HOW TO ACTIVATE YOUR FREEZE DRIED CREME FRAICHE STARTER:
To activate the creme fraiche, boil 150ml of whole pasteurised milk and allow it to cool back to room temperature. We recommend boiling the milk for the activation stage so that any microbes in the milk are killed off, giving the starter the best chance of success, Put the milk into a jar (ideally 1 litre capacity). No cream is required for this stage. Place the sachet of freeze dried creme fraiche into the milk and cover the jar to stop dust getting in. Do not cut off the airflow completely. A paper towel fastened with a rubber band works well. Leave it at room temperature for 24-72 hours until you notice that the milk has set. Then proceed with the steps listed below.
INGREDIENTS:
• Single or Double Cream (double makes a much thicker version).
• The activated creme fraiche starter culture from the process listed above.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add 500ml of cream to the jar already containing the activated creme fraiche from the step listed above. The cream can be cold and straight from the fridge.
2. Cover the jar again and leave it at room temperature for 12-48 hours until the creme fraiche has set. The creme fraiche is sensitive to temperature. The warmer it is, the faster it will set. During the summer, check the creme fraiche every 12 hours. During the winter, it can take a couple of days to fully set.
3. Once set, place the creme fraiche in the fridge to cool. The cooling process will help the creme fraiche to thicken.
4. Before you eat it, remove some to re-culture the next batch. You want roughly one tablespoon of the creme fraiche per 500ml of cream you wish to culture.
5. If you can’t eat all of the creme fraiche that day, it will keep in the refrigerator for 7 days.
6. Ensure you re-culture the creme fraiche at least once every 7 days week to keep it healthy and active.
PLEASE NOTE:
If you have more than one fermenting food culture at home, we recommend that you keep them at least 1 metre apart from each other at all times. This is to stop cross contamination of the different cultures. If you are working with dairy in particular, this is very important. Please contact us is you require further assistance with fermenting more than one culture.