# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/41 "2011-07-26T17:26:25Z")
This thread is making me feel all gross. Cottage cheese is the devil’s work. I tried buttermilk as a kid at a historical house in town and I think the workers were laughing as they told us all to give it a try. But then, I can’t really drink straight-up milk either. You people are weirdos, with your Kefir and your Rennet and your Clabber. ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/42 "2011-07-26T17:27:51Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > 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!) My father often tells me how he misses real buttermilk and clabber from when he was milking cattle and water buffalo in The Old Country (where they didn’t know from sterility, btw). But his family ate cows’ udders too. But they wouldn’t eat them together. ---
**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 26, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/43 "2011-07-26T18:09:49Z")
> [@Elysium](#): > > This thread is making me feel all gross. Cottage cheese is the devil’s work. I tried buttermilk as a kid at a historical house in town and I think the workers were laughing as they told us all to give it a try. > > But then, I can’t really drink straight-up milk either. You people are weirdos, with your Kefir and your Rennet and your Clabber. I’ll bet your list of gross food is really long, right? ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/44 "2011-07-26T18:27:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’ll bet your list of gross food is really long, right? Actually no! Just dairy-related. I’ve always been squicked out by milk. All except for cheese, nothing is better than cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/45 "2011-07-26T18:45:11Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > What is creamed cheese? > **[Cream cheese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_cheese)** > > Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream. Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses, such as Brie and Neufchâtel. It is more comparable in taste, texture, and production methods to Boursin and mascarpone. Stabilizers, such as carob bean gum and carrageenan, are often added in industrial production. It can also come in several flavors. > The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines cream... ---
**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 26, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892/46 "2011-07-26T18:50:17Z")
> [@Elysium](#): > > Actually no! Just dairy-related. I’ve always been squicked out by milk. > > All except for cheese, nothing is better than cheese. Which is odd, as you mention rennet. That’s the enzyme used to make cheese. Well, most cheeses. Some types of cottage/fresh cheeses don’t require rennet, just an acid for coagulation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-sour-cream/589892.md?page=2)