Kefir sour cream tastes just like store bought sour cream except way, way better. Making it is easy as…kefir. Where you would normally pour milk over your kefir grains for you next batch, you will substitute cream. Then leave it as you would kefir. (My kefir cultures in about 12 hours in the summer and 24 hours in cooler weather). Once it is thick and creamy (not totally set), you are ready for the tricky part, removing your grains. Okay, it’s not that tricky, it just takes way longer than regular milk kefir. I hold my mesh strainer over a clean storage jar, spoon in some sour cream and then gently stir the mix with the rounded end of a chopstick, slowly pushing the sour cream into the jar and keeping the grains in the strainer. Once you’ve strained the sour cream into the jar, stick it in the fridge where it will completely set into sour cream texture. You are all done! You made delicious sour cream!!
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[…] in my house is one made with an ingredient that can be tricky to find in the stores: homemade sour cream or creme fraiche. If you haven’t made your own yet, it is truly worth it. The flavor of […]
laura says
can i continue using the grains for kefir after taking them out of the sour cream??
Amanda says
Absolutely, Laura. The only tricky part is straining them all out. If you have one of the grains, it’s super easy, but if, like many you have lots of smaller “florets” you’ll need to work a bit to get them all out. You can also culture using the kefir itself (instead of the grains):
Have fun!
Kristin says
Sounds lovely! How long does it take to set in the fridge?
Amanda says
Thanks, Kristin! It depends on how set it is when you strain your grains. I usually strain at night and it’s ready by morning.
Emily says
Does this work with ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream or half and half?
Amanda says
Hi Emily,
I can’t say for sure about UHT since I’ve never tried it, but the science indicates that it should definitely work! Half and half won’t set up very thick, but heavy cream is spoonable.
Please share how it turns out!
Amanda
Charles Fisher says
I use UHT light cream for making kefir cream and it comes out great. Think off it as “sour half-and-half”. Regular heavy or whipping cream usually has about 30% fat, while light or cooking cream has about 18% fat.
I first heat the cream to 180 to 185℉ /82 to 85℃ and then cool it to around 86℉ / 30℃. Then I add the starter, usually from regular milk kefir.
I use a sous vide cooker at set to 86℉ / 30℃ for 10 hours. I take out the kefir cream and allow it to continue fermenting at room temperature until its temperature starts to decline, This is indicates that the fermentation process is finished.
Heidi says
How would you culture sour cream using the kefir itself as opposed to the grains?
Charles Fisher says
That’s what I do. I reserve some milk kefir for making a new batch of either kefir or kefir cream. Use about one (1) tablespoon per cup (225 ㎖) of cream as starter. I use light cream (half-and-half) and it works great for dips or dressing.
Frank says
Hello. Thanks for your input. HAve you used the UHT milk directly with the grains to make the regular Kefir. The reason i ask is that I’m in Ecuador and that’s the only milk I can get here, except for ULTRApasteurized, which I’m told not to use.
Nicole says
I have used nothing but UHT milk to make kefir…most recommend not to. They say it will not turn out good but that is the only kind of milk I can get so that is what I’ve always used and my kefir grains have been thriving for years now…hope that helps????
Maria says
Try powder milk – it seems purer to me
Diane degerolamo wyant says
Love this site and the recipes
Gwen says
This makes streaining easier:
capture your milk kefir grains in a ‘cage’ – a bag made of cheesecloth or muslin, or easiest of all, those string bags that onions or garlic or bulbs from the garden come in . The last is best because it doesn’t clog so easily.
Put your grains in the bag and put the bag in the jar or container with the cream. Then you just lift them out of the cream. You can squeeze the bag a bit to get out every last bit or leave the remnants clinging to the grains and the bag as a bit of a ‘starter’ from the next bag.
My grains swap from cream to milk or half-and-half quite happily without needing to be phased in gradually.
You can also do this with thick creamy coconut milk. Absolutely delicious. You can mix dairy milk and coconut milk.
Cat says
Fermented too long??
I used heavy whipping cream that I purchased at the grocery store. I put the cream and kefir grains in a glass jar. It’s winter, never warmer than 68° in the house- I checked it a few times over about 36 hours and it was not much thicker. By morning (48 hours) the cream was extremely thick. I strained the grains- it definitely smelt sour. I tasted it, and it tastes like sour milk, not quite like commercial sour cream. Did I let it ferment too long?