crema

noun

ˈkre-mə 

plural cremas

1

: cream or a preparation made with or resembling cream used in cooking : crème: such as

a

: any of various custards prepared as a dish, sauce, or filling

… a trio of Mediterranean desserts, including a Catalan-inspired, lavender crema presented in an edible almond ramekin.

—Julia Zaltzman

b

: heavy cream thickened and slightly soured usually with buttermilk and often served with spicy foods

Serve the flautas with the crema.

—Zanne Early Zakroff

Crema can be used to thicken or enrich a dish, but it is broadly thought of as a condiment.

—Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman

Pour in the Mexican crema, stirring to make sure it coats all of the vegetables, and gently simmer for about 2 minutes.

—Mely Martínez

2

: a layer of golden-brown froth that forms on the top of freshly made espresso

To get the best aroma, flavor and crema, I needed fresh beans from great roasters.

—Jeremy Repanich

What the head is to the beer lover, the foam called crema is to the espresso aficionado. … The crema is produced as the water is pushed through and past the close-packed grains of coffee, although how that happens is not fully understood.

—Sidney Perkowitz

Examples of crema in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The unique system applies 19 bars of pressure to create coffee and espresso topped with crema in a range of 6 different beverage sizes. —Adam Mansuroglu, WWD, 1 Nov. 2024

The Taco de Pollo, a chicken taco, is topped with a heavy ladle of cilantro-lime crema, pico de gallo and sharp cotija crumbles. —Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024

To finish, look for chamomile tres leches cake, a panna cotta take on fresas en crema, mangonadas and more. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024

Finish with a drizzle of the crema, or serve it on the side. —Jonathan Miles, Field & Stream, 23 May 2024

Manny evens up the count for the blue team with his chorizo and cheese tetelas with roasted tomato salsa and avocado crema, which gets the edge over Laura’s chorizo kabob taco with yogurt sauce. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 May 2024

Their fish tacos come topped with a chipotle crema and the shrimp tacos come with cilantro lime crema, served on a five-inch corn tortilla. —Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024

Vegan Street Style: Vegan chorizo, cheddar cheese, black bean corn salsa, cilantro lime crema. —Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Aug. 2024

Bar bites like chicken tamales and refried bean sopes with crema and queso fresco will round out the experience. —Kate Kassin, Bon Appétit, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

(sense 1) borrowed from Spanish, "cream," borrowed from French crème, going back to Old French craime; (sense 2) borrowed from Italian, "cream," borrowed from French crème — more at cream entry 1

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined at sense 2