Sometimes a single drop of Mexican Crema will be the missing final touch on your taco masterpiece.
But if you've ever fretted when you see Mexican Crema listed in a recipe, then spend five minutes reading this post and next time you see it called for you'll be an expert on your options.
Homemade Mexican Crema Recipe
Creme fraiche, sour cream, heavy cream, Mexican Crema -- what's the deal with all these creamy incarnations?
It's probably easiest to think of them as a group of close relatives that look similar but act differently based on fat content and culturing agent used.
Creme fraiche starts with high fat content cream and uses buttermilk as a culturing agent to thicken it up. This also happens to be the perfect starting point for a delicioso homemade Mexican Crema.
Start by warming up one cup of heavy cream to room temperature. You're not cooking it; just warming for a couple minutes to bring it up to room temp. This will accelerate the thickening process a bit.
Now add 1 Tablespoon of buttermilk to the pan and mix well.
Pour into a jar and cover without tightening the lid.
Now the hard part. You have to let it sit on the counter overnight as it prefers to thicken at room temp (or slightly warmer). Keeping the lid slightly loose will allow just enough air circulation. And since most creams and buttermilks bought from the market have already been pasteurized, you don't have to worry about it spoiling too quickly.
12-24 hours later it will have thickened up considerably. Fasten the lid tight and refrigerate. After a few hours in the fridge it will thicken up even more.
So this is essentially creme fraiche. Take a taste; it's already got incredible flavor. (Note that you can increase the thickness by adding more culturing agent at the beginning of the process.)
To turn this into a Mexican Crema that will outdo anything you can buy at the market, add the juice of 1/2 a lime and a generous pinch of salt to the mixture.
Taste for seasoning and add a bit more salt if you want.
This will produce a rich, tangy crema that does wonders on the entire breadth of Mexican cuisine, with a special nod to tacos.
And of course one of the real benefits to a genuine crema is the thick consistency that lets it cling to the food instead of dispersing.
There are also a few substitutes you can use if waiting around 24 hours to eat your taco doesn't sound appealing.
Sour cream is similar to creme fraiche but it usually has a lower fat content and uses different culturing agents. A quick way to shift it back towards the creamy mouthfeel of Mexican Crema is to dilute it with buttermilk.
Add a big dollop of sour cream to a bowl. Dilute it with 1-2 Tablespoons of buttermilk and serve as is.
This produces a crema that works great in a pinch but will develop an inferiority complex when compared to the version we cultured for 12-24 hours.
It's also worth mentioning that sour cream usually has live culturing agents in it. So sometimes you'll see crema recipes that use a combination of heavy cream and sour cream as the culturing agent. I haven't tried this personally but just know that it is a viable option if you don't want to run out to buy buttermilk.
Your homemade Mexican Crema should keep for at least a couple weeks in the fridge if not longer, but of course its lifespan will vary depending on culturing agent used. But since it's so easy to make you have special permission to make tacos again tomorrow night.
Buen Provecho.
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Homemade Mexican Crema
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon buttermilk
- 1/2 lime
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Slightly warm 1 cup heavy cream to room temperature in a saucepan
- Add 1 Tablespoon buttermilk to the pan and mix well
- Add mixture to a jar and lightly cover
- Keep jar on counter (or in warm place) for the next 12-24 hours.
- Fasten lid tightly and refrigerate
- In a few hours it will thicken even more
- Add the juice of 1/2 lime and a generous pinch of salt to the jar and mix well
- Taste for seasoning
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge
Notes
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Lucia Leandro Gimeno
hi! i think i put in too much buttermilk and its been in the fridge for almost 48 hours and its pretty thin. ive made it before using ur recipe and it always turns out well and. thick but pourable. How do i fix this? i have two jars (one with lime and salt and pepper and one plain). PLEASE HELP!
Patrick
Hi Lucia thanks much for your note! Hmmm bummer but if it's been 2 days already then most likely it's not going to thicken up any more. I would be tempted to start over but if you need it today then you could mix some of it into something thick like creme fraiche or a mild sour cream -- that'll dilute the flavor a bit so you might have to add more lime and salt, but it should also thicken it up a bit. I hope that helps a bit. Cheers.
