# Substitute for sour cream



## sarah (Mar 19, 2007)

i'm planning to make banana bars today.and the recipe calls for 1 cup of sour cream.We dont have sour cream here.i know that u can make it by mixing buttermilk with a little butter,but dont have buttermilk either .can i use plain yogurt instead or maybe just plain heavy cream? does anyone know?


----------



## YT2095 (Mar 19, 2007)

perhaps a plain yogurt and mascapone cheese mixed would be close, in flave and texture.

it`s only a guess though


----------



## Candocook (Mar 19, 2007)

*Substitutes for one cup:    *Blend one cup cottage cheese plus two or three tablespoons milk or buttermilk plus two tablespoons lemon juice OR blend equal parts cottage cheese and plain yogurt OR blend one cup cottage cheese plus one-third of a cup buttermilk plus one tablespoon lemon juice. OR blend one cup cottage cheese plus two tablespoons lemon juice plus two tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise plus one-fourth cup nonfat buttermilk (adapted from a recipe in the New Laurel's Kitchen Cookbook) OR Combine 7/8 cup buttermilk or yogurt plus three tablespoons butter or margarine  OR one cup buttermilk OR one cup well-drained yogurt (if making cheesecake, use whole milk yogurt) OR one cup sour milk OR let stand for 5 minutes:   one cup evaporated milk plus one tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar OR jocoque OR smetana (lower calories)


----------



## sarah (Mar 19, 2007)

thanks a lot candocook!u know the easiest solution for me right now will be yogurt.you said well drained plain yogurt can be used,right?


----------



## Candocook (Mar 19, 2007)

Yup, drained.


----------



## AllenOK (Mar 19, 2007)

Do you have Creme Friache there?  That's a really good substitute for Sour Cream.

You can make Creme Fraiche by adding 1 - 2 T of buttermilk to 1 c of heavy cream.  Cover with cheesecloth, and allow to sit out at room temperature for 48 hours.  Stir, and refrigerate.  Use as needed.

I know you said you don't have buttermilk either.  Possibly 1 - 2 T of live yogurt culture will work as well.


----------



## Yakuta (Mar 19, 2007)

Hi Sarah, hope things are well on your end. 

When you are not in such a bind you can make sour cream from heavy cream and buttermilk or plain yogurt and it will stay in the refrigerator for a week or more. 

Use about 2-3 cups of heavy cream (I believe that's available there)
Add 1/4 cup of buttermilk to it (although the buttermilk there is not as thick but is quite runny so I would substitute just plain yogurt)

Bring the heavy cream to a rolling boil.  Then shut it and allow it to come to a lukewarm temperature.  Stir in room temperature yogurt (remove it from the refrigerator couple of hours ahead of making this so it's at room temperature).  Slowly stir in the yogurt into the lukewarm cream.  Let it sit covered in a warm spot overnight (do this late evening) and then in the morning refrigerate it and in a few hours you should have a nice consistency sour cream.


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 19, 2007)

I'd use mayo instead of sour cream for baking. Maybe go with about 3/4 od a cup, instaead of the whole cup, if you have light mayo it's even better. Yougurt will completely change the recipe, I wouldn't use it.


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 19, 2007)

Also there is a recipe for vegetarian substitude for sour cream: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f6/vegetarian-chef-that-happens-to-be-an-omnivore-33041.html


----------



## sarah (Mar 21, 2007)

Thanks YT2095,Candocook,Allenok,yakuta and charlieD for your suggestions.I've saved them and will try and see which one works best for me.unfortunately we dont have sour cream and buttermilk available in stores here.so people just use substitutes or make their own if they want to cook with these two.
   Yakuta! your recipe seems so good and easy too.Does it really taste like the real thing?i'm planning to make it tonight.i love sour cream with everyday meals too.


----------



## Candocook (Mar 21, 2007)

CharlieD said:
			
		

> I'd use mayo instead of sour cream for baking. Maybe go with about 3/4 od a cup, instaead of the whole cup, if you have light mayo it's even better. Yougurt will completely change the recipe, I wouldn't use it.


 
Charlie!  Yogurt will change a recipe and mayo WON"T!  I know there are cake recipes using mayo, but I would not trust that this could be one of them.
REally, yogurt is a *very* common sub for sour cream and doesn't change the chemistry of baked goods either, as this is for.


----------



## YT2095 (Mar 21, 2007)

at least with Yougurt and or cream cheeses you`re still in the same playing field. Mayo hovever is egg and oil with an acid, No dairy in there at all.

the only time I`de ever sub yogurt or sourcream for mayo is in some dips.


----------



## Yakuta (Mar 21, 2007)

Hi Sara, 

Yes my method works.  It is just like making home made yogurt but instead of milk you add cream and it makes it creamy and thick like sour cream.  

