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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Sour Cream Recipe is one of my most-used and most-favored Bold Baking Basics! Knowing how to make sour cream is key for both your sweet and savory cooking and baking. So if you’re running low or just like to make everything from scratch, this recipe is for you!
IMPORTANT NOTE:This recipe was improved on 3/10/2023, to include clearer definition, answers to the most frequently asked questions (adjusting it to different diets & health needs) and Pro Chef Tips.
From making sauces, chip dips, topping potatoes, tacos, chili or your favorite soup, to adding it to your cupcakes, rich chocolate cakes, and even my Sour Cream Banana Bread recipe, I use sour cream all the time. The tang elevates a wide variety of dishes and bakes! I always have some of my easy Homemade Sour Cream in the fridge, so using this simple method means that you too can have your own fresh sour cream on hand.
Whether it’s because it’s unavailable in your region, or maybe you’re looking for an inexpensive way to get an even better version of it, here you go!
Table of Contents
What is Sour Cream?
Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream.
- A jar: A non-reactive glass jar is recommended. I used a mason jar.
That’s it!
Sour Cream Ingredients
- Heavy cream: Or heavy whipping cream with a 36% fat content works best for a rich flavor and thick texture.
- Milk: Milk at room temperature will grow microorganisms to provide a sour cream starter. I always use whole milk in my recipes.
- Lemon juice or vinegar: It increases the starter culture’s metabolic activity contributing to thickening and souring the cream.
How To Make Sour Cream
Before I tried this recipe, I actually had no idea how sour cream was made. Well, it turns out the name says it all because it’s literally preserved soured cream.
Unlike other homemade dairy products, this method for sour cream requires no cooking at all and very little effort. To make my homemade sour cream all you need is a nice clean jar, milk, cream, and fresh lemon juice. Oh, and a little bit of time, because you have to leave it covered on the countertop overnight. Also, make sure to use a breathable cloth (no lids or plastic wrap), as your sour cream will have a more fragrant flavor with exposure to the air. And that’s it!
In conclusion, sour cream requires bacterial culture– a method of growing microorganisms. And acid!
Does Lemon Juice and Milk Turn Cream into REAL Sour Cream?
YES! There is no difference between this sour cream and store-bought sour cream!
1. In this recipe, leaving the milk mixture over the counter (ranging from 70°F/21°C to 76°F/24°C) provides the temperature condition for bacterial culture to grow rapidly during 24 hours.
Besides being a nutritious food, milk also provides a favorable environment for the growth of microorganisms. Even though most milk on the market has been pasteurized, pasteurization destroys only most (harmful) not all bacteria. In addition, a broad spectrum of bacteria can grow in milk, particularly at temperatures above 16°C. This will be the sour cream starter/culture to sour and thicken the cream.
2. Acids from lemon juice or vinegar will increase the metabolic activity of the bacterial / starter culture mentioned above.
Hence, I can proudly say, the final product from this recipe is real sour cream. Millions of bold bakers who have this recipe on hand have approved this method and enjoyed the thick, rich and tangy sour cream (as much as my buttermilk ) in many amazing recipes that they would have missed out on!
![How to make Sour Cream, homemade Sour cream, diy sour cream, sour cream recipe, Homemade sour cream recipe, easy sour cream recipe](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 853 1280"></svg> "How to Make Sour Cream - All you need is 3 ingredients and a jar, that's it!")
Why is my sour cream thin?
The consistency of your Homemade Sour Cream might be slightly looser than something store-bought, but it will provide all the same flavor and moisture to your baking. All things considered, there are no artificial thickeners, or gelling agents, that are often added to commercial brands of sour cream.
What you’re getting is sour cream in its purest form!
The good news is that even though it might be thinner than you’re used to, you won’t be able to tell the difference when using it in your baking. On tacos, though, it just might taste even better than store-bought!
FAQs
How to store sour cream?
Because there is nothing in the sour cream to preserve it, you will want to store it in an airtight container in your fridge. That said, it will last for a good 2 weeks! However, this rarely lasts that long for me so sometimes I even double down and make a larger batch.
Just make sure it stays refrigerated and you’ll be good to go.
How to make quick sour cream?
When you don’t have time to wait for 24 hours, you can make a quick sour cream substitute by adding 2 tablespoons of good quality/live/organic if possible yogurt to 8ozs of softly whipped fresh cream. Allow it to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Refrigerate it then where it will further culture for a lovely sour cream! Must be FRESH cream!
How to make vegan sour cream?
The best alternative to sour dairy cream is strained yogurt – strain a plant-based yogurt through a fine sterile muslin type cloth, in a sieve, over a bowl in the fridge to get a thick Greek Style yogurt. You can enrich this with coconut cream if you wish. This takes about 4 hours, or overnight.
Can I make lactose-free sour cream?
Sorry, but no with this recipe. Citric acid is added in cream and milk to convert lactose to lactic acid, consequently creating an unstable acidic environment. Casein proteins to go through electrostatic interactions to eventually with insoluble whey proteins form a strong gel structure formation–sour cream.
With lactose free cream and milk, this process will not happen. The result will not thicken. If you have a plant-based yogurt you can strain this to get a thick greek yogurt in the fridge for 4 hours to overnight, and enrich this great substitute with coconut cream too if you wish.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
(Why and How To Use Sour Cream in Baking)
Dairy is a really important ingredient when it comes to baking. Because it does not only serve many purposes like replacing eggs, making richer cakes, but also contains acid to tenderize the gluten to yield incredibly soft cakes. By the same token, you can use this sour cream recipe in the place of buttermilk, or even yogurt. One of my favorite ways to use it in my baking is in my Chocolate Bundt Cake. In this case, my sour cream makes all the difference, adding a very distinct richness and moist texture.
Use Your New Sour Cream
If you’re looking for recipes so you can use your new sour cream, you know, other than making an incredible taco even better, you can try these baking recipes:
IMPORTANT NOTE:This recipe was improved on 3/10/2023, to include clearer definition, answers to the most frequently asked questions (adjusting it to different diets & health needs) and Pro Chef Tips.
And don’t forget to buy my new cookbook, Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day, out now!