你知道法式酸奶是什么吗？

导读:法式酸奶味道鲜美、营养丰富，想不想自己动手试着做一做呢？

There’s a reason the French have such revered cuisine: they use excellent ingredients. One of those beloved, delicious ingredients is crème fraiche. Chances are you may have heard of it, or you might even be lucky enough to have eaten the creamy stuff ― whipped into eggs, it makes for some perfect scrambled eggs ― but do you know what it is?

法国菜广受赞誉是有原因的：它们用的食材很精致。其中之一的鲜美食材便是法式酸奶。你可能听说过这种食物，或者有幸品尝过这种奶油制品——把它打在鸡蛋里做成炒蛋，是很好吃的。但是你知道这是什么吗？

Crème fraiche is basically fermented cream. Historically, crème fraiche was cow’s cream left out of refrigeration to sour. Naturally-occurring bacteria would make it thick and tangy ― like a lighter, more sophisticated sour cream. Today though, the cream is pasteurized, so a bacterial starter is used to start fermentation.

法式酸奶基本就是发酵的奶油。历史上，法式酸奶是奶油忘记放进冰箱变酸之后的产物。天然菌类会使它变得又稠又香，类似颜色浅一些的酸奶油，但是又多了很多东西。今天的奶油都经过巴氏消毒了，所以需要菌类发酵剂来进行发酵。

For the record, crème fraiche and sour cream are completely different. First, sour cream generally contains about 18 percent butterfat, whereas crème fraiche can contain up to 45 percent butterfat. Second, sour cream is made by adding milk solids to obtain the desired texture. And third, sour cream is acidified by adding an acidulant to drop the pH ― that doesn’t happen with crème fraiche.

郑重声明，法式酸奶和酸奶油是截然不同的两种东西。首先，酸奶油基本含有18%的乳脂，而法式酸奶的乳脂含量高达45%。第二，酸奶油要添加乳固体来达到需要的口感。第三，酸奶油要加入酸味剂来提高酸度，而法式酸奶则不会。

We talked to the folks at Vermont Creamery, who make some great crème fraiche that’s available stateside. This is how Allison Hooper, the company’s CEO, describes the process:

我们和佛蒙特州乳品厂的工作人员谈了谈（这里出产全美最好的法式酸奶）。公司首席执行官艾莉森·胡珀是这样描述制作过程的。

“At Vermont Creamery we pasteurize fresh cream that is 42 percent butterfat. Most heavy cream that you buy in the store is 36 percent fat. We add a bacterial starter culture to the cream and let the cream ferment overnight between 55-70 degrees F. The bacterial culture eats the lactose in the cream and leaves enzymes behind that produce wonderful rich flavor. In the morning the cream is still liquid and we package it in cups. once it is in the cooler for several days it thickens and ‘sets.’”

“在佛蒙特州乳品厂，我们首先将乳脂含量达到42%的鲜奶油进行巴氏消毒。你在商店里买到的浓奶油大多是36%的乳脂含量。我们加入菌类，让奶油在55-70华氏度的温度下发酵一夜。菌群会吃掉奶油中的乳糖，留下产生浓厚香味的酶类。早上奶油还是液体状，我们要把它装进杯子里。在冰箱里放上几天就变成厚厚的块状了。”

Here’s the rub: when you find this creamy, thick stuff at a gourmet market it can be kind of expensive.

问题在于：你在美食超市找到这种浓稠的奶制品的时候，会发现它有点贵。

The good news is it’s really easy to make, and not expensive to make either. Sure, it’s not exactly the same thing that you buy at the store, but it’s better than nothing. All you need is one tablespoon of buttermilk and one cup of heavy cream. mix the two together and leave it out on the counter overnight ― or for roughly 12 hours ― and then voila, your own homemade version of crème fraiche. Try this solid recipe from serious Eats.

好消息是，这种东西做起来并不难，也不是很贵。当然了，这和你在商店买到的东西不太一样，但是也聊胜于无了。你需要的只是一汤匙脱脂牛奶以及一碗浓奶油。把两者混合到一起，放上一夜——或者大约12小时——就行了。然后，当当当当！你就得到了家制的法式酸奶。试试这个来自“严肃饮食”网站的做法吧。