Slice of cheesecake on a white plate with a graham cracker crust and creamy topping.

Activating The Culture: Cultured Cream

These instructions will work for these cultures:

Crème Fraîche, Swedish Sweet Cream, Smetana, Swedish Buttercream

A Few Quick Notes Before You Start

  • Our cream cultures are heirloom cultures, meaning you can use a portion of your last batch to make the next one.

  • The cultures will not fully dissolve, and you may notice some lingering culture flakes in the next batch or two. This is very normal.

  • Ensure that you refresh your cultured creams by preparing a new batch every five to seven days. If you need to take a break, freeze some fermented cream in ice cube trays, and when you’re ready, just pop out a couple of cubes. To activate, simply add them to fresh half and half. No need to thaw! Depending on how old your sour cream cubes are, you might need to double the amount of starter.

  • Always keep a backup in the freezer and replace it every couple of months. Regularly rotating your backup will keep your cultures fresh.

  • The first batch of cultured cream may be runny or still liquid, which is normal during activation. The texture and flavor will develop over several batches.

  • Cultured cream thrives between 68°F and 78°F. If you are fermenting at the lower end of this temperature range, be aware that the fermentation process will take significantly longer. It may require a couple of additional batches to achieve full activation.

  • Each packet contains enough starter to technically activate two batches. If you choose to use only half of the packet, please ensure that you adjust the quantity of heavy cream accordingly. With cream cultures, we suggest using the entire packet. Sometimes, it can be difficult to accurately divide it into two portions, depending on the fat content of the starter.

Activating The Culture

  1. In a jar, combine the cream culture and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Stir well, cover, and ferment at room temperature, typically between 68-78°F.

  2. Stir during fermentation 2-3 times. The culture may not blend into the cream initially, but it will mix well from the second batch.

  3. The first batch is ready when it thickens, OR after 48 hours, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST.

    (Optional) Place in refrigerator for six hours to help further thicken the sour cream.

  4. You can now go on to the next step in the activation process and make your next batch of cultured cream.

Activation Batches 2-3

  1. Mix 1 tablespoon of cultured cream from batch one with one cup of heavy cream. To reduce waste, you can opt to adjust the recipe for half-cup batches. Simply combine ½ tablespoon of cultured cream with ½ cup of heavy cream.

  2. Allow the mixture to ferment at room temperature, ideally between 68°F and 78°F, for a period of 12 to 24 hours.

    (Optional) Place in refrigerator for six hours to help further thicken the cultured cream.

  3. Repeat this process to create batch three, using the starter from batch two this time.

    The culture may require one or two additional batches to fully activate, particularly if the environment is somewhat cool. Continue the process and give the bacteria more time to thrive.

How To Make Larger Batches

Once the culture is fully activated and consistently producing good results, only then should you scale up your batches. Please don’t scale up before the culture is fully awake, as doing so could overwhelm the bacteria and cause your cultured cream to fail.

For every cup of heavy cream, incorporate one tablespoon of your previous batch of cultured cream. Ensure that the starter is not more than seven days old.