Fromage frais???

[bass_toan]

Hello,

A recipe in my cookbook says to use fromage frais. Something I have never heard or seen at a shopping center. I've gathered its some sort of cream cheese from the internet and that's it (im noob). I'm going to go shopping tomorrow and just incase there is none in store what can i use as substitute? and which brand? i live in australia

Cheers,
Toan

 

[Aunt Bea]

What are you making?

 

[bass_toan]

strawberry roulade

 

[Andy M.]

Fromage frais means fresh cheese. It's a fairly low fat product. A reduced fat cream cheese would work as a substitute.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Fromage frais is a little like ricotta or mascarpone, except without the grainy texture. It's thinner in consistency than cream cheese. I think cream cheese would work, but you may want to stir in some yogurt to thin it out a little.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I agree.

A combination of cream cheese and either sour cream or Greek yogurt would be good.

 

[bass_toan]

1:1 ratio of cream cheese and greek yoghurt will suffice?

 

[Andy M.]

Yogurt would introduce a tartness that's not appropriate. Reduced fat cream cheese, commonly known as Neufchatel cheese, is naturally softer than regular cream cheese. If dilution is needed, I'd recommend a more neutral flavored ingredient such as milk.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Well, I've made fresh cheese a number of times using either yogurt or buttermilk as the culture medium, so I would have disagree about the tartness, but that's fine.

In fact, if bass_toan has a day to spare, it's very easy to make your own. Lowfat milk, lemon juice, buttermilk or yogurt, and salt are all you need. There are many recipes online.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Did a google search and several places said it is also called fromage blanc and maquee. A couple places said it's similar to quark. It was described as a light, creamy cheese made from part fat or skim milk. I would think based off the description nuefchatel or mascarpone might work if you can't find it under any of its names.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

See if you can find farmer's cheese at your local store. Same idea, but Americanized

 

[Timothy]

You could also make some Paneer. Its simple:

Bring one gallon of whole milk to a gentle simmer. Don't let it scald on the bottom.

Turn off the heat.

Very gently, stir in the juice of one lemon.

Curds will form almost immediately.

Pour it into a cheesecloth lined colander and let it drain.

Gather the cheese cloth and twist the cheese into a ball, tighten to squeeze out the water.

Press the cheese into a container that it will fill and refrigerate.

That's it, your done.