Thus, it has become the story of every household to take food outside at least four times a month. There may be two possibilities behind this. Sometimes, the tiredness doesn’t allow to us go to the kitchen, or due to the taste of home food being, one has to turn towards outside food. Whatever be the reason, tiredness or the same boring menu of house, the choices are in our hands, but comparing homemade food with others would be unfair.
Therefore, add health & taste to your dishes without any long process. So let's acquaint yourself with one such ingredient about which you are unaware even after knowing. Maybe sour creams must use in every kitchen at least once. It not only makes the food yummy; but also includes in the list of healthy food. Moreover, due to not having much knowledge about the usage, it is used only in this limited way. So let's know in detail about the properties & use of sour creams today & troubleshoot its substitutes.
First, understand its nature.
As the name suggests, the first ingredient in Sour Cream is the cream. Lactic acid & productive bacteria are also seminal compounds. Sour cream is the cream, prepared to thicken by bacteria & Lactic acid culture added here; due to this, the amount of lactose in the cream increases & the cream goes on thickening & this whole process is called sour & the ingredient made of it is called sour cream.
For centuries it has been used in different ways & names in other countries. Like, For Russia says Smetana, while Mongolians know from Kumis. Historians also believe that Russia had also discovered it & when it comes to flavor & texture, it is creamy, rich, thick & reminiscent of heavy cream & cream cheese. There is bitterness in the taste, but it can be more or less depending on the products. It can use for garnishing such as topping or dressing salad & for dipping, that's why it consumes a small quantity & if seen for health purposes, then it is effective.
Sour cream contains nutrients like minerals, vitamins & good bacteria that are essential for gut & eye health & strong bone & teeth but keeping in mind the side effects. The reason is that it is a high-calorie food & how it can be harmful you must know. High-calorie food directly targets the heart & also promotes heart diseases. This way, you know about what is the importance the sour cream.
Uses of Sour Cream
Creamy Pasta
Who doesn't love the smell of creamy pasta from restaurants? The fragrance can also come from your kitchen with the help of sour cream. It will add a creamy texture and give sourness to the pasta.
Sour Cream Cake
Many times, people complain that their cake is not moist & light like a market cake. So whenever you make a cake, do not forget to mix it. It will prevent the cake from becoming dense & dry.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
We have many chicken recipes, one of which is Parmesan-Crusted chicken. In restaurants, its dressing makes the heart happy. Chicken breast topping with breadcrumbs, herbs & cheese, but before this, apply a layer of lather sour cream on the chicken breast; so the toppings stick. This is how sour cream acts as glue. Next time whenever you make Parmesan-Crusted chicken, definitely follow this trick.
Tomato Soup
Kids need some tangy & yummy snacks in the evening. The best option for this is tomato soup, but homemade soup doesn't have as thick as restaurants soup. Use sour cream to increase thickness or creaminess.
Sour Cream Doughnuts
Have you ever seen adding sour cream to the doughnuts? If not, try it once. Know its benefits; it will give a cake-like texture to the doughnuts & will not allow them to be oversweet.
Taco Pizza
If you make pizza at home, kick it with sour cream to flavor with extra tanginess. It will remind you of the taste of well-known Mexican Taco Pizza & your family will be able to enjoy different cuisines at home.
Sour Cream Zucchini Bread
Bread in breakfast is such a thing that is common on every household plate, but eating the same bread always makes you feel bored. If you are going to beak it at home, add one more ingredient, sour cream & because this makes bread fluffy. Famous Sour Cream Zucchini Bread cannot imagine without this component.
For Dressings & Dips
No matter how delicious your food is, it doesn't look attractive until the dressing. For which you restore different types of catch-up & Chutney etc. Garnishing of sour cream gives a new look to the dull dish & attracts the attention of the people. Some snacks use sour cream to complement the flavor that even catch-up can't. Sour cream can replace catch-up & kids like it.
Alternative of mayonnaise: Mayonnaise revives burgers & sandwiches. Everyone knows about the friendship between burgers, sandwiches & mayonnaise, but sour cream considers an addition to mayonnaise & only then the layer of sour cream can apply to a sandwich or burger.
How does a sour cream assess your work? It adds a different taste to even tasteless food & the best thing is that there is no need of separate effort to set them just adds a component, sour cream which you will not get tired or troubled & your family will get the taste of restaurant food at home.
But what if sour cream is not available at home? And don't be compelled to go to the market either & it is also possible that you are allergic to sour cream, but you are used to it & has become your need.
Sour cream is a dairy & high-calories product, so maybe vegans & heart patients will avoid using it & being high in calories increases the risk of heart disease & high blood pressure. Those who wish to have a slim body should also keep a distance from it because it is a high-fat diet & in such situations, we need a suggestion that fills this gap.
