Sour cream – Outside the Box

…er, make that “tub.” If you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo with some delicious Mexican food, why not ditch the little plastic container filled with stabilizers, emulsifiers, and who knows what else, that you call “sour cream”?

Yes, it is completely possible to make your own sour cream, and it is not only way yummier than said plastic tub of mystery ingredients, it is super easy. Like Bob and his balsamic reduction, I’m ashamed to even call this a recipe. Still, I feel it deserves its own post.

I’ve seen recipes to make sour cream on the net, and they all have to do with actually “souring” the cream by adding a culture. This is ridiculously unnecessary. I figured out a few years ago that I could make sour cream the exact same way you make sour milk, which is a great substitute for buttermilk.

Here’s all you need:

1 cup heavy cream, set out for a few minutes to take the chill off
juice from 1 lemon or lime, about 1/4 cup

Mix them together and let them sit at room temperature to thicken for 10-15 minutes. Give it another stir, and voila! You have sour cream. Once you try this, you’ll never go back to that factory-made stuff. The taste is unmistakeably fresh and lightly tart, the perfect balance for spicy food. If you don’t use it all up right after you make it, you can put it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days, just stir again before using.