Homemade Latin American Crema Recipe

a fresh alternative to sour cream

The Story

I was introduced to Mexican and Salvadoran Crema in the 1980s in New York City via my undying passion for plantains and pupusas. Crema is often served with these dishes although, much to my horror, I was recently served a “cream” of water and powdered sugar with my pupusas. I guess it’s a regional thing.

Due to the prevalence of sour cream in my mother’s cuisine, I was already primed to love all of the variations from sour cream to crema to creme fraiche, the thicker French version. But after discovering crema, I had a new obsession.

So what’s so great about crema? Well, in terms of thickness, crema is smooth, glossy, and slightly pourable. Sour cream weighs in next on the thick-o-meter. Creme fraiche, my least favorite, is saturated sludge.

Crema is also the least sour. Sour cream is. . . actually sour. Creme fraiche and crema are similarly mildly sour, but crema just tastes a little bit fresher. I find it to be magical.

Some hints about ingredients

Crema is ridiculously easy to make. It’s also hard to buy unless you live near a grocery store with a high proportion of clientele from Latin America. The ingredients you use will determine the degree of thickness and tanginess.

• I use Alexandre heavy cream. It’s made with A2/A2 milk, but it may not be available in your area. Any organic heavy cream will do. You can also use half & half, but my experience is that the result will be tangier.

• As for fermentation starters, buttermilk will result in the smoothest, lightest, least sour crema. Next comes alt-yogurt. I’ve tried unflavored coconut yogurt. The result is thicker than buttermilk, ever-so slightly sweeter, and marginally more sour. Cow yogurt will result in the thickest and most sour crema, but still less sour than sour cream.

• It’s important to use a fermenting agent that is newly or recently opened and not out of date, otherwise the fermenting activity may have subsided. So don’t draw from a yogurt container that’s been in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Buttermilk tends to remain active for longer.

• You can freeze buttermilk in small-sized ice cube trays. This is handy unless you intend to drink the remaining buttermilk after you make your crema. But the fermentation activity does decrease. So double the amount you use if it’s been frozen.

Ingredients

This amount will fit in a pint mason jar. Feel free to increase amounts if you want more, but remember that crema lasts for at most two weeks in the fridge.

• 12 oz heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons buttermilk or unflavored alt or cow yogurt.

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1-2 tsp lemon juice (optional - I never use it, but many crema recipes call for this.)

Instructions

1. Slightly warm up the heavy cream in a saucepan—just enough to take off the refrigerator chill. Try not to heat past room temperature.

2. Put the heavy cream into a mason or other jar.

3. Whisk in the buttermilk or yogurt. 

4. Leave for 8 hours in a loosely covered jar in the oven with the oven light turned on. You can also use a proofing box on low or an Instapot with a yogurt setting.
   Note: Crema will thicken to a degree in the oven. But it will really firm up in the fridge.

5. Refrigerate until cool before using.

How to use crema

• Crema is traditionally served with pupusas, plantains, arepas, tacos, nachos, and enchiladas. I’m sure there are other Latin American foods that are delicious with crema.

• You can make salad dressings such as green goddess and russian dressing with crema for a fresher taste.

• It’s delicious with any potato dish as a condiment.

• Of course you could use crema instead of sour cream with cold borscht!

• You can serve crema on the side of stir fry or baked dishes for dipping or co-forking. I don’t recommend stirring crema into hot dishes as it’s delicate and tends to disappear and not add much to the flavor.

Enjoy!