There is no need to worry because the substitutes for sour cream are standing up in the queue to make up for its shortage.
Both dairy & non-dairy products can be included in these lists which are beneficial & tasty options for vegetarians & vegans. Interesting thing is that even with the help of some ingredients, you can prepare its substitutes at home.
Alternatives to Sour Cream in Dairy Products
Plain Yogurt
Forget sour creams if you have yogurts available & it is such a thing that it is effortlessly available in every home. Its texture & sourness deceive you into whether it is sour creams or yogurts; for dressing & dips, it is healthy, so using fresh better from both taste & health point of view. If you are looking for an alternative to sour cream for baking recipes, add one tablespoon of baking soda and 1 cup of yogurt & this mixture will also work like sour cream.
While making the dip, use Greek yogurt. But for the perfect consistency of a dish, then in 1 cup of yogurt, & 1 tablespoon of flour & 2 tablespoons of water can use instead of sour cream.
Curd
Doctor always prefers curd for natural antibiotics & if it is alternatives to sour cream, then no one can replace of curd. The reason is its tanginess. A smooth sour cream can create with blending of curd, lime juice & heavy cream.
Butter or Sour Milk
Sour creams can replace with buttermilk & sour milk. By the taste, you will not be to grasp that it is not sour creams, but the thickness of butter & sour creams will disappoint because sour creams are made thick, bitter or sour milk is not & this is the reason why one cannot expect garnishing & dipping from it & buttermilk needs to add extra butter to make it smooth & creamy.
Cottage Cheese & Cream Cheese
Cottage cheese is one such dairy product rich in many nutrients & also gives energy, that's why cottage cheese has a different plate in the healthy platter. Acidifying milk is required for preparing cottage cheese & results in the curds separating from the whey. Although cottage & milk cheese are similar in taste, their consistency is different.
To make a perfect dip, blend 2 cups of cottage cheese with 1 cup of yogurt or buttermilk. As you know that sour cream contains high calories for this, you look for alternatives that are both healthy & tasty. Blend 1 tsp. lime juice & 2 tsps. skim milk with low-fat cottage & the combination of health & taste is ready. Cream cheese can also use in place of cottage cheese, but only 3/4 cup, with no changes in other ingredients.
Evaporated Milk
It is mostly in cans. Evaporated milk prepare by reducing about 60% of the water of ordinary milk. There is a difference between evaporated milk & sour cream in terms of consistency. Whisk 1 cup of evaporated milk with 1 tsp. vinegar or lime juice until thickened. It will help to increase the bulkiness of the soup.
Fresh Cream
The last name in this list is that of fresh cream that makes from bacterial culture & its thickness is less in comparison to sour cream & in terms of taste & it does not have the tanginess of sour cream. But it is a high-fat food & mare so than sour cream.
Dairy-Free Alternatives of Sour Cream
Vegan Sour Cream
Vegan lifestyle has become very common nowadays. Hence, products like vegan sour cream are also available in the market. Cashew is the main ingredient in this & apart from this, apple cider vinegar & nutritional yeast are also necessary ingredients & in taste & consistency, it is similar to sour cream & vinegar makes sourness in it.
Coconut Milk
Fitness freaks might be avoiding sour cream because it's a high-calorie diet & in this case, they can also use sour cream made from coconut milk & which also has more nutrients than sour cream. Being lactose-free is also beneficial for those who are allergic to sour cream. But how can prepare sour cream with the help of coconut milk? It's as simple as simply skimming off full-fat coconut milk & blending it with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, & sea salt & this is how plant-based sour cream will be ready for topping & dipping.
Cashew
Surprisingly, cashew is also a substitute for sour cream & this is also the main ingredient of sour cream. Cashew is sweet & buttery in taste, so it suits to be an alternative to sour cream. To make cashew into sour cream, soak & grind it with vinegar. You can also prepare it by setting consistency accordingly. From salad dressings to increase the thickness of the soup, it uses everywhere. Also remember that though this is a fatty food, about 28 grams can contain 12 grams of fat.
Soy
If there is talk of vegan & there is no mention of soy, the matter can't be complete & the reason is the protein which makes you healthy & energetic. Soy milk-based sour creams are fluently available in the market & also the perfect alternatives to sour cream for vegans because it contains the same amount of fat & calories as in the original sour cream. For example, original sour cream has 54 calories & 6 grams of fat, & soya-based has 57 calories & 5 grams of fat. You can also prepare it at home without any extra effort by adding vinegar & lime juice to soy milk; we can fill the shortage of sour cream.
Let's share with you some recipes which are the substitute for sour cream; & take 2 or 5 minutes to make.
Sour Cream made with curd
Ingredients:
- Curd -1 cup
- Whole Milk -1/2 cup
- Lemon Juice -2 tsps.
