The Difference Between Sour Cream and Créme Fraîche—and Whether or Not You Can Swap Them (2024)

If you're a dairy lover, you’re probably familiar with sour cream, the indispensable sidekick for baked potatoes and multiple dips, salad dressings, and sauces. Then there is crème fraîche. This rich, creamy dairy product is increasingly available in grocery stores and is sometimes described as the French cousin of sour cream. To learn how crème fraîche and sour cream are similar and what makes them different, we spoke to a dairy expert, who also explained how mascarpone fits into the mix.

What Is Crème Fraîche?

Crème fraîche is a rich cultured cream that acts as a thickener in soups, a topping on pasta, and as the base of creamy dressings and dips. A delicious dollop of tangy cream is the perfect counterpoint to sweet desserts, too.

It's made by adding starter cultures to a high-fat cream and aging the mixture for several hours. During aging, the cultures eat up the lactose in the cream; the cultures help the cream to develop body and create a nutty flavor and aroma. At Vermont Creamery, one of the largest producers of crème fraîche stateside, crème fraîche is cultured for over 15 hours. The length of culturing results in a stable product. "Crème fraîche is high acidity and high fat, which makes it great for cooking," says Gina Martano, R&D manager at Vermont Creamery. "Not only does it add a tangy flavor and a silky texture to your dish, but it doesn’t curdle when heated or added to acidic sauces."

What Is Sour Cream?

Sour cream is a lightly cultured cream that is required to contain at least 18 percent fat content, per standards set by the Food and Drug Administration. Sour cream ages for about six hours, which creates its characteristic tangy notes but it doesn't have the same depth of flavor found in crème fraîche.

The Difference Between Crème Fraîche and Sour Cream

Both crème fraîche and sour cream are cultured dairy products that start with heavy cream but they aren't interchangeable. How they are made is different, and their taste is also different. The flavor of crème fraîche is slightly less tangy and richer than that of sour cream, and its texture is thicker.

Uses

Both crème fraîche and sour cream can be cooked over high heat without the risk of curdling or separating—unlike yogurt.

Substituting Crème Fraîche and Sour Cream

You can substitute the former for the latter, but not the other way around. Crème fraîche can be used in recipes that call for sour cream, it will give the dish a richer flavor. However, you'll lose flavor and creaminess if you substitute sour cream for crème fraîche in a recipe.

Mascarpone Explained

Mascarpone is a sweet Italian cream cheese that is versatile and delicious. At a quick glance, it seems similar to sour cream and crème fraîche, but it's a departure from its cultured lookalikes. While sour cream and crème fraîche are thick, tangy cultured dairy products, mascarpone is not cultured. It has about 48 percent fat content and is creamier than crème fraîche or sour cream.

To make mascarpone: "You take high-fat cream and add acid and heat," says Martano, noting that the mixture is cooked at a high temperature."The result is creamy with a slight caramel taste," she says. Mascarpone is generally used for sweet applications, it works in a wide range of treats, including tiramisu, rolled cakes, and as the filling for our Butter-Waffle Cookies.

To Swap or Not

While crème fraîche and sour cream serve a similar purpose, which is to add fat and a slightly tangy flavor to recipes, mascarpone cheese and yogurt are completely different products and should not be used as substitutes for either cream-based staple. Each one is delicious on its own or as a complement to scores of sweet and savory dishes.