Fontainebleau Cream

If you enjoy whipped cream, you'll also love, or even more so, Fontainebleau cream. These two creams represent two recipes with subtle differences between them and originate from two cities known for their magnificent castles. Whipped cream is known worldwide, while Fontainebleau is reserved for a few informed gourmets.

The Fontainebleau recipe appeared in the 18th century and was invented by a merchant from Fontainebleau. The crémier noticed that on the surface of the fresh milk cans transported in carts and shaken on cobblestone streets, a light and airy cream formed that everyone quickly tasted before the foam disappeared. Turning an accident into a recipe was easy. The character whipped the milk until it reached the necessary volume and lightness.

Today, Fontainebleau cream producers are divided into two groups: the traditionalists who make it from a secret recipe - a mixture of whipped creams almost to the point of butter, without sugar and without fresh cheese. The whole secret lies in identifying this precise point.

In Paris, you can buy this wonder at Fromagerie Barthélémy, which is one of the suppliers to the Élysée Palace, the Government Palace. The owner of Barthélémy bought the historic fromagerie in Fontainebleau and continues to sell the cream where it was invented.

At these two locations, Fontainebleau cream is made every morning in small quantities, only about 10 small pots. The expiration date is very short. In just two days, the cream loses its form.

It's worth buying a small pot of the traditional cream and enjoying it with a coulis of raspberries or fresh strawberries. Unforgettable.

The other producers, to reduce the fat content of Fontainebleau cream, cut it with fromage blanc, a French specialty made from a by-product of cheese. Famous names in the area adhere to this recipe - 50% fromage blanc and 50% heavy cream - such as Maison Androuet and pastry chef Michalak.

The food industry has managed to develop a Fontainebleau cream recipe with an extended expiration date of 10 days. The Monoprix Gourmet supermarket offers a mixed Fontainebleau cream and fromage frais.

Fromagerie Barthélémy: 51 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris and 92 rue Grande, Fontainebleau.

On the site Minha Viagem Paris, you can find tours to the Castles of Fontainebleau and Chantilly, click here and here.

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