When you start looking into recipe books from other countries, it is common to come across strange dairy ingredients, practically unknown in Spain, at least until recently.
American and British cuisine use a lot sour-creamcream or sour creamespecially in pastries, and luckily we can easily make it at home.
The name in our language does not sound very appetizing but it is a fantastic product for preparing doughs and sweets, but it is also widely used as a base for sauces, condiment and dressing for creams and soups. An easy substitute is natural yogurt, although if we are not in a hurry I recommend you make your own homemade sour cream when you ask for a recipe.
The packaged sour cream consists of cream that has been fermented by the addition of lactic acid-producing bacteria. It usually has a fat percentage of around 18%-25%, although there are different consistencies. The American is usually thicker than the European, and has similar equivalents in other countries, such as the German Schmand. The French crème fraîche, while similar, is a different product.
This is the recipe faster and easier to prepare sour-cream, ideal for use as an ingredient. It can also be made with kefir, probiotic cultures, buttermilk, or yogurt, but these take longer.
We can use liquid cream for cooking or whipping cream, with or without lactose. The higher the proportion of fat, the thicker the cream will be., that’s why I recommend using a whipping cream. Then we can lower it with a little milk or whey, if necessary.
Put the cream in a container, add the lemon juice and mix with a spoon or a few rods. Cover and let rest for half an hour in a warm place.. When it has thickened, add a pinch of salt and mix well.
We can also accelerate the process beating with some energy with the rods; if the fat content is high it will thicken very quickly, without needing to beat as much as if we were whipping egg whites.
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With what to accompany the sour cream or sour cream
We must forget that we associate “sour” with something bad, the sour cream, cream or sour cream It has a very interesting flavor to accompany roast potatoes or vegetables, top soups and creams, prepare a dressing or fill sandwiches. Just add a few fresh herbs or spices and adjust the salt or pepper to taste.
I prepare it mainly to use in confectionery. Although it can be substituted for yogurt, as I have already mentioned, the truth is that provides a distinct flavor and texture. This bundt cake, for example, I prepared again using sour cream instead of dairy and it came out delicious. It can also be used in recipes that call for crème fraîche, or even mascarpone cheese, if we let it thicken up a lot.
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