Also if you are in a bind I would follow candocook's method but stir in a little heavy cream into the drained yogurt.  Yogurt by itself does not have as much body as sour cream does.  It can be very runny when you cook or bake with it so it's best to add a little cream to it which is thicker and helps stabilize the yogurt.  Again strictly my two cents worth.


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

Candocook said:
			
		

> Charlie! Yogurt will change a recipe and mayo WON"T! I know there are cake recipes using mayo, but I would not trust that this could be one of them.
> REally, yogurt is a *very* common sub for sour cream and doesn't change the chemistry of baked goods either, as this is for.


 
It is very debatable. Maybe my wording is not exactly the best. I probably should have said the consistency of the dough, rather than recipe. As far as the end result goes, I use mayo instead of sour cream a lot, and I mean a lot, because I simply cannot use any dairy products in a lot of baking, any dairy. Some recipe can actually benefit from using mayo. It makes the dough/crust/cookie softer, also it keeps fresher longer. Yes, you have to play with quantities and yes, it doesn't always work, but believe me it works. 

Now having said all of that, it's really was not my point, as I assumed, since there is no sour cream or buttermilk available in the store, they probably do not have yogurt either. Maybe I was wrong about that.


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

sarah said:
			
		

> Thanks YT2095,Candocook,Allenok,yakuta and charlieD for your suggestions.....


 
You are welcome!

Sarah, I still don’t know where you are. Do you mind telling us/me where you live, and why certain products are not available? I am just wondering because where I live there are also problem with many products readily available in other places, so I know how it is to deal with that kind of problem.


----------



## sarah (Mar 22, 2007)

CharlieD said:
			
		

> You are welcome.
> 
> Sarah, I still don’t know where you are. Do you mind telling us/me where you live, and why certain products are not available? I am just wondering because where I live there are also problem with many products readily available in other places, so I know how it is to deal with that kind of problem.



 sure charlieD!i'm a Pakistani,used to live in states,but have been back home for a year now.and we do have yogurt and cream abundantly available everywhere in pakistan.Infact theres a lot of variety of these two,since they r used in everyday eating,specially yogurt is the basis for a lot of recipes that r very commonly used here,you'll see yogurt in almost every household's refrigerator.buttermilk IS made by ppl here as well,but not commercially.ppl just make it at home,specially in villages.baking is not a very common form of food preparation in pakistan,most ppl dont bake at home usually,though we do have bakeries in every nook and corner,and very good baked products r available,but its just not commonly done in homes.And most of our baking is  influenced by britain,even the temps and quantities used r of British scales.so some ingredients that r so readily available in US may not be very easily found here.hope i made myself clear. 
  may i ask where you live?


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

Yes, perfectly clear.

 I live in Minnesota, the reason there are no products/foods I need, or would like to have is because I keep Kosher. There is only one little store that caters to our comunity. Used to cater for all the meat needs for Muslim comunity too, but recently first Halal (sp?) store opened in town.


----------



## YT2095 (Mar 22, 2007)

I`ll bet he says Minnesota in the USA!
 mark my words



DOH! he beat me too it, Mods, feel free to delete this now, my Psychic powers are running a bit late *sigh*


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

YT2095 said:
			
		

> I`ll bet he says Minnesota in the USA!
> mark my words


 

You are a profit, how did you guess?


----------



## YT2095 (Mar 22, 2007)

hard to say, I was just gazing blankly at your Post and suddenly it just popped into my head that you Location was there, Spooky eh!


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

Hm, providing that it says right under my name that my Locatin is Minnesota, not really that spooky.


----------



## YT2095 (Mar 22, 2007)

lol, Oh Yeah! what a coinicidence!


----------



## sarah (Mar 22, 2007)

alright alright i knew he was in MN,what i meant was where in MN? ok!!!

  charlie you know i was in MN,Rochester,and i used to go to minneapolis every once in a while to shop from this halal shop.though we had halal goods in rocheter too but that shop in minneapolis was bigger and had better quality meats.there was a restaurant with it too.they had great middle eastern food there.i bet u know the place.r u in minneapolis or st paul?


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

I am in the suburbs.


----------



## Caine (Mar 22, 2007)

Make your own sour cream. All you need is heavy cream, and patience!


----------



## CharlieD (Mar 22, 2007)

Caine, this is a great advise, especially when you need the sour cream right away.


----------



## Candocook (Mar 23, 2007)

It's a pretty good bet that yogurt is available in Pakistan.  ;o)
And, of course, the "need" to use mayo to satisfy dietary regulations makes for innovation.


----------



## kitchenelf (Mar 25, 2007)

Sarah simply wanted to know a substitute for sour cream.  I think she even understands that yogurt can be used, she was just making sure and she never said she couldn't find it.  As stated she was wanting to know where CharlieD lived in Minnesota, not where he lived in general.  A few simple answers is all she was after.  I am closing this thread because her question has been answered.


----------

