Can you Freeze Sour Cream? How to make fresh sour cream?

Can you freeze sour cream? 

Have you ever given your daily meal a light touch of sour cream? It’s brilliant, isn’t it? To your surprise, sour cream acts as a balancing ingredient for those who are dieting to gain weight or lose weight. In both cases, the quantity of sour cream intake matters. 2 spoons of sour cream on a delicious strawberry salad can deliver enough tastefulness. Similarly, two spoons of sour cream are sufficient for a weight loss diet. In that case, if you have bought a 500 grams packet of sour cream, you may be wondering, can you freeze sour cream? No doubt, leaving sour cream around in hot climates can be risky because sour cream already initiates from a fermenting process of regular cream using lactic acid bacteria. So, the chance of sour cream going bad within 6-7 hours in hot temperatures is high. 

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However, the main question stands, if you freeze sour cream, how do you do it? And, for how long frozen sour cream remains intact in the context of taste and texture? You will find answers to all questions in this reading. So, without any long minutes of discussion, let’s get started: 

#1: Why do you need to freeze sour cream? 

To begin with, sour cream is a high-calorie dairy product that comes with a unique texture. From the look of its colour, the touch of texture, and the smell of its scent, you can tell that it has gone bad. But, if you want to protect the freshness of sour cream for daily use, you can freeze it. But, of course, there are some conditions related to the course. For example, frozen sour cream remains a non-recommendable course by medical experts because with every hour, the quality of sour cream decreases. The reason is, Sour cream is produced using regular cream dipped with lactic acid bacteria, which changes its taste, texture, and smell. 

Thus, the best way to avoid freezing sour cream is to prepare a bowl of fresh sour cream at home, which only takes a few hours and 2 minutes to hustle. All you have to do is wait. Read ahead to see recipes for how to make fresh sour cream at home. 

At what temperature can you freeze sour cream? 

For the most part, it is best to freeze sour cream at a slightly cold temperature. More often than not, temperature no less or more than -18 degrees celsius allows sour cream in the freezer to remain intact for no more than 14 days (2 weeks). 

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In the event that you decrease the temperature, it will result in the icing of sour cream, which is very unhealthy. If you observe any icy change in the texture of sour cream, you must throw it away. In comparison, if you increase the recommended temperature, it will change sour cream’s texture akin to jelly, which is something you definitely wouldn’t want to eat or even smell. Imagine sour cream transforming into a sour dairy jelly? 

Thus, there are some tips and tricks you can follow in order to protect 99% of fresh sour cream’s texture, smell, and flavour while freezing it. Let’s see how? 

How can you freeze sour cream without losing its freshness? 

Method 1: Can you freeze sour cream in a bowl?

Wondering what the best way to freeze sour cream is? Well! There are not many methods to do it. But, using our cooking experts in house, we present a perfect way to freeze sour cream without hurting its texture. Here’s how:

• First of all, take a bowl (plastic preferably), large enough to store all the sour cream leftover.
• Now, use a plastic wrap (or foil) to cover the open end of the bowl. 
• Carefully place the bowl in the freezer. 

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Please note that in the above method, we recommend the use of plastic wrap to cover the open end of the bowl because often, freezer premises in the refrigerator start to drip when electricity is out, even for a few minutes. Henceforth, plastic wrap will protect any foreign substance from entering the sour cream. Henceforth, preventing its texture and taste at best. 

In the event that you don’t have plastic wrap available at home, you can replace it with aluminium foil as it is cold in nature. Thus, it will work in your favour. 

Method 2: Store and Freeze sour cream in cubic form

Believe it or not, but sour cream frozen in cubic form is often evident in big restaurants. Because it becomes easy for chefs to add sour cream to different dishes like lasagna, strawberry salad, waffle, etc., in a balanced manner. You just take out one cube at a time and keep the rest of the sour cream intact for later use. 

Without a doubt, for this method, you will require an empty ice tray. Further, follow the instructions given below: 

• First of all, take the ice tray and completely dry it using a lint-less cloth or kitchen rug (clean). 
• Now, take a spoonful of sour cream and fill the first hollow cube in the tray.
• Similarly, add the sour cream to each cube one by one. 
• Please ensure that you keep the cube 25% empty because you will require it to wrap using plastic food wrap. 
• Carefully wrap the tray. 
• Place it in the freezer.
• Set up the freezer’s temperature to -18 degrees celsius. 

Image credit: NYT Cooking – The New York Times, Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times. Prop Stylist: Amy Elise Wilson

As mentioned before, any changes in recommended temperature can cause a change in sour cream’s texture and taste. So, stay alert!

