# What is sour cream? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892 "2011-07-21T19:06:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/21 "2011-07-22T21:43:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I once read that Abraham Lincoln’s typical lunch in the White House was a glass of buttermilk and an apple. > > :: shudder :: What a queer lunch. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/22 "2011-07-22T21:50:16Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > What a queer lunch. Now let’s not go there. Despite some [speculations](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f05e5d61439f93aa35752c0a9639c8b63) the [Master is unconvinced](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2502/was-abraham-lincoln-gay). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/23 "2011-07-22T22:15:26Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > I seem to recall reading that in pre-famine Ireland, a typical meal for the poor would be a boiled potato & buttermilk. Not “a” boiled potato. Many boiled potatoes. According to [Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2828/could-i-survive-on-nothing-but-potatoes-and-milk), a working man would have eaten 8 pounds of potatoes a day. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/24 "2011-07-23T01:32:53Z")
do people actually eat curds and whey as a meal or snack? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/25 "2011-07-23T01:43:57Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > do people actually eat curds and whey as a meal or snack? Otherwise known as cottage cheese. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/26 "2011-07-23T03:07:36Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Otherwise known as cottage cheese. Is that what “curds and whey” actually are? I’ve made cottage cheese, and while there is some whey that clings to the curds, the curds are skimmed away from the whey. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/27 "2011-07-24T04:11:19Z")
Don’t forget Quark and Clabber. Quark they sell all over Europe, Israel, Turkey, and Russia (a national food). It’s tasty and innocuous. Clabber I’ve never had. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/28 "2011-07-24T08:14:11Z")
Clabber’s just unpasturized milk that’s been allowed to sour naturally. I made some once, when I had some fresh raw milk. It was basically the best cottage cheese I’ve ever eaten. Slightly risky, but the majority of bacteria that grow in milk are safe and beneficial, and once they take over, nothing else will take hold because of the acid, so I figured as long as the milk was clean and fresh and the result was acidic, I would probably be ok with a strong imune system. I’m not sure I’d do it again, but it _was_ good! You could probably get the same results with a commercial culture, though. ETA: The process was very simple: 1. Take fresh, clean unpasturized milk in a sterile container. Cover loosely. 2. Don’t refrigerate it until it’s all lumpy and sour. 3. Enjoy! (Keep the ER on speed dial, just in case!) ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/29 "2011-07-24T10:28:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Is that what “curds and whey” actually are? I’ve made cottage cheese, and while there is some whey that clings to the curds, the curds are skimmed away from the whey. How about junket. That is sweetened curds and whey. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/30 "2011-07-24T10:47:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > What is buttermilk? Is just milk with butter added to it? :smack: What is creamed cheese? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/31 "2011-07-24T11:09:23Z")
This thread has caused me to utter to my wife 'It started with sour cream, but degenerated into buttermilk", a combination of words I have never used before in my life. Thank you Straight Dope!!! ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/32 "2011-07-24T12:07:05Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > What is creamed cheese? Illegal in Wisconsin? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/33 "2011-07-24T13:41:15Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > How about junket. That is sweetened curds and whey. No, junket is a [brand name](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junket_(dessert)) for rennet custard. Rennet is an enzyme made from calf stomachs. It can have some texture but it isn’t chunky. Nor does it separate into liquid and solid parts. I would say it is very unlike curds and whey, personally. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/34 "2011-07-24T14:06:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve heard that real buttermilk left over from churning butter (which is what Lincoln would have had) tasted a lot better than the cultured buttermilk we have nowadays This is God’s honest truth. I drink it because it’s all that’s available but it ain’t buttermilk. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/35 "2011-07-24T19:15:43Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > This is God’s honest truth. I drink it because it’s all that’s available but it ain’t buttermilk. So where can you buy the closest thing to “real” buttermilk when you’re not at/near a farm? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/36 "2011-07-24T20:28:22Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > So where can you buy the closest thing to “real” buttermilk when you’re not at/near a farm? We have [Kate’s Real Buttermilk](http://www.kateshomemadebutter.com/Kates-Butter_buttermilk.html) in our supermarkets in New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/37 "2011-07-25T12:55:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve heard that real buttermilk left over from churning butter (which is what Lincoln would have had) tasted a lot better than the cultured buttermilk we have nowadays. > > Still, that sounds like an awfully scanty lunch, especially for a big country boy like Abe. I’ve drunk the leftover liquid after making butter with the sprog, and it’s actually pretty tasty. It’s fairly sweet, although it has the consistency of skim or very low-fat milk with tiny chunks of butter in it, which is what it is. The butter was pretty good, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/38 "2011-07-26T03:09:39Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I’ve drunk the leftover liquid after **making butter with the sprog** Let me just say this. Eeeewwwwww. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/39 "2011-07-26T14:55:28Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > So where can you buy the closest thing to “real” buttermilk when you’re not at/near a farm? I wish I knew. I haven’t had “real” buttermilk since I was a teenager. I doubt it’s’ a big seller as most people wouldn’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/40 "2011-07-26T17:16:21Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > Illegal in Wisconsin? And Mississippi if you’re closer than second cousins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892.md?page=3)