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Making Sour Cream


Mrs.Geraci

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Yes, but you can also use cultured buttermilk as the starter. That is my method and I have good results.

First, you have to get cream that is NOT ultra-pasteurized. You should be able to find the product usually called Manufacturing cream (Alta Dena Dairy is the one most seen in Southern California). It is pasteurized but not put through the process that stabilizes it for longer shelf life but makes it unsuitable for processing into cheese or sour cream, etc. It is also certified Kosher.

Here is an excellent instructional article:

Making sour cream.

You can make the small batch as indicated.

I generally make it with 100% heavy cream because it is difficult to find non-homogenized milk. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods do carry "Cream-Top" which is pasteurized but not homogenized.

As the Manufacturing cream comes in a half-gallon container, I usually use half for sour cream and half for cream cheese but this requires at least one other ingredient.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I made some creme fraiche at home using cream and buttermilk as a starter. (as per instructions i found in various places.) I tried it again using yogurt to start it. It always just tasted like sour cream.

Would most people use the same ingredients and method to make either one?

(I live in a town where only one place sells creme fraiche, and it's always expired in their case.)

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  • 1 year later...

I do love a good dollop of whipped cream on my desserts, but recently I have found that I am beginning to prefer sour cream...if you can get it. Decent sour cream, that is. Most of it is quite bland. Boring. Not much going for it. Not like the sour cream of my long lost youth. :rolleyes:

A recipe in Ice Cream: The Whole Scoop, Gail Damerow, contains a recipe for sour cream. The result was delicious, thicker than sour cream, not really tart enough for sour cream, but still very nice. Then I discovered that it was actually a recipe for creme fraiche. It was basically one tablespoon of buttermilk to one cup of heavy cream.

Can you make sour cream at home? Is there a recipe? If there is, please send it this way. :smile:

(BTW, the best sour cream we could find in Utah was organic and made by Horizon.) Now we are back in Ontario, and haven't started to look in earnest yet. Is there is a good regional sour cream?

Thanks.

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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I've got a jug in my frige. I think he used one part buttermilk and two parts milk and let it set out (not chilled) for about a day. It's crazy crazy good. I'll double check with Chef when he comes home and he had some other ideas to make onion flavor too. You can just about cut it with a knife.

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http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/recipe_sourcream.htm

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Relish/How-...se-Recipes.aspx

Try these and let me know which one you like better. I'm always in the market for something more artisan, but don't really have the time for experimentation. I trust your judgement.

Theresa :biggrin:

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

- Abraham Lincoln

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Is there is a good regional sour cream?

Thanks.

Hi,

Daisy brand sour cream carries one ingredient, cream...

Creme fraiche becomes more sour with a few days of aging. It can be an excellent substitute.

You can also dramatically thicken heavy cream, creme fraiche or the like by straining through a coffee filter; some of the whey drops out leaving a high butterfat cream.

Tim

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I've been making cream cheese and sour cream for many years.

I do have to say that the regular supermarket milk does not make for a good product - the "ultra pasteurized" stuff simply doesn't set well unless one adds a small amount of calcium chloride.

(1/4 teaspoon to 2-gallons of milk) This "conditions'' the proteins in the milk and allows the curd to set.

If you can get pasteurized but non-homogenized milk (cream top milk) it works much better.

The result depends on how much buttermilk you use, (unless you use a culture, purchased from a supplier such as New England Cheesemaking supply.)

They have excellent cultures - the Bulgarian yogurt culture produces an excellent substitute for sour cream when made with whole milk to which you add half a cup of heavy cream to each quart.

If you use the buttermilk recipe - you should use at least 1/4 cup of buttermilk to a quart of milk and to give it a bit more "tang" add a tablespoon of lemon juice.

I do not care for whipped cream on fruit - I prefer sweetened sour cream on fresh strawberries, sliced peaches, apricots and various berries.

I also love it as a topping on apple, peach, pear etc., pies and tarts.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Andiesenji--when you make your own sour cream, is it very very thick?

The sour cream in Japan is more like soured cream, and it's so thick it doesn't dollop. It doesn't even come out of the container without a spoon.

I'm just wondering how real sour cream compares to what I can get here.

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Thanks for all the replies. :wub: This is one I am going to get at immediately.

PS. Just reread the posts and downloaded the recipes. I really like the notion of adding a bit of lemon juice. Thanks.

Edited by Darienne (log)

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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Andiesenji--when you make your own sour cream, is it very very thick?

