[RoseRodent]

I can never find this stuff on US-based information, calorie counters, Fitday, recipe search, etc. and it's bugging me that I don't know if you guys don't have it or call it something else or you do have it but it's not mainstream enough to be in calorie counters... what's the deal with that?

Creme fraiche is a reduced calorie cream for cooking, creme fraiche light comes in at about 35cals for a tbsp.

Then again, Fitday has teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, grams, fl oz, ounces, sometimes other things like slices, large and small, diameter, but no mililitres! I'd have thought ml were pretty mainstream if you are going to include grams.

EDIT: I already have the calorie count, the question is purely about the name. Since it didn't show up on anything I wasn't sure if it was another one of those things with a different name like you have to search for Oatmeal not porage, fries not chips, chips not crisps, cookies not biscuits, muffins not fairy cakes... was just wondering if I wasn't searching it right or if it genuinely wasn't there. It makes life easier if you can input a food without having to go and create all the information.

[Heather]

Apparently, it isn't that common in the US because all our cream is pasteurized.

Here's a link for how to make a substitute.
http://www.ochef.com/206.htm

[midwife]

http://www.sparkpeople.com/calories-...=creme+fraiche

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/cal...mcmFpY2hl.html

[beerab]

lol if you watch South Park they just had an episode where the dad was using creme fraiche. It was hilarious (yes he used it for cooking).

[lazylioness]

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/creme...ubstitute.html

[kaplods]

If you're looking for the calorie count just type in the google searchbar

Creme fraiche calories

I found it on the first listing, which was the daily plate (which I thought was a USA site)

100 calories for 1 ounce


I use google most often for calorie count searches, and when possible, just to confirm, I try to check more than one resource for verification.


Now if anyone is ever looking for an American equivalent to creme fraiche, sour cream will do in a pinch (but isn't as rich and is sour rather than sweet) or a closer approximation is creme blanca (found in Mexican markets, and sometimes in larger chain grocery stores in the ethnic, health food, or gourmet sections).

To make it extra confusing, in the mexican market, you want creme blanca in the cold-case, not in a jar. The jarred version (in appearance anyway) looks more like mayonnaise.

[katy trail]

i've always wondered about this. well what it is. i wasn't trying seriously to lose wt, so didn't wonder about cal count. they use that cream on cooking shows like iron chef. it's fairly common, but i just never saw it in the store. and they didn't explain.

[RoseRodent]

Thx, obviously I have the calorie count, but I also use things like a recipe search where you can put in the ingredients you have or foods you like and it will pull out a meal suggestion for you, but I could never find this anywhere. It's one of my staple ingredients as I lived in France for a long while and it goes in everything there.

[bargoo]

I have purchased creme fraiche at Safeway. The calorie count is on the package.

[RoseRodent]

Originally Posted by bargoo

I have purchased creme fraiche at Safeway. The calorie count is on the package.

I gave the calorie count in the OP, I'm having a hard time working out why people seem to think that's what I'm looking for Have tried to make it more obvious

[seagirl]

I don't think it has another name.

[bargoo]

Originally Posted by RoseRodent

I gave the calorie count in the OP, I'm having a hard time working out why people seem to think that's what I'm looking for Have tried to make it more obvious

I have puchased it in the US and the label says Creme Fraiche.

[AnnieDrews]

I think it is available but not commonly used in most of our recipes. It seems to me to be more of a gourmet ingredient. I also believe that lots of our recipes substitute sour cream if creme fraiche is called for, so maybe if the recipe you are looking at calls for sour cream...then creme fraiche could be substituted. I don't believe it is called by a different name here, we just don't use it much.

I do not know how they match up calorie-wise.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by RoseRodent

I gave the calorie count in the OP, I'm having a hard time working out why people seem to think that's what I'm looking for Have tried to make it more obvious

I think the reason you're not getting the answer you're looking for, is because people do not know any other names for creme fraiche, and that's probably because there is none.


The only reason I didn't say "NO" outright to your question is that while I didn't know of any alternative names, but that didn't mean there couldn't possibly be one. I'm assuming that's why no one else gave you a firm "no" either.


If anyone had known of an alternative name, they would have provided it - so people did the best they could - they told you what they did know about creme fraiche.

As far as I know, creme fraiche in the USA is only ever called creme fraiche, and there is no other name, at least none I've ever heard or read. In my experience, most people here (at least in the Midwest) don't even know what creme fraiche is - or if they've watched the food channel might say "oh yeah, that's like sour cream isn't it?" (Yes, it's like sour cream, but it isn't sour cream).

When I've found it, it's usually been in gourmet and import shops, and it's always been called creme fraiche. I love it, but I don't buy it very often, because I find it very difficult to find (and very expensive when I do find it).

There are a few similar products that are more common, but none are exactly the same as creme fraiche, so they're not "alternative names," they're alternative products.

If you're trying to find the actual product in the USA, or the nutritional information on USA websites, you're probably out-of-luck unless the website includes a lot of imported foods.




As for the similar products in the USA, and how they're different from creme fraiche:


Sour cream - more tart, usually less fat and pasteurized. Almost everyone in the USA does know what this is. Most people use it mostly as a topping for baked potatoes and mexican food. Occasionally it will be sweetened and used as a dip or topping for fruit or cheesecake.

Crema Mexicana or creme blanca - also pasteurized (at least thats how I've found it), less sour than sour cream, but more tart than creme fraiche. Most people don't know what this is easier, but it is easier to find than creme fraiche. It's usually far more expensive than sour cream, but less expensive then creme fraiche.

Clabber - I'm not sure, as I've never had it, but from what I understand it is much tarter than sour cream, more like yogurt.

[midwife]

Yes, we have creme fraiche in the USA. Sparkpeople (one of the links I gave) is a calorie counting website with registration for the USA, Europe, Canada and Australia. If Fitday is not thorough enough for you, you might consider Sparkpeople to round out your resources.