I always make my own Creme Fraiche, very easy, and tastes great but you need to make it about 36 hours in advance. Creme Fraiche 1 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup dairy sour cream Whisk together in a bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in the kitchen overnight or until thickened. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. The longer it sits the tarter it gets. Will keep for 7 days I prefer the above recipe but here is another that works well. Both are from the Silver Palate Creme Fraiche 2 2 cups heavy whipping cream 2 teaspoons buttermilk Pour the cream and the buttermilk into a glass jar. Cover and hake for 1 minute. Let stand in a warm place until thickened, at least 12 hours (overnight). Stir well and refrigerate for 24 hours. Will keep 7 days

Below recipe is from Emeril Lagasse on the foodnetwork site. I have not tried it. I discovered that the grocery I go to actually had some creme fraiche (obviously, I was too quick to judge their offerings), although it was so well hidden that the store manager didn't even know they had it. I lucked upon the guy who stocks the refrigerated cases in the deli area and he showed me where it was. 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons buttermilk Directions In a bowl, combine the cream and buttermilk. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth in a warm, draft-free place and let sit until thickened, but still a pourable consistency, 12 to 16 hours. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use. (Can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

I'd use sour cream but it's really easy to make creme fraiche and it does have a nice tart flavour. I use half sour cream and half heavy cream or whipping cream. Stir and let sit on the counter several hours (4-6) until thickened. Keeps in the fridge for a week. Maybe too late for this time but try it next time, it's very tasty. I use it in Stroganoff and it's fabulous with berries too.

Thanks, all. I have been having computer browser issues so could see your answers but not reply. I ended up using my yogurt maker, with the little glass yogurt cups filled with hot water, then that and the culturing bowl set in front of it, wrapped in layers of towels. It worked. I left it to culture for about 16 hours, then it was thick gravy consistency. Then put it in the fridge. The idea of putting something on the hot water heater is genius, though. I'm sure I can use that concept in the future. That said: I don't know what it was supposed to taste like, but it tastes just like a mild sour cream. Nothing special. From the way people raved about it on food blogs, I was expecting it to taste ambrosial, like the marcarpone I make from scratch. It will not be worth making again. as for 2 cups worth I paid $5 for pasteurized (vs. Ultrapasteurized) whipping cream. I did whip a portion with vanilla and a little sugar. THAT tastes, surprisingly, much more interesting. Still a slight sour tang. I didn't want to make butter so was careful to whip it only so far. I stopped as soon as it stated to hold together and make mounds. The family didn't like it, though, only me. Everyone tasted a little beside their pie, then my grown son (who has good tastes generally) went to the fridge and came back with a can of spray whipped cream. I had bought that as a backup. He said that, maybe, it was that my cream was just not sweet enough...though on top of pie, I thought that was really not necessary. I have read that the creme fraiche does not separate while heating. So I will look for a way to use up the remaining cup and a half as soon as we get rid of some of this turkey. Stroganoff, maybe.