# Substitute yogurt for sour cream in Beef Stroganoff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 3, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423 "2022-03-03T18:51:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/1 "2022-03-03T18:51:36Z")
Title question pretty much says it all. In the eternal quest of ‘what to make for dinner tonight?’ I have mushrooms, onions, noodles and ground beef. So I’m thinking an easy Beef Stroganoff. But sadly, I do not have sour cream, only whole milk plain yogurt. Will that work, or will it be weird? Anybody ever try it? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/2 "2022-03-03T18:53:46Z")
That’s the way we have done stroganoff for years. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/3 "2022-03-03T18:56:08Z")
Yes! I always have plain yogurt on hand. Be sure to turn off the heat before you stir it in. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/4 "2022-03-03T19:20:02Z")
Great! Thanks for the quick replies. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/5 "2022-03-03T22:31:14Z")
Make sure you don’t use vanilla yogurt by mistake, though. I won’t let the Mrs. forget _that_ one. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/6 "2022-03-03T22:48:48Z")
Hah. I’ve made that mistake once but at the store store. Luckily, I caught it just before putting it in the dish at home. Now I always double check as at a glance it’s not obvious with some brands whether you’re buying plain or vanilla. In general, you can swap yogurt and sour cream with reasonable success. Both are cultured dairy products. I suspect they may use slightly different starter cultures, but I can’t seem to find any confirmation for that. Yogurt will be lighter than sour cream, as it’s made from milk instead of cream. I feel like yogurt is also a little bit tangier. You can also sometimes substitute kefir or buttermilk, but that will of course be runnier. I’ve also gone the other direction and put yogurt instead of buttermilk in pancakes with success. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/7 "2022-03-03T23:13:21Z")
The Strogurtoff turned out real good! Thanks again for the replies, all. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/8 "2022-03-04T00:25:23Z")
We had Turkey Chili tonight, topped with cheese and Greek yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/9 "2022-03-04T03:33:51Z")
I wanted to bring in [this comment from a post in MPSIMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-discourse-of-sequential-threads/911906/1066) “And anyway, shouldn’t we be calling it Freedom Beef with Mushrooms now?” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/10 "2022-03-04T12:46:34Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > “And anyway, shouldn’t we be calling it Freedom Beef with Mushrooms now?” Jeez, I didn’t even think of a connection with the war against Ukraine. Now I actually kind of feel bad for having made a Russian-based dish while that’s taking place. How about this- with no evidence whatsoever, I declare Stroganoff made with yogurt instead of sour cream to be the Ukrainian version of it. Similar to how newscasters are pronouncing the Ukrainian capital ‘keev’ instead of ‘kee-yev’ because the former is the Ukrainian pronunciation and latter the Russian. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/11 "2022-03-04T13:28:20Z")
Or we could pledge not to politicize everything…it’s otherwise exhausting. Like what you like, so long as it’s not underage children. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/12 "2022-03-04T17:06:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Similar to how newscasters are pronouncing the Ukrainian capital ‘keev’ instead of ‘kee-yev’ because the former is the Ukrainian pronunciation and latter the Russian. IT should be two syllables. “KEEV” is not the Ukrainian pronunciation. Here’s 12 different Ukrainians pronouncing it: > **[Київ pronunciation: How to pronounce Київ in Ukrainian](https://forvo.com/word/%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%97%D0%B2/#uk)** > > Pronunciation guide: Learn how to pronounce Київ in Ukrainian with native pronunciation. Київ translation and audio pronunciation It’s ['kɪjiu̯]. Accent on the first syllable, and something like “KIHY-you”, with the “ih” representing the so-called “short-i” sound in English, as in “hit”, with a glide at the end (the y as in “yellow”). It probably sounds closest to “KAY-you” to English speakers, I’d guess, but that’s why I provided the link, so you can hear for yourself what it sounds like. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/13 "2022-03-04T17:17:57Z")
Interesting. I guess not many English speakers know how to pronounce it correctly Ukranian-style. It’s mostly either “Kee-eve” or just “Keev” with the ‘V’ sound at the end: > **[Kiev, Kyiv, How Do You Pronounce (and Spell) It? (Published 2019)](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/kiev-pronunciation.html)** > > The pronunciations heard during Wednesday’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee left some spectators scratching their heads. We asked two experts. > **[Kyiv or Kiev? Why people disagree about how to pronounce the Ukrainian...](https://www.npr.org/2022/01/25/1075357281/how-do-you-pronounce-kyiv)** > > What's the correct way to call a foreign city — by its English name, if it has one, or by its name in the local language? For the people involved, it can be a serious matter entwined with geopolitics. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-yogurt-for-sour-cream-in-beef-stroganoff/960423/14 "2022-03-04T17:21:46Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Interesting. I guess not many English speakers know how to pronounce it correctly Ukranian-style. It’s mostly either “Kee-eve” or just “Keev” with the ‘V’ sound at the end: Yeah – it’s a non-native sequence of sounds for English speakers, so I would not at all expect them to get the native Ukrainian pronunciation. That said, to my ears, “KAY-you” or even “KEE-you” sounds closer to the Ukrainian pronunciation.