Crema

[eleny]

Is it good!

I was planning smothered Mexican hamburgers for tonight so I got some crema for the very first time. It made all the difference. Wowza. How much more flavor than our American sour cream.

I've seen Rick Bayless suggest it during his PBS program but waved it off. I didn't think it would be that different but I was wrong.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. Which is basically the Mexican version of the French version

creme fraiche. (spelling?) Anyhow, it's heavy cream that's gone a little sour. An interesting aside is that if you have heavy cream & you know you can't use it by the expiration date you can make creme fraiche & it will last much longer.

I adore the stuff & rate my Mexican restaurants on whether they use crema or sour cream.

[Duer 157099]

2. Please elaborate on "make creme fraiche"?

I often have to toss out cream that's gone beyond it's date (although to be fair, I don't usually toss it until it's WAAAAY beyond the date, because as long as it still tastes and smells good, I use it!)

So what do you need to do to it, besides leave it too long in the fridge?

Or is this a pre-emptive measure that requires planning? :(

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

3. As long as your cream smells fine, it's fine.

The sell by date is when it should be sold by, not necessarily when it will go bad by. Also, any dairy product left at room temp for an hour can take a week of its shelf life. So keep your stuff refrigerated!

This is an absolutely standard recipe. It's always done the same way. I've never seen a variation. This was the first link I found & it doesn't involve me typing. :)

http://www.joyofbaking.com/CremeFraiche.html

[Duer 157099]

4. I wonder what the difference in the bacteria is

it says that the buttermilk has "good" bacteria, so don't worry about it spoiling. So, I wonder what happens to cream just left in the fridge too long, what kind of bacteria spoil it?

I guess I have more research to do... thanks for bringing this up, though! :hi:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. French don't ultra pasteurize their stuff. Maybe that's it?

Or maybe because it's not ultra pasteurized it has the good bacteria in it? I honestly have no idea.

I do know that one time my DIL needed whipping cream. DH & I were going out (we were visiting at the time) & I said we would stop & pick it up for her. I bought the pasteurized, not the ultra-pasteurized, because that's what I use. Weird thing. That evening son made the whipped cream & she kept asking him what he did differently since it tasted so much better. He said nothing; he whipped it the same as always. We finally figured out it was the cream itself. Ultra pasteurized does not whip as well as regular.

[wryter2000]

9. Correct me if I'm wrong

I believe I heard that the higher the fat content in milk/cream the longer it'll last before going bad.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. I've never heard that before, but it makes sense.

Butter seems to last much longer than milk or cream. It tastes best the fresher it is of course, but it takes a long time for it to get rancid.

[hippywife]

11. That sounds easy enough

to make. There are some things I would love to use buttermilk in but not enough to buy a whole carton of it since it's unlikely I'd make all of those things in the same week or so. Any suggestions on that front?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

12. I've heard that you can make it with yogurt. I think you need to

find the kind of yogurt that has live cultures. And you would need to use more than 1 tablespoon per cup. I think the important step is to wait until it's thick before refrigerating it & to let it sit even longer. It should be as thick as sour cream when it's ready.

[hippywife]

13. Thanx,

I'll give that a try, maybe. I make my own full fat yogurt and we usually just sub that for sour cream. Not sure what the difference is except the longer "curing" time, tho.

[sazemisery]

15. It always takes 12-24 hours for my Creme Fraiche to set.

We put it in the cupboard so the cat won't help himself while it "cures". It is ready when it sets to a cold custard consistency. We haven't bought sour cream in forever.

[eleny]

7. A friend from Chicago was raving over the Lithuanian sour cream she gets

The crema tastes just like she described the Lith product. So, maybe these are the way sour creams were originally. I'm loving it.

[Warpy]

6. I love the stuff

but the only place in my immediate vicinity that sells it is Wally's, so when I go in for my four buck prescription, I get some of that, too.

Yes, it's completely different. The texture is more liquid, so you don't have to wait for it to melt into anything. The flavor is more buttery and slightly more tart.

I'm hooked. So I guess Wally's will just have to get some extra money every month when I refill my scrip.

[eleny]

8. I had some frozen potato panckaes in the freezer

So I had some for a very late breakfast today. The crema was so good on top. I've learned how to drizzle just a little bit. It melts and goes a long way.

I'd go to Wally's, too, if it was the only place!

[grasswire]

14. uh....smothered Mexican hamburgers?

Do tell.

