water. Some strains of bacteria also secrete
long carbohydrate molecules that further
thicken the water phase and act as stabilizers.
Used in place of reduced cream, crème fraîche
requires no preparation, is less rich, and has a
fresher flavor. Thanks to its low protein
content, it tolerates temperatures that would
curdle sour cream.
Butter Like its parent material, cream, butter
is an emulsion: but it’s one of the few food
emulsions in which the continuous phase is
fat, not water. In fact, butter is made by
“inverting” the fat-in-water cream emulsion
to produce a water-in-fat emulsion (p. 33).
The continuous fat phase of butter, together
with some intact fat globules that survived
churning, takes up about 80% of its volume,
and the dispersed water droplets about 15%.
When it melts, the heavier water droplets sink
to the bottom and form a separate layer. The
consistency of melted butter, then, is the