making sour cream
having a formally trained chef on the almost foodies mailing list is so awesome. we are planning another mexican themed potluck on wednesday. this dude very casually threw out a suggestion and then as an afterthought said “oh, make your own sour cream, it’s a very little effort job, plus it takes three days to culture so you’ll have a friend to watch on your counter.” say what? make your own sour cream? who knew? well, he knew. i remember reading about making crema in a rick bayless cookbook back in the day. it seemed like too much work for me at the time.
tonight i started the sour cream making process. it should be done just in time for the potluck on wednesday night. here is what i did (under the direction of trained chef dude):
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup buttermilk
mix together and pour into very clean pint glasses
cover with plastic wrap and make a tight seal. chef dude says put a rubber band around the plastic wrap. i used painters tape (hey, it was either that or yarn). mark the time you sealed them up, store in a cool, dry, dark place and then check on it in 36 hours. look for the separation of the solids. spoon out the clump of white stuff on the top, chill and whisk. discard the really thin liquid along with any orange stuff.
i feel a little weird posting the recipe without knowing how it will work out for me (or if i even interpreted it right). i am documenting the progress over on flickr. i’m pretty excited, but am trying not to get my hopes up too high.
hey folks. there was some confusion. cool and dark is bad for this “experiment” (thanks for the confidence). in actuality it should be kept in a rather warm place in the kitchen. since i don’t know to whom i’m speaking i won’t say “hot” because then you might get carried away but warm is good. no direct sunlight if possible though, this product will be much more susceptible to bacteria/mold than the plastic tub brand. be on the look out for a subtle pink/orange discoloration from the 2-4 day mark after refrigeration. this will likely be your shelf life so be careful.
thank you! i will move it to the counter top and take a new photo tomorrow. that could’ve been scary.
when the final product is whipped speed in the name of the game. i don’t know if everyone already knows this but cold protein rich liquids whip quicker when cold. so once you’ve separated the goodness put in a thin metal bowl in the fridge for a good 20-30mins. about an hour before you plan on whipping this shit up place your mixing bowl (preferably one from a kitchenaid) plus the whip attachment in the freezer. plop the sour cream in the mixing bowl (optional, add flavoring except salt) and whip it up good just to thicken. we’re not looking for whip cream, just some stability. it should kind of stretch if pulled away by a spoon. also remember that even though it has been in the fridge it’s not completely cold, so it will also statbilize in the fridge. it this is unclear feel free to email mikerock@gmail.com for a better interpretation. also include your prob/confusion so i can figure out a better way to explaining. anyways, back to out story, make sure to remove s.cream from mixing bowl and into a plastic or glass container and store in fridge. good luck and thomas keller speed