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Hi there!

I’m slowly working towards some simplicity within the home, but hey! It’s a lot of hard work!

I love having a go at growing my own veges and always use herbs fresh from my garden. I try to plant from seed whenever I can and have learnt to save and share my own seed for the following year. I make Award Winning preserves and pickles; and my husband brews Award Winning boutique beers as well. I love to stockpile and try to limit quick trips to the shops. I dabble in bread making and enjoy making my own stocks too.

I enjoy feeding my family good hearty meals, nothing like those tiny restaurant stacks you have to look for on the plate. My husband maintains our vehicles and machinery and we both enjoy fabricating on a small scale mostly relying on metal & timber recyclers for any materials needed.


While I don’t always have time to reply to comments, I love reading them. I hope you enjoy your stay and I hope you learn something new because I love sharing what I learn, and I'm always looking for another new skill myself.

Cheers!

Friday, August 5, 2011

On my mind...Sour Cream 4 ways


I've been experimenting again....isn't that what the kitchen is for....It's like one big laboratory in here sometimes...actually I've even moved some of my cultures into the lounge-room on top of the TV cabinet...as it is most often warmer in there......hubby is not real pleased, and when mum comes in, she enjoys seeing what is up there....

Christine over at Slowlivingessentials recently made sour cream, and it got me thinking.......

So here is my new experiment, making sour cream 4 ways......if you know of another way, please let me know in the comments below.

Sour Cream #1

2 cups fresh milk
1 cup fresh cream
1/4 cup freshly strained Kefir Milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the milk and cream together well, add Kefir Milk and combine. Stand for 12 to 24 hours (I did mine for 30 hours as I was busy doing other things).
Strain through cotton cloth for 24 hours
Then refrigerate in sealed container for up to 1 month.
If intending to keep for the month, stir occasionally.

After 30 hours, stir contents

then strain through cotton cloth,
(muslin would not be fine enough)

Immediately you can see the whey separating
the following morning there is about 1 cup of whey.
After straining overnight

This is by far the best way to make sour cream
(This worked well, with a lovely flavour)And the yield is better too.
Sour Cream #2

1 cup of fresh cream
2 tablespoons of freshly strained Kefir Milk

Add Kefir milk to fresh cream, cover with muslin and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours.....

(This worked well, with a lovely flavour)

Sour Cream # 3


1 cup of fresh cream
1 tablespoon of store bought or established sour cream. (I used store bought)

Stir the sour cream into the fresh cream, and leave at room temperature to sit and mature.....


This one is still sitting on the bench, after 35 hours; it is beginning to have a sour aroma.


Sour Cream # 4
I also made sour cream using buttermilk not so long ago...and you can check that out here....


This was a nice flavour, but not immediately...It was lovely after keeping in the fridge for a few extra days, and it thickened up nicely once chilled. There is a bit of mucking around heating the cream...and because I now know quicker ways to make sour cream, I won't be using this method again.

***********************************
Now I just need some good recipes for using up some of this lovely sour cream.....
for flavour, they all rated well
for time, I would use #2
for yield though, I am using #1.


So after doing this experiment....I think I will be using #1 to make my sour cream in the future....
Do you know of any other ways to make sour cream? 
If so, please let me know via the comments below.


9 comments:

  1. I've never made sour cream but I think I'll give it a go. I don't use it much, so I'll be interested to see some recipes if your readers send them through

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  2. Hi Narelle. I make a fair bit of sour cream. I use it in my baking and sometimes in soups and stews. I make mine using sour cream culture or from a previous batch of the old cream to start the fresh batch.

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  3. Hi Narelle, thanks for sharing your recipes. I've never made sour cream so I'm sorry I can't contribute but it looks like you have it down pat any way. Just visiting from Down To Earth. Have a lovely weekend.

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  4. Wow you made it so simple and I am please that I do not have to do all the experiments myself.

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  5. purplepear: I'll be making sour cream pastry in the next couple of days...so keep an eye out for that one....Hope I get some recipes too...lol

    rhonda jean: Thanks for reading my blog....I love using Sour Cream in baking and cooking...I use it in stews and soups too....what is the culture called that you use?

    Chris: No probs...I love sharing....Hope you have a lovely weekend too.

    Fiona from Arbordale Farm: Hi Fiona, it sure is simple...and now that I have a good local supplier for cream, it's even better. Glad to help...which one are you planning on using?

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  6. You have been busy once again nellymary! Thank you for passing on the many things you learn, you are a treasure :)

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  7. I'll probally just do no 3 as I have not ever tired or made kefir

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  8. Ahh, you made a batch with milk/cream. I was thinking of trying this as I nearly fell off the chair when I saw the fat content of the cream I was using. We had been buying the 'lite' sourcream from the shops with a much lower % of fat. Will have to experiment further. Great post Narelle, thanks for the linkback. Kefir is a land I haven't ventured to yet. :)

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  9. Thank you for your posts about Kefir - I did a bit of research after I read your blog and found out all about it. I now have my first batch of kefir sitting on the kitchen bench!!! Can't wait to try Sour Cream with it!

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