Finest formulation for faux fromage blanc?

April 12, 2020 5:24 AM

I’m cooking something later today that calls for fromage blanc, which I don’t have on hand. It’s a key component in the recipe (along with crème fraîche, which I do have) so I’d like to substitute it with something that’s as close as possible to the real thing. Fortunately I come from a family of dairy fiends, so the following are at my disposal when concocting a suitable replacement: ricotta cheese, fat-free Greek yogurt, American-style cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, sour cream, buttermilk, semi-skim (2%) milk.
posted by theory to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

What are you making?
posted by STFUDonnie at 5:30 AM on April 12, 2020

Response by poster: I'm making tarte flambée (flammekueche). I know it can be made without fromage blanc, but my favorite recipe does include it.
posted by theory at 5:37 AM on April 12, 2020

I think you could DIY some fromage blanc from the ingredients you have at hand: fromage blanc recipe.
posted by mskyle at 6:03 AM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

American-style cream cheese works very well for this application. Personally, I actually prefer the mouthfeel when tarte flambee is made with cream cheese; fromage blanc can be a little grainy.
posted by la glaneuse at 6:06 AM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

The New York Times had an article yesterday about ingredient substitutions; the dairy section has a breakdown of options by consistency.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:16 AM on April 12, 2020

I'd use the ricotta cheese and not think twice. Maybe mix it with a bit of heavy cream if you want it richer / softer. Or buttermilk, if you want the sour fermented tang.
posted by Nelson at 7:45 AM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

Do you have cheesecloth? I would strain the crème fraîche to thicken it. Or full-fat sour cream is probably fine unmodified. I would emphatically not use any kind of curded cheese product for this application. Speaking of which, I was surprised that Trader Joe's has an acceptable version of flammkuchen sold as "Tarte d'Alsace".
posted by wnissen at 12:46 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Is the recipe one you can share?
posted by librarina at 1:05 PM on April 12, 2020

Personally I've made flammkuche with creme fraise alone and with creme fraise + cream cheese and prefer it with just creme fraise.
posted by agentofselection at 2:01 PM on April 12, 2020

I’d make it with sour cream because I love the stuff.

I’d be happy to eat one made with cream cheese or ricotta as well, although I wouldn’t call the ricotta one flammekueche out loud, to keep my Alsatian ancestors from spinning in their graves. It’d be delicious though.
posted by STFUDonnie at 4:05 AM on April 13, 2020