How to Make Sour Cream

Although we can get lots of dairy products at the Union Square greenmarket, we haven’t been able to find sour cream. I needed some for a Super Bowl dip , so I did a little internet research. Everyone seems to use the same method and it’s insanely easy. Will we use it every time? Probably not.   In most recipes we substitute our homemade yogurt for sour cream, but it might be worth it the few times we can’t make the switch.

1. Heat 1 cup of cream to 180 degrees in a double boiler (or our makeshift Pyrex measuring cup in a pot of water). If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the cream until it’s almost, but not quite, boiling.

   

2. Remove the cream from heat and let it cool down to 80-90 degrees. This took about 2 hours sitting on the counter, but would go faster if you put it in the refrigerator or an ice bath. If you don’t have a thermometer, judge by touch – the cream should be body temperature, not hot or cold, when you stick your finger in it.

   

3. Pour the cream into a glass container (we used a pint jar) and either whisk in 1 tablespoon of buttermilk or add the buttermilk and give the jar a good shake.
4. Leave the jar (covered) on your counter for 24-48 hours.

   

We used it after 24 hours, because we had to leave for the party, but it was a little thin. Extra time would have probably thickened it up. It still tasted delicious, though! It’s very similar to making yogurt at home. It’s mentally hard, at first, to encourage bacteria to grow in something you plan to eat, but the results helped us get over that!