Sour Cream, Crema, Crème Fraîche: What's the Difference?

Sour cream, crema, and crème fraîche: these three dairy products are often used to add a cool lusciousness and body to foods like potatoes, salads, and nachos. But while all three products are made the same way—by adding friendly bacteria to heavy cream—they're all technically different ingredients. All three are popular on top of spicy foods like nachos and tacos, so unless you're heating them through or the thickness of the cream is a real issue, they can often be used interchangeably.

How to Make Your Own Crème Fraîche and Sour Cream

You can make your own crème fraîche at home by combining one cup heavy whipping cream with one tablespoon buttermilk in a glass jar and leaving at room temperature (72°F to 78°F) for 12 to 24 hours. For sour cream, increase the amount of buttermilk to a quarter cup and leave to ripen for 24 to 48 hours. Refrigerate at least one day before serving.

Sour Cream

Sour cream originated in eastern Europe and is now the most common cultured cream in the United States. Early sour cream was made from cream that had gone sour due to the presence of lactic acid-producing bacteria. This soured cream was prized for its custard-like texture. Beginning in the 1950s, the low-fat diet craze spawned low-fat (and even fat-free) sour creams thickened with stabilizers such as gelatin, vegetable enzymes, or animal enzymes and set with rennet to prevent the natural runoff of whey. In order to be officially designated as sour cream by the FDA, sour cream must have a minimum of 18 percent butterfat.

Sour cream is more sour and more savory than creme fraiche or crema. It also has a low fat content and more protein than creme fraiche. Sour cream has a fat content of about 20 percent and a pronounced acidic flavor, which makes it a nice mix-in for any dish that could benefit from a little tang. In uncooked preparations, sour cream’s tang has a savory note, which makes it perfect as a condiment for Tex-Mex favorites such as nachos, tacos, burritos, and chili, as well as Russian dishes such as pelmeni and blinis. Like buttermilk, it also works nicely in marinades. In baked goods, the acidity of sour cream weakens gluten structures, keeping the bread or dessert moist. This makes it perfect for cakes and muffins.

Sour cream is made by mixing cream with a lactic acid culture; the bacteria thickens and sours it. But because it has a relatively low fat content and high protein content, it's less stable under heat and tends to curdle easily. For this reason, it's best used in cold or room temperature preparations or at added to the top of a hot dish (like chili) as a condiment at the very end. If the recipe calls for adding it to a hot dish (beef stroganoff, for instance), stir into the dish once it’s off the heat.

Sour cream vs. Creme Fraiche. If using in a salad or as a topping, they’re pretty much interchangeable and the choice is yours — some people like the tanginess of sour cream, while others like the richness of crème fraîche. Since crème fraîche is a specialty grocery item and costs more than sour cream, think about what you’re making so you make the right choice at the market!

Crème Fraîche

Crème fraîche, French for “fresh cream” and sometimes anglicized simply as “creme fraiche,” is a thick cultured cream with origins in France. Crème fraîche has a richer, more buttery quality to it than its sister, sour cream. This is reflected in the product's high fat content — around 30 percent — which naturally gives it body and thickness. Creme fraiche is thicker, richer (see: fat content), and less tangy than sour cream, and since it won’t curdle if you boil it, it’s great to use in soups and sauces.

Creme fraiche is traditionally made with just unpasteurized cream, which naturally contains the bacteria needed to thicken it. In France, creme fraiche is made with unpasteurized heavy cream that already has the necessary healthy bacteria to thicken. However, in the United States, our cream must be pasteurized — so creme fraiche is made by mixing cream with fermenting agents that contain the necessary bacteria. It doesn't tend to have any added thickeners or stabilizers. Because it has more fat and less protein, creme fraiche can be added to soups and simmering sauces (take beef stroganoff, for instance); it will melt easily, but won't curdle. Sweetened, it works well as a dessert topping. Crème fraîche is mild enough that it blends well with scrambled eggs without adding too much acidity. Crème fraîche has a milder, creamier flavor that is perfectly suited to raw dessert preparations, whipped with sugar and vanilla, and served with fresh fruit, scones, and other desserts. You can also blend it with herbs and citrus as a topping for meat.

You can actually make your own creme fraiche at home: mix together heavy cream and buttermilk, and let it hang out at room temperature until it reaches its desired thickness (around 8 to 24 hours). As it sits, the bacteria in the milk converts the sugars (lactose) into lactic acid, which lowers the pH of the mixture and prevents the formation of any unwelcome microbes.

Mexican Crema

Then there's Mexican crema, which is runnier, thinner, and slightly sweeter than both crème fraîche and sour cream. In Latin cuisine, there are a number of different kinds of cultured creams, like the sour, runnier jocoque and the thicker crema Salvadoreña, but the most common one you'll find is the sweet, tangy crema Mexicana. It's available at Mexican grocers, but if you can't track it down, it's easy enough to make yourself with heavy cream and buttermilk (or, in a pinch, a blend of sour cream and heavy cream).

Crema originated in Mexico and is thinner than either creme fraiche or sour cream. It has a milder taste than sour cream and has a similar tang to creme fraiche, and it is the sweetest of the three. It is often used in recipes to balance out spicy chipotle flavors.