means when his recipe simply calls for cream. In general, it means a fairly thick, relatively high-butterfat cream. Double cream is the British designation for super-rich cream — with 48% butterfat. By contrast, whipping cream in the United States has between 30% and 40% butterfat. Light creams, or single cream in Britain, which average around 20% butterfat, are not as stable for cooking, are more prone to curdling in the presence of acids or high heat, and so are not called for as often in recipes.
Crème fraîche and sour cream are both manufactured cream products. Crème fraîche is a slightly tangy, slightly nutty, thickened cream. Before the age of pasteurization crème fraîche made itself as the bacteria present in the cream fermented and thickened it naturally. It is widely available in Europe, but much less so in the US, where almost all cream is pasteurized, and therefore has to be fermented artificially.
Sour cream was also traditionally made by letting fresh cream sour naturally — the acids and bacteria present produced a generally consistent flavor and thick texture that went well with both sweet and savory dishes. These days, commercially produced sour cream is made by inoculating pasteurized light cream with bacteria cultures, letting the bacteria grow until the cream is both soured and thick, and then repasteruizing it to stop the process.
In general, crème fraîche and sour cream can be used interchangeably in most recipes, but crème fraîche has two advantages over sour cream: it can be whipped like whipping cream, and it will not curdle if boiled...."
(I am based in Hong Kong)
