Content

• Ingredients
• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Preparing Ingredients and Supplies
• Part 2 of 3: Heating and holding the cream
• Part 3 of 3: Sour cream fermentation
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Homemade sour cream is delicious and easy to prepare. For its preparation, only two ingredients are required - a liter of cream and sour cream sourdough. The cream, with the help of bacteria, thickens the sour cream sourdough, thanks to which the sour cream acquires a classic sour taste that goes well with anything from potatoes and tacos to fruits. The greatest value of homemade sour cream is that it does not contain any preservatives or stabilizers that can be found in store sour cream.

Ingredients

• 1 liter (4 cups) heavy cream
• 1 bag of sour cream starter

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Preparing Ingredients and Supplies

1. 1 Buy a liter of fresh cream. If you have taken up the preparation of sour cream, try to find the freshest cream. Fatty natural cream works best. Pasteurized cream gives a consistency close to the consistency of store sour cream. If you prefer thinner sour cream, or want to learn a less high-calorie and fatty product, you can dilute the cream with milk in a 1: 1 ratio.
   • Raw unpasteurized cream is an excellent base for sour cream. The result is a lighter sour cream than pasteurized heavy cream.
   • Try not to use ultra-pasteurized or milk-thinned cream. When fermenting, an unstable result will be obtained.
2. 2 Buy a sour cream starter. Sour cream is obtained by fermenting the cream with special bacteria, due to which the cream thickens and acquires a characteristic sour taste. The sour cream sourdough contains both milk and live, active bacteria. You can buy the starter culture at the grocery store, in online stores, usually it is sold in sachets, the package is designed for 1 liter of cream. If you have extra sachets of starter culture, put them in the freezer and store them for up to 12 months.
   • Live, active bacteria for sour cream include lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis biovar. diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris.
   • Once you make homemade sour cream from sourdough once, you can use it for further sour cream production.The process is similar to making sourdough bread dough.
   • If you don't want to mess with sour cream sourdough, you can use 1 tablespoon of sour buttermilk for 1 cup of cream. The consistency and taste of this sour cream will be more like buttermilk.
   • You can also make kefir, another fermented cream product, using a kefir starter culture.
3. 3 Prepare a jar and a vented lid. Store sour cream in a clean glass jar. During the fermentation period, sour cream needs ventilation, but at the same time it must be protected from midges and other foreign objects. Medical gauze wrapped tightly around the neck of the can and secured with an elastic band will do the job perfectly. To store ready-made sour cream, take a regular airtight lid.
   • Make sure the jar is sterile clean. If you have used the jar for any other purpose, sterilize it by boiling for 5 minutes and drying completely before adding sour cream.
   • If you don't have gauze, use a paper coffee filter.

Part 2 of 3: Heating and holding the cream

1. 1 Pour a quart of heavy cream into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. It is very important that the pot is made of copper or stainless steel. A thick-walled saucepan will give you more control over the temperature of the cream than with thin, lightweight aluminum saucepans.
   • If you don't have a thick-walled saucepan, use a double boiler.
   • You can make the steamer yourself. Pour a few centimeters of water into a large saucepan. Place a pot with a smaller diameter inside a large pot above the water. Pour the cream into a smaller saucepan.
2. 2 Heat the cream to 62C. Turn on the stove over medium heat and slowly bring the cream to the desired temperature. Do not overheat the cream. Use a cooking thermometer to heat the cream exactly to 62 C.
   • Heating the cream will kill the unwanted bacteria in it, so the sourdough bacteria have no competitors and can do their job. Heating the cream provides the flavor and texture to the sour cream.
   • If you don't heat the cream, the sour cream will be too runny.
3. 3 Soak the cream at a constant temperature for 45 minutes. Keep the stove on at a certain level in order to bring the cream to a temperature of 62C. Try not to lower or increase this temperature. Providing the cream with a constant temperature guarantees a thick consistency and rich sour cream flavor.
4. 4 Cool the cream to 25C. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature of the cream. The temperature should drop sharply after you skim the cream off the stove.
5. 5 Dilute the leaven. Place a whole packet of starter culture in a saucepan with chilled cream. Stir the starter with a spoon, stir until it is completely dissolved.
   • Make sure the cream is completely cool so that the live bacteria from the starter culture do not die when combined with the cream.
   • If you are using buttermilk as a starter, add 1 tablespoon of sour buttermilk to 1 cup of cream and stir. If you are using kefir starter, mix it with the cream.

Part 3 of 3: Sour cream fermentation

1. 1 Pour the cream into a jar and cover. Attach the gauze securely around the neck of the can with an elastic band.
2. 2 Keep the jar in a warm place for 16-18 hours. In order for the starter culture to fulfill its task, the cream must be kept at a temperature of 23-24C. This temperature is optimal for the development and reproduction of active bacteria. A warm place in the kitchen is fine.
   • Do not expose the cream to direct sunlight, otherwise the cream may overheat and kill bacteria.
   • Check the jar every few hours to make sure the cream is taking on the consistency of sour cream. If not, it is possible that the temperature where you are holding the jar is too warm or too cold. After 16-18 hours, sour cream should be ready, acquiring the consistency of cream bought in a store or a little thinner.
3. 3 Store sour cream in the refrigerator. Remove the cheesecloth and close the jar with an airtight lid. Sour cream can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
4. 4 You can prepare a new batch of sour cream using the existing sour cream as a base. Save 1 tablespoon of homemade sour cream, which contains live bacteria, and use it as a starter. With 3 cups (750 ml) heavy cream, repeat heating and holding the cream at high temperature. Cool the cream and combine with 1 tablespoon of stored homemade sour cream. Follow the directions as if you were using a commercial sour cream starter. Store the resulting sour cream in the refrigerator.

Tips

• Decorate spicy dishes and soups with a spoonful of sour cream.
• To make the simplest dipping sauce, take sour cream, add salt, pepper and fresh dill. Dip the chips and vegetables into the sauce.
• Prepare sour cream sauces and serve them with fish and meat dishes.
• Substitute sour cream for milk when making macaroni and cheese. You can dilute the sour cream with a little milk, but the sour cream itself will turn the pasta and cheese into a thick, creamy dish.

Warnings

• Dishes cooked with sour cream are not suitable for freezing in the freezer, since sour cream is stratified when frozen.

What do you need

• Thick-walled saucepan or steamer
• Glass jar with lid
• Cooking thermometer
• Gauze