Directions:
Stir heavy cream, whole milk, & lemon juice in a jar continuously for 5 to 7 minutes. Cover this jar with kitchen paper & put an elastic band on top & leave it for 8 hours. The cream might separate while resting. Stir this mixture continuously until it mixes again & when mixed well; close the jar tightly & leave it in the refrigerator for 8 hours for setting thickness. After 8 hours, you will get the sour cream ready. You can use it as per your wish.
Focus on the main points here, the preparation time for the recipe is 2 minutes & it is ready to use in about one day with 143 kcal.
Sour Cream made with Yogurt
Ingredients:
- Yogurt - 1 cup
- Fresh Cream - 2 tsps.
- Salt - According to taste
- Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp.
Directions:
Put a muslin cloth on a strainer & place that in a deep dish. Now pour the yogurt into the strainer on which the cloth has spread, now leave it overnight in the fridge, the next day remaining water gets stored in the deep dish & you will get yogurt on the strainer. In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, fresh cream, lime juice & salt until it is of a smooth texture.
Sour Cream made with Buttermilk
Ingredients:
- Heavy Cream: 1 cup
- Butter Milk: 1/4 cup
Directions:
Mix heavy cream & buttermilk in a container now, close it tightly & leave at room temperature for 24 hours & after 24 hours; it will get thickness & buttermilk-based sour cream ready.
The Bottom Line
Sour cream is multifunctional. It has multiple roles as baking, garnishing, dressing, or dipping. Vegetarians & non-vegetarians can cook a wide variety of dishes with just one sour cream & try these once at home without any extra effort or ingredients. Due to being a fatty food, many people say not to give it a place in their recipes. Since it is a dairy product, vegans may avoid it & lactose bacteria are the main ingredient & that's why some people may be allergic also. These circumstances force them to have other choices.
Luckily we have both dairy & non-dairy choices, which fill the space of sour cream & some of these products are available in the market & some can prepare at home with 2 or 3 ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
How safe is homemade sour cream?
Want to make & use sour cream at home & you can try it in minutes with different ingredients, according to your needs. Market-based sour cream can store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, but homemade sour creams are pure & fresh & stored for a long time & by looking at some signs, you can guess whether the cream is useless or not, like:
- moldy or foul smellmold growing on the surface
- turning yellow or other colors
Is the sour cream nutritious?
It is a dairy product made from fermented creams. The regular sour creams available on the market; are prepared from lactic acid bacteria in pasteurized creams and contain 18% milk fat. Regular sour cream is a high diet & has nutrients like calcium & riboflavin, which are also insufficient quantities. It is a healthy diet & nowadays people are consuming it in many ways. The nutrition facts of sour cream are as follows:
As is known from the information from USDA, two tablespoons i.e. 29 grams of sour cream contain:
- Calories: 57
- Fat: 5.6g
- Sodium: 9mg
- Carbohydrates: 1.3g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 1g
- Protein: 0.7g
As essential nutrition, it contains prime elements like:
- Carbs: 2 tablespoons contain almost 1.3 grams of carbohydrates; it can understand that it is a low carbohydrates product.
- Fat: It has low carbohydrates but high calories. Maybe this is the reason why some people avoid consuming it. It includes fats like saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat & monounsaturated fat also.
- Protein: It is also declared a healthy food because it contains protein.
- Vitamins & Minerals: A single serving of sour cream does not contribute any substantial vitamins or minerals.
Why sour creams are beneficial?
Undoubtedly, sour cream is a package of benefits. Firstly, if you pay attention to its ingredients, you get that it prepares the lactose acid bacteria, which are good. Good bacteria take care of gut health & strengthen the digestive system, fermented foods are the best source of it & sour cream can include in this list. Additionally, for promoting a healthy heart, its consumption is fruitful, it would be a bit surprising to hear still possible. How can a high-calorie-rich food be good for the heart? But if you are using low-fat sour cream, it will show the result of a happy heart.
You can remove regular sour creams with its alternative, some of them are available on the market, or home versions are also appreciable. To maintain weight management one should try low-fat sour cream. Indeed, some studies & research also prove that acquiring 3 to 4 times low-fat sour cream per day balances body weight, but it is only possible with dairy-based products which contain calcium & minerals.
How to serve regular sour cream?
Sour cream has a power that makes an ordinary dish to extraordinary. Reasons for its creamy texture, thickness, & because of these it makes the king of garnishing & topping. Baked potato & Mexican dishes are nothing if they don't get the tanginess of sour cream. It also makes a perfect base for dips and sauces. People give preference to the sour cream in the kitchen according to their requirements. They believe it is the best element of baking or prime ingredients for increasing consistency.
Children can apply it to the burger or sandwich.
