Crème fraîche

Crème fraîche (, French for "fresh cream") is a heavy cream slightly soured with bacterial culture, but not as sour or as thick as sour cream. Originally a French product, today it is available throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Crème fraîche can be made at home by adding a small amount of cultured buttermilk or sour cream to normal heavy cream, and allowing to stand for several hours at room temperature until the bacterial cultures act on the cream.

In general, crème fraîche, like sour cream, is used in food preparation, but crème fraîche has at least one advantage over sour cream: it can be mixed with air into whipped cream. Also, unlike sour cream, crème fraîche has a high enough fat content (and low enough protein content) that it can be directly cooked without curdling.

Smetana is a similar cream used in Central and Eastern European cuisines.