Homemade sour cream tastes great and is easy to make. It only requires two ingredients: 0.95 liters of cream and a packet of sour cream root culture. The bacteria in the starter culture thicken the cream and give it a classic sour taste that goes well with anything from potatoes to tacos to fruit. Best of all, homemade sour cream doesn't contain the preservatives or stabilizers often found in store-bought sour cream.
Ingredients
- 0.95 liters (4 cups) heavy cream
- 1 package sour cream prickly pear culture
Step
Part 1 of 3: Gathering Materials and Equipment
Step 1. Purchase 0.95 liters of fresh cream
Since you will be working on making your own sour cream, use the freshest cream you can find. Full fat and organic heavy whipped cream is best. Pasteurized heavy cream will produce a consistency closest to store-bought sour cream. If you prefer it thinner or want it to be lower in fat, you can use a half-milk half-cream mixture.
- Unpasteurized raw cream is also a great base for sour cream. The result will be thinner than sour cream made from pasteurized heavy cream.
- Avoid ultra-pasteurized creams or mixtures of cream and milk. The product yields inconsistent results when processed with culture.
Step 2. Purchase sour cream yeast culture
Sour cream is produced by mixing cream with a bacterial culture which thickens the cream and gives it a slightly sour taste. Sour cream starter cultures contain milk as well as live and active cultures. It can be found at natural food stores or online and is usually available in packets (usually four or more in a box) containing enough culture to make 0.9 liters of sour cream. Excess cultures can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.
- The live and active cultures in the sour cream culture include Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis biovar. diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris.
- Once you've made sour cream with the starter culture, you can use the sour cream to make even more sour cream. The process is similar to making sourdough or sourdough bread with sourdough starter.
- If you don't want to find the source of the sour cream culture, you can make another version of sour cream with a tablespoon of cultured buttermilk for each cup of cream. The consistency and taste will be more like butter milk.
- You can also make kefir cream, another type of cultured cream, using kefir grains.
Step 3. Prepare ventilated jars and lids
Sour cream is best stored in clean glass jars. During the period of processing by culture, the cream requires a ventilated cover to allow water to enter the jar, as well as to prevent insects and other intruders from entering. Tight fabric such as cheesecloth can be a suitable cover by securing it with an elastic band. For storage, you will need an airtight cover.
- Make sure the jars are clean and sterile. If you've used the jars before, boil them for five minutes and let them dry before adding the sour cream.
- If you don't have cheesecloth, coffee filter paper can also be used as a cover.
Part 2 of 3: Heating and Maintaining the Temperature of the Cream
Step 1. Pour the cream into a heavy saucepan
It is important to use heavy pans made of copper or stainless steel. Using a heavy pan you will be able to adjust the temperature of the cream more easily than using a lighter aluminum pan.
- If you don't have a heavy pot, you can also use a double boiler.
- Or make a double boiler by filling a large saucepan with a few inches of water. Place the smaller pot in the large pot so that the outer walls of the small pot are submerged in the water in the large pot. Pour the cream into a smaller saucepan.
Step 2. Heat the cream until the temperature reaches 63 degrees Celsius
Turn the stove on to medium heat to heat the cream to the right temperature. Take care not to overheat. use a candy thermometer to monitor the heat and make sure it reaches 63 degrees Celsius.
- Heating the cream kills other bacteria so that the bacteria in the starter culture can survive in the cream. Heating the cream also ensures results that have a great taste and texture.
- If you don't heat the cream, the final product will be thinner than regular sour cream.
Step 3. Hold the cream at a constant temperature for 45 minutes
Keep the flame at just the right heat until it can hold the cream at 63 degrees Celsius; try not to let the temperature go too low or above that temperature. Keeping the heat of the cream is necessary to ensure that the resulting cream is thick and rich.
Step 4. Cool the cream to 25 degrees Celsius
Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the cream. The temperature will drop quickly once you remove it from the heat.
Step 5. Dissolve the starter culture in the cream
Place the entire contents of the starter culture packet in a saucepan of cooled cream. Use a spoon to stir the yeast culture with the cream until it is completely dissolved.
- Make sure the cream has cooled enough, so the live bacteria in the host culture don't die when mixed with the cream.
- If you are using cultured buttermilk instead of root culture, stir in one tablespoon of cultured buttermilk for each cup of cream. If you are using kefir grains, add the kefir grains and stir.
Part 3 of 3: Processing Cream with Culture
Step 1. Pour cream into jars and cover
Secure the cheesecloth over the jar with a rubber band.
Step 2. Keep the jar in a warm place for 16 to 18 hours
For the starter culture to react, the cream must be stored at a temperature between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius. This temperature is warm enough for the culture to survive and process. A warm spot in your kitchen is usually the perfect place for this.
- Do not store cultures in direct sunlight, as this can overheat your jars and kill bacteria.
- Check the jar every few hours to see if the cream has started to thicken. Otherwise, the temperature may be too warm or too cold. After 16 to 18 hours, it should be about the consistency of store-bought sour cream or a little thinner.
Step 3. Store sour cream in the refrigerator
Replace the cover with a tight-fitting lid and store the sour cream until it's time to use it. Store in the refrigerator for a week or two.
Step 4. Make sour cream again using your sour cream as a base
Save a glass of homemade sour cream, which contains the same live active cultures as the starter mixture. Use three cups of heavy cream, following the directions for heating and keeping the cream on high. Cool the cream, then add the remaining glass of old sour cream. Follow the instructions for processing the cream with the culture. Put it in the fridge once it thickens.
Tips
- Garnish soup and chili with a little sour cream.
- Make a simple sauce using sour cream, salt and pepper, and fresh dill leaves. Use the sauce for chips or vegetables.
- Make a sauce with sour cream and pour the sauce over the fish and meat.
- Replace milk with sour cream when making macaroni and cheese; You may have to add a little milk to make it thinner, but sour cream will turn the macaroni and cheese into a rich, creamy dish.
Warning
Foods made with sour cream don't freeze well; the cream will separate
What You Need
- Heavy pot or double boiler
- Glass jars with lids
- candy thermometer
- Thin cloth
