Creme fraiche: Like sour cream, but better

You've seen it on menus, you've read it in recipes, but, with its French name and "chef-y" connotations, it may still be a bit intimidating: creme fraiche.

Pronounced "krem fresh," it is lightly fermented heavy cream. It is kind of like sour cream, but not as thick and more sharp than sour, with a slightly nutty flavor and a silky, rich texture. The French discovered it long ago. As cheese guru Steven Jenkins told The New York Times: "It's one of the most extraordinary substances in the world of dairy, of gastronomy. To compare it to American sour cream is to compare Spam to foie gras."

Chefs - particularly those who are classically trained - love creme fraiche because it won't curdle when heated or when combined with acidic ingredients such as wine or lemon juice. In Normandy and other dairy-rich regions of France, home cooks fling it about with abandon, swirling it into soups, using it as a topping on fruits, and incorporating it into pastries. It is now made in the United States and available in many supermarkets and specialty stores, and it may be time for home cooks here to embrace it.

The person who introduced me - and many others - to creme fraiche is Allison Hooper, co-founder and co-owner of Vermont Butter & Cheese Company (vermontcreamery.com), which began making it years ago. Her new book, "In a Cheesemaker's Kitchen" (Countryman Press, 2009), is stuffed with wonderful recipes for creme fraiche and other Vermont Butter & Cheese products: extraordinary cultured butter, mascarpone and several goat cheeses (chevre, feta, crottin and others). The products are available nationally.

As you can see in the recipes, creme fraiche teams beautifully with the humble potato. Like sour cream, but better.

• Marialisa Calta is the author of "Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family" (Perigee, 2005). More at marialisacalta.com.