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Sour cream is a dairy product
Dairy product

Dairy products are generally defined as foodstuffs produced from milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory....
 rich in fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
s obtained by fermenting a regular cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
 by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria

The Lactic Acid Bacteria comprise a clade of Gram-positive, low-GuanineCytosine, acid-tolerant, generally non-sporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by their common metabolic and physiological characteristics....
. The bacterial culture, introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Though only mildly sour in taste, the name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial fermentation, sometimes referred to as "souring
Souring

Souring is a cooking technique that uses exposure to an acid to effect a physical and chemical change in food. This acid can be added explicitly , or can be produced within the food itself by a microbe such as lactobacillus....
".

Traditional Sour cream, made out of cream, contains from 12 to 16 percent butterfat
Butterfat

Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to fat content of milk....
, and gets its characteristic tang from the lactic acid
Lactic acid

Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
 created by the bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
.






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Sour cream is a dairy product
Dairy product

Dairy products are generally defined as foodstuffs produced from milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory....
 rich in fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
s obtained by fermenting a regular cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
 by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria

The Lactic Acid Bacteria comprise a clade of Gram-positive, low-GuanineCytosine, acid-tolerant, generally non-sporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by their common metabolic and physiological characteristics....
. The bacterial culture, introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Though only mildly sour in taste, the name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial fermentation, sometimes referred to as "souring
Souring

Souring is a cooking technique that uses exposure to an acid to effect a physical and chemical change in food. This acid can be added explicitly , or can be produced within the food itself by a microbe such as lactobacillus....
".

Sour cream


Traditional

Sour cream, made out of cream, contains from 12 to 16 percent butterfat
Butterfat

Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to fat content of milk....
, and gets its characteristic tang from the lactic acid
Lactic acid

Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
 created by the bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
. Commercially produced sour cream often contains additional thickening agents such as gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
, rennin
Rennet

Rennet is a natural complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese....
, guar
Guar

The guar bean or cluster bean , an annual legume, is the source of guar gum. It grows best under conditions with frequent rainfall, but tolerates arid conditions well....
 and carrageen, as well as acids to artificially sour the product.

Light varieties

Light sour cream contains about 40 percent less butterfat than regular sour cream because it is made from a mixture of milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 and cream rather than just cream.

Non-fat varieties

Non-fat sour cream is thickened with stabilizers and thickeners such as corn starch, gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
, carrageenan
Carrageenan

Carrageenans or carrageenins are a family of linear sulphated polysaccharides extracted from red seaweeds. The name is derived from a type of seaweed that is abundant along the Ireland coastline....
, and guar gum
Guar gum

Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum....
, and contains no or trace amounts of butterfat. Sour cream contains 14 grams of fat per 4 ounce serving.

Storage

Sour cream is not fully fermented, and as such must be stored under refrigeration
Refrigeration

Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable....
. As with other dairy products, is usually sold with an expiration date stamped on the container, though whether this is a "sell by" a "best by" or a "use by" date varies with local regulation. Cheese and milk products like sour cream that develop while stored visible mold
Mold

Molds include all species of microscopic fungi that grow in the form of Multicellular organism filaments, called hyphae. In contrast, microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts....
 should be immediately discarded. These types of mold produce mycotoxins and aflatoxins which are potentially dangerous in very small amounts. (This does not include cheese intentionally inoculated with mold, e.g. Roquefort or Brie
Brie

'Brie' is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie fran?aise, corresponding roughly to the modern d?partement in France of Seine-et-Marne in the ?le-de-France R?gion in France; and the eastern Br...
 blue.)

Uses

Used primarily in the cuisines of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, sour cream is often used as a condiment
Condiment

In the United Kingdom, a condiment used to be confined to salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Use of the term condiment has broadened and now is generally considered to be any prepared edible Chemical substance or mixture, often Food preservation or Fermentation , that is added in relatively small quantities, most often at the table...
. It is a traditional topping for baked potato
Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family. The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well....
es, added cold along with chopped fresh chives. It is used as the base for some creamy salad dressings and can also be used in baking
Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by Heat convection, and not by Thermal radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones....
, added to the mix for cakes, cookies, American-style biscuits
Biscuit

File:Runny hunny.jpgA biscuit is a small Baking product; the exact meaning varies markedly in different parts of the world. The etymology of the word "biscuit" is from Latin language via Middle French and means "cooked twice", hence biscotti in Medieval Italian ....
, doughnuts
Doughnut

A doughnut is a sweet, deep-fried piece of dough or batter . The two most common types are the torus-shaped ring doughnut and the filled doughnut, a flattened sphere injected with jam, jelly, cream, custard, or other sweet filling....
 and scones. Can be eaten as a dessert, with fruits or berries and sugar topping. In Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, crema
Crema

Crema can refer to:* Crema, Italy, a town in Italy* Crema, a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso* Crema, Mexican sour cream, more akin to cr?me fra?che...
, a slightly different variation of soured cream, is a staple ingredient of a full breakfast
Full breakfast

A full breakfast is a traditional cooked meal, typically and originally eaten at breakfast, though now often served at other times during the day ....
. Sour cream can also provide the base for various forms of dip used for dipping potato chips or crackers
Cracker (food)

A cracker is a type of biscuit that developed from military hardtack and nautical ship biscuits....
, such as "onion dip." In Tex-Mex cuisine
Tex-Mex cuisine

"Tex-Mex" is a term used to describe a cuisine of the United States that blends food products available in the United States and the culinary creations of Mexican-Americans influenced by the Mexican cuisine....
, it is often used as a substitute for crema
Crema

Crema can refer to:* Crema, Italy, a town in Italy* Crema, a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso* Crema, Mexican sour cream, more akin to cr?me fra?che...
 in nachos
Nachos

Nachos are a popular snack food, originating in Mexico and associated with Tex-Mex cuisine. In their simplest form, nachos are usually tortilla chips or totopos covered in melted cheese....
, burritos, taquitos or guacamole
Guacamole

Guacamole is an avocado-based relish or Food dip....
.

See also

  • Crème fraîche
    Crème fraîche

    Cr?me fra?che , of France origin, is the Western European counterpart to the soured cream more traditional to Western Europe and Anglophone cultures....
    , french lightly soured cream.
  • Smetana (dairy product), a heavier sour cream, used in the Slavic, Finnish and Hungarian cuisines.
  • Souring
    Souring

    Souring is a cooking technique that uses exposure to an acid to effect a physical and chemical change in food. This acid can be added explicitly , or can be produced within the food itself by a microbe such as lactobacillus....
     for a discussion of the souring process
  • Yoghurt
    Yoghurt

    Yoghurt, yogurt, yoghourt, youghurt or yogourt , is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk....
    , produced with other kinds of Lactobacillus bacteria.
  • Fermented milk products
    Fermented milk products

    Fermented milk products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc....
     for a comparison of sour cream with other fermented milk products.
  • Cream
    Cream

    Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
    , a more general term.
  • Crema
    Crema

    Crema can refer to:* Crema, Italy, a town in Italy* Crema, a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso* Crema, Mexican sour cream, more akin to cr?me fra?che...


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