Now, each time you want sour cream, you can simply take out 1 or 2 cubes without compromising the condition of other sour cream cubes. 

How long does frozen sour cream remain edible? 

This question confuses most of the regular sour cream users. More often than not, web sources will convince you that you can freeze sour cream for the long term, akin to 2 months. However, that’s very untrue and unhealthy. In the event that you want to eat fresh and healthy sour cream, you must not freeze it or consume it for more than two weeks. 

Please note that yoghurt is freezable and remains intact for two months which is also unhealthy from our perspective. But, because yoghurts come in packs that are convenient to freeze and eat even if it is cold, it is considerable. But, not in the case of sour cream. 

Should I wait for frozen cream to melt before use? 

It is rather logical to wait for frozen sour cream to come to its old form before use. Because, if you put non-melted or icy sour cream on pancakes or lasagna, it would be good. In fact, you won’t be able to feel its actual taste on your tongue. The icy layer on the top of the sour cream cube will numb your taste buds temporarily. 

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Henceforth, you have to use your cooking skills to utilize frozen sour cream. For example, if you want to add a cube of frozen sour cream to the sauce, you can add it while the soup is still cooking. As a result, the cube will melt in the soup and discharged icy water will boil and entirely dissolve in the soup. You wouldn’t feel any difference. 

Similarly, you can place cubic sour cream on the lasagna structure before putting it in the oven. In simple words, you can utilize sour cream cubes in any dish that is yet to be baked or cooked on the stove. 

How to make fresh sour cream at home? 

Believe it or not, but a homemade sour cream is much-much better than a frozen one that hasn’t been touched in a week. Even if you are a fresher/newbie in the kitchen, you can make sour cream because it doesn’t require that many ingredients, as well as the procedure, are too easy. So, let’s get started on this recipe: 

Collect the ingredients: 

• Milk
• Cream (thick)
• Lemon juice

Recipe: 

• First of all, take a clean jar with a dotty lid (so that it has access to air).
• Now, add milk to the jar.
• Then, add cream to it. 
• Mix well.
• Now, add one tablespoon (or more based on quantity of milk and cream) of lemon juice to the mixture.
• Mix well or steer the mixture.
• Close the lid. 
• Keep it as it is overnight (not less than eight hours. More if the climate is cold).

milk products tasty healthy dairy products on a table on sour cream in a bowl, cottage cheese bowl, cream in a a bank and milk jar, glass bottle and in a glass.

Tips: 

• You can also use a cloth (cotton preferably) to cover the jar and use a scrunchie to keep the cloth intact on the jar. 
• You can further use an airtight container to freeze homemade sour cream. 
• More often than not, homemade sour cream is less thick than the one you bring from the store because factories use artificial thickening ingredients to give it that type of texture. 
• It is recommendable to use whole milk in place of toned milk because toned milk doesn’t produce cream naturally. 
• You can replace lemon juice with vinegar. However, it will slightly differ in taste. 
• In the event that you don’t have intact lemon or vinegar, you can use a tablespoon of sour cream (already available at home) to ferment the mixture. 

How to make vegan sour cream at home? 

Are you a vegan? Well! In that case, dairy is definitely not your first choice. However, it doesn’t mean you have to settle on your regular sour cream tastefulness on lasagna. So, what to do? We have a perfect solution for you. Vegan sour cream has become a real deal. Check out how to make sour cream without using any dairy products: 

Collect the ingredients: 

• Raw Cashew Nuts
• Water
• Lemon juice

Recipe: 

• Take a blender and blend cashew nuts into a white powder.
• Now, add half a cup of water into the power.
• And add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. 
• Blend well. 

The good part about this vegan sour cream recipe is that you don’t have to wait for 8 hours to taste it. You can add it to your salad, lasagna, soup, and whatsoever, right away. 

Image credit: Whole Foods Market

Why freezing cream is not a good idea? 

Do you know why doctors recommend avoiding consuming food that is not fresh? The reason is, consuming unfresh food can cause gastric issues in the long run. Not only this but food that isn’t prepared recently can increase one’s weight upon consumption. So, without getting into details of why and how here are some disadvantages of freezing sour cream: 

• It will feel weird in your mouth because it will lose softness. 
• Sour cream can be used as a topping when it’s fresh because it doesn’t drip. However, when you freeze it, its texture goes from creamy to drippy. It is no longer a topping option. 
• It is unhealthy as it contains lactic acid bacteria you preserved for so long. 

Epilogue

So, the answer to Can you freeze sour cream? is YES. You can freeze sour cream. However, it is not a fine idea to do so. For more information on the subject and forthcoming recipes, keep getting back to us. Bookmark for more!