Sour Cream used a lot in many American foods can be hard to find here in Italy. The Italian name is Panna Acida. I have found it in the COOP grocery store in Firenze, but recently they changed the brand and I really do not like the texture and taste. So now, I have decided to try to make it. I make my own sourdough starter, so this should not be hard. Right? It is not hard at all just follow the recipe below. Soon you too will have Sour Cream to use in your favorite recipes.
Now many recipes will call for buttermilk and heavy cream. These seem to be the ingredients used for Crème Fraiche. That is not what I am trying to make here. You can do the same technique with my recipe, adding 1 cup buttermilk to 2 cups cream, and get Crème Fraiche if that is what you are looking to make.
It is simple to get a liter size sterile mason jar. The jars need to be sterile because you only want to grow the bacteria needed for making sour cream. You can sterilize it in your dishwasher hot cycle or boil water and put the jar and lid in the boiling water for 10 minutes.
Next, get your ingredients:
- Sour cream from the store (if you cannot find sour cream then lemon for juicing)
- Whipping Cream in the refrigerated section (panna fresca) ** do not get anything with UHT it will not work.
That is it. Take 2 cups of Whipping Cream into the jar, and then add 4 tsp of lemon juice or 1/2 cup of sour cream. Stir the mixture well and cover with a paper towel or cheesecloth secure with a rubber band. Place it on your counter and let it sit for 24 hours. This time changes if the temperature in the house is too cold or too hot.
You can check on it and give it a stir. You will see that it will start to thicken. I also give it a taste and see how sour it tastes. If you want it, sourer you can add a little more lemon. You can even add a little Total Brand full-fat Greek yogurt, which is, what I did and it gave me the right taste I was looking to get. When you decide it is the texture and taste you like just place it in the refrigerator and use it. It lasts 2 weeks.
ENJOY!!!
Firenze Moms 4 Moms Network 