Making Sour Cream Yourself Is an Extremely Profitable Activity.
I don’t do DIY for no reason. If I’m going to create my own version of a commercially available product, it either tastes better than its store bought counterpart, costs me less than dollars, or matches my laziness. That’s why I don’t make ketchup myself – it takes a long time, not much cheaper, and the end result is infinitely inferior to Heinz , which is the perfect sauce. I thought I might have the same feelings about making my own sour cream, but now I’m not so ignorant.
It turns out that homemade sour cream whips up your butt and is incredibly easy to make. You simply mix two types of dairy products – buttermilk and heavy cream – in a very clean jar and leave it alone. After a day or two, depending on the temperature in the kitchen, you will have sour cream.
Now let me tell you that I’m a fan of all sour creams – unless they’re fat-free or non-fat, because making a fat-free or fat-free version of any product with the word “cream” in the name should be illegal. (including ice cream). I love the Daisy Spoon and would love to take some Taco Bell straight from the pistol if the opportunity presents itself. But this is a homemade product of a different level.
Both tastes – “sour” and “creamy” – are present, although they appear in the opposite order. You are carried away, one might say “seduced”, with a delicate, almost sweet creamy consistency that lasts as long as – BAM! – this wonderful lactic acid will not appear, reminding you that this is not for buns, no, no. (Actually, I would bet it on a cake, but that would be an extreme experience.) The sequence is somewhere between commercial stuff and Mexican foam, with little lumps that say, “Hey buddy, you made me.”
I am not a breeding woman. I often lick excess sour cream off a spoon before tossing it in the sink, but never before have I eaten several tablespoons of sour cream in a row as if it were yogurt. It’s more than nachos, chips, and dips. If I had fresh berries, I would eat them with fresh berries. I would eat this on a slice of lemon pound cake. It can be salty or sweet, that’s what I’m telling you.
But I have to tell you how to do it. After all, I get paid to do it. To make a beautiful jar of sour cream with your own hands, you will need:
- Glass jar with clean lid
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (I wouldn’t replace regular milk and vinegar here; I tried this and it didn’t thicken after 48 hours, so I went back and added another teaspoon of vinegar. It thickened after another 12 hours, but I don’t think so that it tastes so good.)
Rinse the jar with water, then microwave for a minute to sterilize. Let dry on a clean kitchen towel. Add the cream and buttermilk to the jar, close it and shake to combine, but do not shake the jar hard enough to whip the cream. Place the jar in a fairly warm area of the kitchen and step away for at least 24 hours, although if your kitchen is cool it may take 48. Stir and store the sour cream in the refrigerator if you don’t. plan to eat it immediately. (You must eat immediately.)
05/14/2020 11:45 AM: Added additional information to this story about replacing buttermilk with vinegar and plain milk.