Sour cream (Creme Fraiche) is just so delicious, creamy, sour, fresh – a must-have in the summer as a dip, topping for a fried potato, or just simply as a bread spread. Mmh, yummy!
Note: This is an older recipe. We have since changed to a plant-based diet and make plant-based cream sauces.
Why make homemade sour cream?
Reading the ingredients on a store bought sour cream does not sound very appealing. Depending on the brand, you will find things like disodium phosphate, carrageenan, and guar gum that are just not on my list of favorite things to eat.
Let’s make some sour cream without additives, real and yummy!
How to make homemade Sour Cream
Sour cream is a natural product. Cream from fresh milk, if left in a warm place, sours. That’s easy! And that is exactly how grandma made sour cream.
However, most of us do not have real milk, and even less real unpasteurized cream. Good thing sour cream is very easy to make even from store-bought, pasteurized cream.
You will need:
1 part starter: cultured buttermilk, or kefir, or homemade sour cream
4 parts store bought cream (it has to be fresh so no other bacteria is in there)
It does not matter what cream you choose as long as it does not have additives and is not ultra pasteurized. Heavier cream will make thicker sour cream. I use 18% table cream, it works very well.
Mix the starter and the cream together in a jar and leave it in a warm place for 24-48 hours to ferment (til it thickens), transfer into the fridge, and use as needed. The thickening process will depend on the temperature.
Using the oven: Turn the oven light on (no additional heat) and put the jar in there. It thickens in just a few hours. You have to watch it, but it is not complicated; after a few times, you will know exactly how warm your house or oven is and how long it takes for the homemade sour cream to thicken.
Using a yogurt maker: The Instat Pot yogurt maker is the easiest no-fail way to make sour cream. Place the jar with the cream + starter mixture with the lid on into the pot. Set the yogurt maker to 9 hours. The sour cream will thicken perfectly every time.
How to use homemade sour cream
Mostly homemade sour cream is just the same as the store bought one, just more delicious and, of course, healthy. Since the homemade sour cream has no thickener or stabilizer it is not as stable as a store bought one. If using homemade sour cream for dips, mix all other ingredients first, then gently stir in the cream.
I love it in the potato salad with Broth and Sour Cream recipe, or simply as a spread for whole grain bread, yum yum.
Now that you know how easy it is to make homemade sour cream, you might also want to try homemade quark cheese.
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Thanks, Anna! Hope to give the homemade saurcream a try soon.
You are welcome Phyllis, I know you like fermented things, too.
You’re right Anna, homemade sourcream does taste much better!
This is interesting, Anna. In PNG, we made our own there too, but with a kind of cream that we can’t find here in North America and added a little vinegar. Andrew and I really missed that version of sour cream and for a long time, hated the stuff here, though now I’m used to it again. 🙂 Will have to give this version a try! 🙂
It would be so fun, if it taste just as you remember it! We sure love it, just had some for supper tonight.
I may have to try this. I keep make kefir so I have that part already. Do you know if you can use raw cream? I buy raw milk and then just pour off the cream for different things, like for coffee.
You sure can. Raw cream will thicken on its own, but with a starter you are more sure it will turn out great.
This is something I have always wanted to do but never have. I am pinning this! Thanks for the how to!
It is so simple to make and tastes yummy! Good luck!
This is very interesting. I have never considered making sour cream. It doesn’t sound difficult at all! You are right about all of those ingredients in store bought! Pinning!
No it is not difficult, just like with everything natural, it needs a bit of experience, to find out how it works in your kitchen.
I’m fascinated. I’ve never thought about making my own sour cream. Pinning!
Thank you for pinning!
Oh, this looks so good, Anna! I never even thought to read the ingredients on sour cream! It just always seemed so plain and simple to me.
Yes, one would think sour cream should be just sour cream, but in most cases it is not :(. Reading labels has become my standard.
Good recipe. Making your own food from scratch is always so much healthier. I have never made my own sour cream but do make homemade raw yogurt, but I just might try it. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from Home Acre Blog Hop.
Sure, it is not much different than making yogurt. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Anna,
. Just wanted to let you know that I choose your homemade sour cream recipe as one my featured posts for this weeks Real Food Fridays Blog Hop. Thanks for sharing and I am looking forward to seeing your post every week.
Aww, thank you! Yes we love homemade sour cream and other homemade foods.
Great post! This was chosen as a favorite on the From the Farm blog hop, thanks for sharing!
Great, thank you!
I was wondering the method you use for making your sour cream. I have been doing milk kefir. Do you just put a little already made milk kefir in the cream or do you place milk kefir grains in the cream and then strain when done?
Krista, I put a little already made milk kefir in the cream, to strain the grains out of sour cream is difficult.
How long does it last in the refrigerator? I use raw milk products. Thank you.
Not sure, longer though then the milk itself. As long as it smells good. You will notice for sure if it is gone bad.
What is kefir?
Kefir is a fermented milk product that originated centuries ago in the Caucasus mountains, and is now enjoyed by many different cultures worldwide. It’s made from milk. It is slightly sour and carbonated. The various types of beneficial microbiota contained in kefir make it one of the most potent probiotic foods available.
I love to take it one step further make a bunch of sour cream and then after it refrigerate put it in my kitchen made with the whipping function and make it into cultured butter and buttermilk. So amazingly flavorful in comparison to store-bought butter and buttermilk.
Great recipe but it should be pointed out that GMO corn is in no way “known” to cause cancer. You may suspect it or you may feel it to be true but to be known it must be demonstrated. GM produce has been exhaustively tested and never shown to cause any negative effects let alone cancer. This unfortunately persistent claim has its roots in internet lore, not science.
That’s just fact. THAT is what is known
We have become very loose in our use of words like “known” and all to quick to allow pseudoscience to masquerade as actual science. This seems to be a sentiment people generally agree to until it challenges their own biases at which point it becomes merely opposition propaganda but for crying out loud GMOs SAVE LIVES. Please research the source material offered by those making claims. It’s the responsible thing to do.
Thank you, I changed it. Try some plant-based creams I mentioned in the post, they are so delicious.