# Dairy in France



## silconecook (Feb 24, 2013)

i was trying to make a gratin and american recipes ask for heavy cream but i don't know what is heavy cream in france. tried google but it made me even more confused

what is creme legere semi epaisse? is this heavy cream?
what is creme entier?

thanks for your help.


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## Dawgluver (Feb 24, 2013)

Hmm.  Perhaps some of our bilingual folks could weigh in on this.  Maybe check the fat content on the ingredient list.  Our regular 1/2 and 1/2 ( half milk, half cream) has 5% total fat, and 10% saturated fat.  So full fat (heavy) cream might have 10% total fat or more.  Just a guess.


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## merstar (Feb 24, 2013)

silconecook said:


> i was trying to make a gratin and american recipes ask for heavy cream but i don't know what is heavy cream in france. tried google but it made me even more confused
> 
> what is creme legere semi epaisse? is this heavy cream?
> what is creme entier?
> ...



Hello, 
Creme legere is light cream. Creme entiere is heavy cream.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 24, 2013)

And now for some *French cream terminology*:

*Creme:* must have a minimum fat content of 30% to be called _creme _or _creme entiere_. If the fat content is lower a product must  use a descriptor such as  _légere_ or _allegée_ or not use the word _creme_ at all.

*Creme fraiche:*   always pasturised, and usually has a lactic culture added. This makes  it ever so slightly sour tasting, lengthens its shelf life, thickens the  cream and means it does not separate when heated. Its fat content is  around 40%. Used for dolloping and cooking. Only found in the chiller  cabinet. It is not the same as the anglophone sour cream.

*Creme crue:* always unpasturised, but otherwise as above. This is what I generally buy, as my _laitiere_ delivers it to the house.

*Fleurette:*   originally the cream that rose to the top of the milk, but it has been  adopted by the dairy industry to indicate cream that does not have a  lactic culture added. There are no rules about its use, so read labels  carefully before buying. It can have a fat content as low as 5%. Usually  _creme fleurette_ is 30-35% and used for whipping, _fleurette_ is 20% and used for pouring, _creme fleurette legere_ is 5-15%. It often contains stabilising gels.

*Liquide:*  pasturised or UHT cream that has a fat content of at least 30%, and   has not had a lactic culture or thickener added. Often used synonymously  with _creme fleurette _by cooks.

*Fluide:* there are no rules covering this term, but usually means _creme fraiche_ with a lower fat content, around 30%.

*Epaisse: *'thick' or 'thickened', usually with a lactic ferment. Often used synonymously with _creme fraiche_ by cooks. Can be found in the chiller cabinet or as a UHT product.

*Légere:* 'light', products with a fat content of less than 30%, usually somewhere between 15% and 5%.

*Fouettée:* 'whipped'.

*Chantilly:*  sweetened whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and stabilised with  gums. You can buy packets of 'Chantilly mix', which contain the sugar,  flavouring and stabilisers to add to your _creme liquide_ / _epaisse_ / _fleurette_ for whipping success.


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## taxlady (Feb 24, 2013)

I wish people would just say what butter fat percentage the cream should have or a percentage range.


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## CWS4322 (Feb 25, 2013)

I find this link helpful:

Fat content of milk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## silconecook (Feb 26, 2013)

thanks everyone. well, i'm going to try to make a gratin with this creme legere semi epaisse. it's only 18%fat but it seems really quite thick. will post to let you guys know


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## silconecook (Mar 12, 2013)

I made the gratin turned out fine even with the creme legere, the lowfat creme. It was tasty just not enough lardons.
here is a photo. thanks everyone.


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## taxlady (Mar 12, 2013)

silconecook said:


> I made the gratin turned out fine even with the creme legere, the lowfat creme. It was tasty just not enough lardons.
> here is a photo. thanks everyone.


Glad it turned out well.

What's the butterfat content of "crème légère"?


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## Rocklobster (Mar 13, 2013)

taxlady said:


> What's the butterfat content of "crème légère"?


usually somewhere between 15% and 5%.


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## menumaker (Mar 14, 2013)

Hi, I live here and still find it confusing!! Heavy cream is what I call 'Double' cream. The problem is it just doesn't taste the same. I now mix half whipping (fouette) and half mascopone which in my opinion gives a better result.


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## Mad Cook (Jun 12, 2013)

silconecook said:


> i was trying to make a gratin and american recipes ask for heavy cream but i don't know what is heavy cream in france. tried google but it made me even more confused
> 
> what is creme legere semi epaisse? is this heavy cream?
> what is creme entier?
> ...


There's a discussion on this on the Delia Smith forum. That's English (I mean as opposed to American) but it might be a jumping off point.


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