How to Make Sour Cream from Raw Milk

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Sour cream is one of my favorite condiments! For Mexican food, it’s a must have. It’s also delicious as a topping on many other foods as well – so of course I had to learn how to make sour cream from raw milk.

How to make sour cream from raw milk

How to make sour cream from raw milk

If you or someone you know is following the GAPS diet, you’ll want to know how to make sour cream from raw milk. Sour cream is one of the most important fermented foods for the gut. It’s gently full of beneficial probiotics, as well as healthy fats and nutrients from raw, grass fed cream.

I also like to use homemade sour cream in my dill dressing recipe and this Nourishing Traditions lemon mousse

Keep reading to learn all about how to make delicious, nutritious sour cream from raw milk…

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Different ways to Make Sour Cream from Raw Milk

There are actually multiple ways to make sour cream.

Traditionally, you can create delicious homemade sour cream by using a buttermilk culture. However, buttermilk isn’t allowed on the GAPS diet. (You can save the buttermilk cultured sour cream for when you’re all done healing with GAPS.)

Another way is to use milk kefir grains to culture the cream, and that’s what I’m going to be showing you here. For anyone following the GAPS diet, this is the method you’ll want to use to make sour cream from raw milk.

You can even use homemade raw milk sour cream in healthy, nutrient dense desserts, like this lemon mousse recipe.

How to make sour cream starter

In another blog post, which you can read here, I talk all about the benefits of raw milk. In that post I go over some ways to be able to get raw milk and cream. If you don’t already have a source for it, you can use the information there to help you get started finding a place to buy it.

I prefer to get a pint or quart of cream from the farm where we get our raw milk. But, they don’t always have that available, depending on the time of year and how many cows they’re milking. During times like that, I just skim some cream off of the top of one of the jars of raw milk that we get.

Tips for making sour cream from raw milk

This simple, healthy recipe makes the best tasting sour cream. Here are a few tips to help you make it:

  • Always purchase raw milk from organically raised, grass fed cows. If you don’t live near a farm, check your local farmers market.
  • Store sour cream in your refrigerator once it is finished culturing. 
  • To make sour cream from raw milk that is appropriate for the GAPS diet, make sure to be using activated milk kefir grains. In another blog post I talk about how to make kefir with raw milk, and you can read it here. Basically, making sour cream with milk kefir grains is the same exact process.
  • This recipe is so simple – all you are doing is taking some activated, healthy milk kefir grains, and place them into your jar of raw cream, stirring gently. 
  • Make sure you cover the jar with a breathable lid, like a cloth or paper towel held in place with a rubber band or canning jar ring, and let it sit on your counter at room temperature until it’s nice and thick. 

Ready to make your own sour cream from raw milk? Keep reading to learn how to make your own…

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint or 1 quart raw cream from organically raised, grass fed cows
  • Activated milk kefir grains

Instructions:

  1. Activate milk kefir grains according to package instructions.
  2. If needed, skim cream from top of jar of raw milk.
  3. Add activated kefir grains to jar of raw cream.
  4. Stir gently.
  5. Top jar with breathable cloth or paper towel secured with rubber band or canning jar ring.
  6. Allow sour cream to culture at room temperature until thick.
  7. Strain kefir grains out of sour cream using plastic mesh strainer and wooden spoon (no metal).
  8. Add kefir grains to new jar of raw milk.
  9. Store sour cream in refrigerator.

How to make sour cream from raw milk kefir grains

How long does it usually take to make sour cream from raw milk?

The time it takes for your sour cream to culture depends on how warm your house is. It could take anywhere from 12 hours to several days. 

Just keep checking on it, and once it’s nice and thick, strain out the kefir grains, put them back into some raw milk, and store the sour cream in the refrigerator. It will thicken up even more once it is chilled.

Just like with milk kefir, you’ll want to avoid using any metal when making your sour cream. I like to use glass mason jars, a wooden spoon, and this plastic strainer.

One thing to note is that milk kefir grains do need to be put back into regular, raw milk in between making batches of sour cream with them. This is because cream has a lot less lactose in it than milk does. The milk kefir grains consume and live off of the lactose, so they would starve if they were only ever in cream all the time. Putting them in milk in between times will ensure that they stay healthy and well fed.

What are the health benefits of homemade sour cream from raw milk?

As I mentioned before, homemade sour cream from raw milk is one of the most important fermented foods for the digestive system. The healthy fats are very nourishing, and it’s a gentle probiotic food. 

Not everybody can handle all fermented foods right at first, but sour cream is often very well tolerated by most- perfect for anyone beginning to support their gut!

The fact that this sour cream is from raw milk also boosts the nutrient content. Raw cream from grass fed cows contains so many amazing and healing nutrients! It really is a superfood.

Keep reading to learn how to properly serve this yummy food topping…

Is it safe?

When people hear that I make sour cream out of raw milk for my family, the number one question I get is ‘Is it safe?’

The answer is, of course, yes! When I make and serve a meal to my family, I always take extra caution to ensure that everything is made well. With sour cream, that means keeping an eye on it as it thickens and storing it in an airtight container in the fridge once it’s ready to be consumed.

How and when to use sour cream

Use your homemade sour cream as a topping for so many different foods, or use it to make dressings and dips, like this lemon garlic dill dressing. For all my tips on traveling on the GAPS diet, check out this post here.

How to store sour cream properly

Once the sour cream is made, make sure you place it in an airtight container in your fridge. This will help the cultures in the sour cream stay alive (but not too active) for when you choose to consume it.

How long does it last?

When you are making sour cream from raw milk, it will last in the fridge for many weeks, if stored properly without contamination (and assuming that your family doesn’t devour it the first night it’s served!).

How to make sour cream from raw milk GAPS diet

More nourishing recipes

Raw Milk Kefir

Raw Milk Yogurt

Sauerkraut

Pork Sausage

Veggie Gummies 

GAPS Chicken Soup

Meat Stock

Beef Tallow Fries

How to Render Tallow

What is your favorite food to eat with sour cream?

Have you ever tried making it before? Tell me about it in the comments!

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Kefir grains

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Yield: 1 pint

Sour Cream from Raw Milk

How to make sour cream from raw milk

Sour cream is one of my favorite condiments - so of course I had to learn how to make sour cream from raw milk.

Prep Time 5 minutes
2 days
Total Time 2 days 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pint 1 pint raw cream from organically raised, grass fed cows, can also make 1 quart at a time
  • Activated milk kefir grains

Instructions

  1. Activate milk kefir grains according to package instructions.
  2. If needed, skim cream from top of jar of raw milk.
  3. Add activated kefir grains to jar of raw cream.
  4. Stir gently.Top jar with breathable cloth or paper towel secured with rubber band or canning jar ring.
  5. Allow sour cream to culture at room temperature until thick.
  6. Strain kefir grains out of sour cream using plastic mesh strainer and wooden spoon (no metal).
  7. Add kefir grains to new jar of raw milk.
  8. Store sour cream in refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 Servings

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 145Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 50mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g
GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.

 

 

 

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