How to Make Sour Cream

A hand holding a spoon of homemade sour cream over a full jar.

I discovered the trick to making a THICK and tangy yet not too zingy sour cream, just like my family was used to from the store!

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Inactive Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Servings quart

Calories 51 kcal

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream skimmed from raw milk or pasteurized cream from store
2 teaspoons gelatin
¼ teaspoon mesophyllic culture I've had good success with aby2c yogurt culture too!

Instructions

Stir cream and gelatin together and let sit a few minutes.
Warm to 90-95F, then sprinkle mesophyllic culture over the cream and let sit a few minutes to rehydrate.
Whisk it in, pour into a jar (i like to rinse jar i used to scoop cream into with hot water to warm it up). Put a lid on and wrap with a tea towel. Tuck somewhere warm (i like beside stove) and let sit 24-36 hrs.
To know if its done, gently tip it on its side, does it look like its thickening up? If so, move to fridge. If not, leave another 6-12 hrs and check again.
When its chilled, it will have thickened up more and be PERFECT for all your sour cream needs!

Notes

Make this to your desired thickness - incubation time is anywhere from 24-36 hours depending on your preference.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 51kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 4mgPotassium: 14mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 217IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!