LL
i will start over because I don't have the sour cream or creme fresh. Also, is heavy cream and heavy whipping cream the same?L
Patrick
Yeah most likely those are the same thing Lucia. Sometimes there will be a percentage on the carton -- heavy cream is typically around 36pct fat and heavy whipping cream is similar. There are also lighter whipping creams out there in the 30-35pct range.
Lucia Leandro Gimeno
thanks and also it was reduced fat buttermilk that my friend bought. does that also factor in?
Patrick
Hmmm possibly but I think the amount used would affect it more.
Diane
Does this have a strong lime taste? I don’t care for lime, but if it’s important for the process, I’ll use it. Is the lime for taste or for consistency? (I don’t ever recall a lime taste in crema I’ve had. Maybe I didn’t have the real thing.)
Patrick
Hi Diane, the lime is for flavor and the acidity also brightens up the Crema. If lime isn't high on your list then I would start small with it, just a squeeze, and see how your palate reacts. Cheers.
Nicole
Ok, sooo I didn’t read the instructions as I went along. I added the lime to the cream and buttermilk right after I heated up the cream :/ should I start all over or will it be ok? I’m a dork.
Patrick
Hmmm tough one Nicole -- I would probably just start over as that acidity could affect how it develops. A little annoying, but probably worth it 🙂
Teresa
Hello, i am trying to find out if your recipe will work just as well using fresh raw, unpasteurized cream. Thank you so much recipe. Teresa
Patrick
Hmmm tough question Teresa. I've never tried it with unpasteurized cream and to be honest I'm not sure how that would affect a day long sit at room temp. Sorry I can't give a better answer on that one but will add it to my list. Cheers.
Theresa
How about using powdered buttermilk? I'm going to try it.
Patrick
Hi Theresa! I'm not sure this will work as you need live cultures to react with the cream...
J.P.
Hi Patrick
Recipe is much appreciated, do you think I can use yogurt with live cultures as a replacement to buttermilk rather than sour cream?
Thanks for posting all these wonderful recipes.
Patrick
Hi JP, good question and sounds like it would be a good experiment! I think buttermilk is partly used for its acidity and I'm not sure you would get the same effect when using a common yogurt.
Suzy
Hi y'all! I didn't have buttermilk so I used plain GREEK yogurt. For a "non-connoisseur" it was good! It thickened up nicely & with the added lime juice & salt my taco was taken to the next level. : ). by the way- Patrick - I have learned so much from your site. Thank you!! VERY grateful for your knowledge and desire to teach others.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note Suzy, it's so good to know this method still worked using Greek yogurt. Cheers.
natasha
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Patrick
Hi Natasha, prob for a couple weeks. Cheers.
Kate
I made this yesterday using 35% fat whipping cream and buttermilk, but the mix has not thickened at all after sitting out nearly 24 hours, and now just tastes like sour cream (and I don't mean the commercial product). Just seems like it's gone sour and might be unhealthy to eat. However, I'm going ahead with it in the fridge and will see what it's like once chilled. I have lime juice to add as per your instructions. I do hope it works as I have a great chorizo and chickpeas tostada recipe I'm planning on making.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. The photos are very appealing and your efforts are appreciated.
Patrick
Hey Kate thanks much for your note. Hmmm a little strange that it's still the same consistency 24 hours later but it should thicken up in the fridge. Can I ask where you bought the buttermilk? Just curious as it seems that buttermilks can vary quite a bit from region to region. Hope it works out for you. Cheers.
Kim
Hi Patrick!
I live in Guatemala and would love to make this for my husband, as he puts crema on EVERYTHING he eats. However, we don't have buttermilk here; it's literally no where to be found. Is there anything else you could think of to use for the cultures? Some posts ago someone asked about using apple cider vinegar with the mother to get the cultures but I didn't see a response. Do you have any ideas whether this would work?
Thanks so much for this wonderful site and these wonderful recipes. Abrazos!
Patrick
Hey Kim! I think a common substitute for buttermilk is regular milk plus a bit of vinegar or lemon juice, but this is for flavor only and probably won't create the reaction we're going for. If I were in your shoes I think I would try using some sour cream as the culturing agent to see what happens. I've never tried that but I recall seeing similar recipes in the past so it's probably worth a go. Let me know how it goes! Cheers.
Claudia Varga
I'm making a Mexican lasagna using crema and queso cheese. Can
I substitute keifer for buttermilk?
Patrick
Hmmm sorry I can't give a better answer Claudia but I've never tried that.