The sour cream in Japan is more like soured cream, and it's so thick it doesn't dollop.  It doesn't even come out of the container without a spoon. 

I'm just wondering how real sour cream compares to what I can get here.

My sour cream is quite thick but not "set" the way commercial sour cream is because there is no gelling agent in it. It will mound up on a spoon but the mound will gently collapse.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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To carry on the thread of thickness: my creme fraiche made by the Damerow method of one TBSP of buttermilk to one cup of whipping cream, no heating involved, aged 24 - 48 hours in the oven with just the light on to achieve a temperature of 80-85 degrees F...was incredibly thick. The whipping cream came from a small Utah dairy which although not organic by regulation, was about as organic as you could get.

But thick? O my yes. It was almost as thick as cream cheese. I wonder why????

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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OK--Chef said he uses one cup of buttermilk to two quarts of cream and he lets it sit at room temp for two days--he said let it sit longer than you think it needs.

You could cut it with a knife. It is rich and decadent. A little lusciousness goes a long way with joy.

My personal motto has always been if a little is good a lot it better. :raz:

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That's where my current method differs. I use a yogurt maker and - after heating it to 180 degrees F., cooling it to 115 and then adding either buttermilk or the culture, - put it in the yogurt maker for 12 hours, usually overnight. The thickness, texture and flavor is perfect this way but if it is not thick enough, I can leave it for a few more hours. Rarely happens.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I sour my own cream - whipping or double. Just put ½pt in a jug add 1 tsp of lemon juce, stir and leave to stand in a warm room, covered, for several hours. Give it a stir and you will find it is realy thick and delicious. :wink:

Edited by Pam Brunning (log)

Pam Brunning Editor Food & Wine, the Journal of the European & African Region of the International Wine & Food Society

My link

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Hi,

There is also that low technology method used by the absent minded.  Forget about that "manufacturer's" cream in you fridge for a month.  Just wonderful!

I would caution that if one is going to use this method, and the container has been opened, first bring the cream to 180 degrees (F.) then cool it and store it in a sterilized glass container.

Otherwise one can find the product has developed some uninvited and unwanted "guests" and will be a total loss.

There are many mold spores that are always floating around in the air and which are more than happy to invade dairy products of any kind and which grow readily at refrigerator temps. All of these are not pathogens but some are and it is better to be cautious than end up in an ER or worse, make a guest ill.

Oddly enough, the ones that look the worst, black, green or blue molds, are not as dangerous as the innocent-appearing pink colonies. The latter is not at all good and can also attack sourdough cultures and if one sees it, toss it immediately and sterilize the container.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Hi,

There is also that low technology method used by the absent minded.  Forget about that "manufacturer's" cream in you fridge for a month.  Just wonderful!

I would caution that if one is going to use this method, and the container has been opened, first bring the cream to 180 degrees (F.) then cool it and store it in a sterilized glass container.

Otherwise one can find the product has developed some uninvited and unwanted "guests" and will be a total loss.

There are many mold spores that are always floating around in the air and which are more than happy to invade dairy products of any kind and which grow readily at refrigerator temps. All of these are not pathogens but some are and it is better to be cautious than end up in an ER or worse, make a guest ill.

Oddly enough, the ones that look the worst, black, green or blue molds, are not as dangerous as the innocent-appearing pink colonies. The latter is not at all good and can also attack sourdough cultures and if one sees it, toss it immediately and sterilize the container.

Thanks for this information. I have always been too careful about diary products and often throw them away even when they are perfectly edible. My friend from Moldavia makes blini using slightly soured cream cheese and it always comes out fantastic. I will need to practice my yogurt making skills.

Cheers, Sarah

http://sarahmelamed.com/

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Hi,

There is also that low technology method used by the absent minded.  Forget about that "manufacturer's" cream in you fridge for a month.  Just wonderful!

HI,

I would never do this with an open creme container. I am sorry that this suggestion caused such alarm.

Actually, infected cream makes a very loud announcement as you open the container.

Nevertheless, the system works wonders.

Tim

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Made a batch of sour cream two days ago. 1/4 cup of buttermilk to 1 cup of whipping cream.

The result was bland to the point of uselessness. My DH said it tasted a bit soapy.

Added a TBSP or so of lemon juice.

One more day passed. Hooray! Sour cream!

Thanks to all of you for so many ideas on the subject. :smile: Next I will try it with just cream and lemon juice.

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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