[eleny]

16. Mexican hamburger is a lot like a smothered burrito

Warm a tortilla and put a cooked hamburger in it and fold it all up in a bundle
Smother with some green chili and sprinkle with shredded cheese
Into the microwave to melt the cheese
Drizzle on some crema or regular sour cream
Top with shredded lettuce, salsa and diced onion

I add some taco seasoning from the packet to the ground beef when I form the hamburgers. I try not to handle the meat too much but do make them pretty flat so they cook fast.

:hi:

[grasswire]

17. do you eat it with your hands?

Or use a fork?

Looks like the only major carb would be the tortilla. I might be able to eat this dish.

[eleny]

18. Knife and fork

You could leave out the tortilla. Just smother the burger with whatever you can eat. Are you on the South Beach diet? If that's the case you could make your own green chili to be sure of the ingredients and make a nice meal of it.

[grasswire]

19. no

I'm a newly diagnosed type II diabetic trying to figure out what the hell I can eat besides peanut butter and tuna. :(

[TygrBright]

21. Lots. My esposo is type II and eats just about anything.

HOWEVER, that said, each person will have their own peace to make with food, medication, exercise, etc.

If you can manage to lose between 10 and 20 lbs. and keep it off, you can probably be a lot more lenient with what you eat.

Here's the secret (your diabetes educator may have already told you this, if s/he doesn't, ask around for another choice in educators):

All you REALLY have to worry about is keeping your blood sugar readings within the target range for you.

That target range is something your endocrinologist should set after reviewing a lot of things related to age, gender, general health, other chronic conditions, etc.

The problem with Type 2 diabetes is the slow, long-term accumulation of damage that comes with running high blood sugars on a regular basis. If you can keep those readings in your target range, you're doing the most important thing you can do to help yourself.

Now, that said, food IS one of the most important aspects of keeping those readings where they need to be. But not the ONLY aspect, and there's a lot of new information and research out there about food that hasn't yet made it into the canned presentations a lot of diabetes educators use. So do your own research.

Other factors: TEST OFTEN (can't emphasize that one too much!) and keep your diary especially for the first year or so. You can see how your body responds and get a feel for what and how you can keep the readings in that optimum range by comparing the readings with what you were doing/eating/etc. according to the diary. Very helpful.

Also: MEDICATION There are some new ones on the market, especially the incretin mimics, that are true "breakthrough" drugs for Type 2 diabetics. Do some research and ask your doctor about trying them.

And: EXERCISE which is practically magic. My sedentary esposo started taking half-hour walks four or five days a week and the effects were miraculous. Not only on the test strips but on his energy level, hunger patterns, etc.

As far as food goes, the important thing is not sugar or carbohydrates per se, but the glycemic index of the foods you eat and how your body responds to them. Which is not the same for everyone, no matter what the cute little pamphlets say. Some people do pretty well dealing with moderate amounts of simple carbs like potato, white bread, even sugar, others do less well. Some people have higher sensitivities to forms of sugars common in dairy products, or some fruits/vegetables, etc. (Another reason why it's so important to keep that diary! No one can tell how you're going to respond to various eating patterns except by experimentation and documenting the results over time.)

It's much, much more important to develop eating patterns you can comfortably sustain over the long haul than to go all hard-core or try one procrustean regimen after another looking for the magic formula. What will work for you will be very individual. My esposo can have almost anything he wants, in moderation, except for HFCS, some kinds of fruit juices, and heavy doses of refined sugar. But I make him oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with real chocolate chips and brown sugar and he can have a couple for an afternoon snack or dessert after dinner without a problem. We have potatoes--even home fries, which I make with half-and-half russet potatoes and sweet potatoes (that is a YUMMY combo, BTW, I'll probably never go back to all russets, even just for me.)

He didn't eat that way at first, though, we had to learn over many years of trial and error and medication experiments, etc., and finally are coming up with a balance. So don't regard your diagnosis as a death-of-eating-anything-good sentence. Keep your eye on the prize (test results in the optimum range) and work with a good nutritionist/educator to sort out what will work for you.

Oh, and as a side benefit-- Since I've had to cook for his health, my own non-diabetic health has also improved. And I'm perfectly happy with the same eating pattern he has (well, I indulge myself in risottos more often...) and don't feel the least bit deprived.

Good luck!

encouragingly,
Bright

[pipoman]

20. I was going to buy some crema at the Wal-Mart

today. There are 2 kinds, one is called table cream and the other says sour cream. What is the difference?

[eleny]

22. I only know about the sour cream kind

Since that's the only one they had at the store, I bought it. And it's the one most like regular sour cream only more tart.