Snowville Creamery Helps Put “Culture” into Your Holiday Cooking with Crème Fraiche

ATHENS, Ohio - Dec. 1, 2014 - PRLog -- Snowville Creamery, known throughout the region for its minimum-heat pasteurized, non-homogenized milk and dairy products from pastured cows fed only non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) feeds and forage, believes everyone can be more “cultured”  this holiday season by using Snowville  crème fraiche—rich sour cream—for baking and cooking.

“Crème fraiche has a wonderful buttery taste and can be used as a replacement for butter, sour cream, and even whipping cream,” says Joy Lloyd, Columbus marketing manager for Snowville Creamery. “Its distinction is the simplicity of ingredients—whipping cream and cultures—which lends to its purity and velvety texture that melts on your tongue. It’s great for everyday cooks who want to make their dishes special and unique for family and holiday entertaining!”

Used for centuries by French peasants and chefs, crème fraiche’s unique versatility is being discovered by American cooks. To get more “cultured” for the holidays, Snowville Creamery is providing cooks with a unique take on a home-for-the-holidays side-dish staple using its crème fraiche that will have friends and family coming back for seconds.

Snowville’s Triple Smoked Potatoes Au Gratin with Crème Fraiche

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: One hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8” thick
1 cup Snowville Creamery half and half or whole milk
1 (12 ounce) carton Snowville Creamery crème fraiche
2 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese (about 8 ounces)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2-1/2 tsp Smoked salt

Topping

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Smoked paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, heat the milk with the crème fraiche, Herbs de Provence, smoked salt, smoked paprika, smoked gouda, and garlic.

While the cream is heating, butter a 9”x13” casserole dish. Pour the heated cream and cheese mixture into a large bowl with the potato slices. Mix gently to coat the potatoes. Season the mix with a little bit of salt and pepper. Mix to gently incorporate. Spoon a little bit of the cream into the bottom of the casserole dish. Then spoon in the potatoes. Level out the potatoes for uniform cooking time. Pour the remaining cream over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, but pull back one corner for the steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Remove from the oven and top with parmesan and panko crumbs; dust lightly with smoked paprika.  Return to the oven, uncovered, and continue baking 15 minutes to allow the topping to crisp and lightly brown

Snowville Creamery is the only dairy in Ohio that produces crème fraiche, and it is available in 12-ounce containers priced between $5.59 and $5.99.

About Snowville Creamery:

Located near Athens, Ohio, Snowville Creamery (snowvillecreamery.com) was founded in 2007 by Warren and Victoria Taylor, with the philosophy that processing non-homogenized, minimum-heat pasteurized milk produced from pastured cows is better for the cows, the environment, and consumers. Because Snowville whole and 2% milks are not homogenized, the cream rises to the top.  Because the cows are fed mainly grass and hay, their milk is richer in the good fats including omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid than milk produced by cows that are primary grain-fed. Snowville also produces fat-free and high-protein chocolate milks, whipping cream, half-and-half, plain and flavored yogurt, and crème fraiche, which are available at independent and major grocery store chains all over Ohio.