How to Make Sour Cream

Guide Note

Whether you like your sour cream slathered on Mexican food, potatoes, desserts or fresh fruit, learn to create your own at home. Our guide, How to Make Sour Cream, reveals two simple ways to make the creamy topping, as well as a recipe for its lighter counterpart, Creme Fraiche. You can also turn the condiments into flavorful sauces, dips and dressings with a few simple recipe variations.

Table of Contents

Sour Cream Tips

  1. Make sour cream by combining light cream and buttermilk in a sterilized jar.
  2. Let the mixture sit at room temperature until it reaches the desired thickness.
  3. To produce a thicker sour cream, use cream with a higher fat content.
  4. Create a version of sour cream by blending cottage cheese, lemon juice and milk.
  5. Flavor the blender sour cream by adding spices or chopped vegetables before mixing.
  6. Store the toppings for two to three weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Introduction

  • Silky smooth sour cream not only makes a cool topping for sweet and savory dishes, but you can also incorporate it into recipes from chicken dishes to banana bread.1 2 Sour cream also has a French counterpart, Creme Fraiche. Although it's typically thinner and less sour than sour cream, Creme Fraiche is delicious with the same main dishes, desserts, vegetables and fruits. You'll find easy recipes for both condiments here, so try both and decide which pleases your taste buds best!

Making Sour Cream

  • Control your sour cream's texture, thickness and tang by making your own overnight. This recipe will create about two cups of the condiment. However, if you need the sour cream immediately, you can also make a quick cup of sour cream in a blender using cottage cheese as the base.

Overnight Method

  1. (Creative Commons photo by luca_alex87)
    (Creative Commons photo by luca_alex87)
    Sterilize a canning jar in boiling water.3
  2. Pour the cream and buttermilk into the hot jar.4
  3. Cover the jar tightly and shake to combine the ingredients.3
  4. Keep at room temperature until it reaches the desired thickness.5
  5. Stir before serving.4
  6. Store in the refrigerator up to three weeks.3

Blender Method

  1. Pour the cottage cheese, milk and lemon juice into a blender.8
  2. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth.9
  3. Refrigerate before serving.10

Making Creme Fraiche

  • Although the preparation is similar to the overnight method for making sour cream, slightly different ingredients and the heating of the cream will result in a batch of Creme Fraiche. This recipe will create about two cups of the topping.

What You'll Need

  • (Creative Commons photo by Peter Allen)
    (Creative Commons photo by Peter Allen)
    Ingredients
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons buttermilk
  • Equipment
  • Saucepan
  • Glass bowl
  • Spoon
  • Kitchen towel

What to Do

  1. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it comes close to 100 degrees.11
  2. Combine the cream and buttermilk in a bowl.12
  3. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel.12
  4. Let the mixture sit at room temperature overnight.13
  5. The next day, cover and refrigerate the Creme Fraiche for 24 hours before using.14
  6. Store the Creme Fraiche in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.15

Variations

  • If you want to impart a little extra flavor to your sour cream or Creme Fraiche to accompany a specific recipe, consider the following ingredients that you can combine with the creamy toppings.
  1. Flavor the sour cream by adding items like fresh garlic, cracked pepper, chopped bell peppers or pimento before mixing the sour cream in a blender.10
  2. Combine sour cream with mayonnaise and cider vinegar to create a tangy salad dressing or dip.16
  3. Horseradish and white wine vinegar will give your sour cream or Creme Fraiche a pungent kick.17
  4. Use fresh dill and black pepper to create a truly savory Creme Fraiche.18
  5. Add port, red wine, tomato paste and canned chipotle chilies to make spicy Creme Fraiche.19
  6. Change the taste and texture of the Creme Fraiche by adding dill, capers and cornichons.20
  7. Turn the Creme Fraiche into a sweet variety by adding chocolate and cocoa powder.21

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References for How To Make Sour Cream

  1. ↑ All Recipes: Sour Cream Chicken and Potatoes
  2. ↑ All Recipes: Banana Sour Cream Bread.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Recipezaar: Homemade Sour Cream
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cooks.com: Homemade Sour Cream
  5. ↑ Farmers' Almanac: Sour Cream
  6. ↑ David Fankhauser, PhD: Sour Cream
  7. ↑ Recipezaar: Sour Cream
  8. ↑ Recipezaar: Homemade Sour Cream
  9. ↑ The Doctors of USC: Homemade Sour Cream
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Recipezaar: Homemade Sour Cream
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Recipezaar: Creme Fraiche
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Food Network: Emeril Lagasse's Creme Fraiche
  13. ↑ Martha Stewart: Homemade Creme Fraiche
  14. ↑ All Recipes: Creme Fraiche
  15. ↑ Recipezaar: Creme Fraiche
  16. ↑ Martha Stewart: Sour Cream Dressing
  17. ↑ Epicurious: Horseradish Creme Fraiche
  18. ↑ Epicurious: Pepper Dill Creme Fraiche
  19. ↑ Epicurious: Chipotle Creme Fraiche
  20. ↑ Food Network: Tyler Florence's Dill Creme Fraiche
  21. ↑ Food Network: Chocolate Creme Fraiche  WARNING: Pop-ups

Additional Sour Cream Recipes

Additional Creme Fraiche Recipes



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