Food - Drink
The 2 Best Substitutes For Mexican Crema
By WENDY LEIGH
Dairy-based crema is a must-have in Mexican dining, serving as a condiment or dip for a cool and creamy contrast to spicy foods. While Mexican food lovers say there's nothing like real crema, this tangy and flavorful cream isn't the easiest ingredient to procure, so if you can't find crema, try using these two simple substitutes.
You can make a condiment that's pretty close to crema with a few tweaks to a French favorite, crème fraîche. This French ingredient is a cultured cream with a similar complexity and tangy flavor as crema, and all you have to do is add lime juice or water to thin out the sauce; the juice also adds more authentic-tasting acidity.
The second-best substitute for crema is sour cream, which is tangy, creamy, cooling, and readily available in almost any supermarket or corner store, but has less fat than rich crema. You may also want to explore recipes for makeshift crema that use plain yogurt or buttermilk as a base, though buttermilk can also be hard to find.