From topping off a steaming baked potato to adding a little tang to a baking recipe, sour cream is just the thing if you need a little bit of tartness in your food. It can be a little unpleasant, however, when you reach into the fridge for some sour cream, pull the lid back, and see some water on the surface — and really, its not even water, actually, but a watery, milky looking liquid. It certainly wasnt there when you first opened your sour cream a couple of days ago, so whats it doing there now — and should you be concerned?
Dont worry, this milky liquid floating on top of your sour cream is totally normal, but there are a few things you should know about it.
What’s up with whey?
Sour cream is made by adding bacteria to pasteurized cream and allowing it to incubate until the creams lactic acid produces the desired thickness and the sour flavor that its known for (via California Dairy). A very similar process is used to make yogurt, which means that liquid can pop up on top of that dairy product, too. The watery liquid, while it looks weird, is actually known in dairy lingo as “whey.”
Whey is nothing to be scared of, and its actually good for you because its rich in calcium and protein (via Today). What happens is that whey is naturally present in milk, but when the milk is turned into sour cream or yogurt, that whey is held in suspension within the milks cell walls. Simply dipping a chip or spoon into the cream breaks those cell walls, which allows the whey leak out.
The solution? Just stir it back into your sour cream and youre good to go — but first, check to make sure your sour cream hasnt started to go bad.
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FAQ
Is it okay to eat watery sour cream?
Can you fix watery sour cream?
How can you tell if sour cream is spoiled?
Why is my sour cream not thickening?
Can sour cream go bad?
You can’t turn the watery substance into more sour cream, but you can mix the liquid into the creamy contents of the container. It will dissolve to some extent, so you have a creamy product again. However, if the sour cream has a lot of liquid and it has gone bad, you can’t do anything to fix it.
Is it healthy to have sour cream?
Sour cream is made from fermenting cream from dairy milk with lactic acid bacteria. This rich, slightly art condiment is often used as a topping for tacos and baked potatoes or thickened baked goods. Sour cream is made with slim milk and additives like food starch and gum for thickness. It does not have much health significance.
How do you know if sour cream is bad?
Sniff your sour cream to check for any foul, moldy, or rancid smell beyond its usual tangy aroma. Bacterial growth can quickly intensify that acidic smell in a nasty way, and once that happens, it means that your sour cream has gone bad. 4. Sharp or Bitter Taste Fresh sour cream has a mildly tangy and creamy flavor.
Does sour cream have water on top?
That depends. Sour cream that has water or liquid on top isn’t odd. In fact, it can be perfectly normal. That’s because the water that presents itself on both sour cream and yogurt is known as whey. It’s naturally occurring and is perfectly safe.