Homemade Sour Cream (and Sour Cream with Herbs Topping)



This basic yogurt sour cream topping is very delicious and is great on so many different dishes such as Chili, Dudley's Calabaza Stew, or Jennie's Southwestern Fried Eggs (as shown in the photo).  Homemade 'sour cream' made from yogurt contains all the good bacteria, which is so lacking in our foods today, and is thus a great digestive aid.  Customize yours with the addition of different fresh herbs and spices.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup drained plain whole milk yogurt (I make my own)
1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp dry parsley (or 1 Tbl fresh parsley, minced)
1/4 tsp freshly ground sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Strain yogurt (I drain a one pint container which makes about 1 cup of sour cream) for one hour or more to drain off whey.  (Be sure to save and use the whey in a smoothie or when soaking grains.)  Place 1/2 cup of this drained yogurt 'sour cream' in a bowl.  Add the other ingredients listed above and stir well.  Store extra sour cream and whey in refrigerator until ready to use.

 

There are many ways to strain yogurt, so I will give you one method that I like to use.  I place an unbleached natural coffee filter into a small colander, which fits nicely over a glass container.  I then empty a jar of homemade yogurt onto the filter and let it drain for an hour or two.  The whey drains to the bottom, leaving the yogurt 'sour cream' on the filter.  I use this homemade yogurt 'sour cream' which contains lots of good bacteria in place of store bought sour cream in all recipes.  It is cheaper and healthier and tastier.  If you drain the yogurt longer, you will obtain a soft cheese, like ricotta.