Rich, thick, creamy Kefir Sour Cream. It’s a super healthy alternative to store bought sour cream and easy to make using just heavy cream and milk kefir grains. Unlike conventional sour cream, Kefir Sour Cream has powerful healing qualities and will increase your vitality and longevity. Dollop it on top of tacos, add it to macerated fruit, sauces, dressings or my Orange Mango Kefir Creamsicles.
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus. It’s sour, slightly effervescent and has become popular in the U.S. It contains many strains of beneficial bacteria, enzymes and vitamins. Its made using milk kefir grains or a kefir culture starter to ferment milk. The only difference between making milk kefir and Kefir Sour Cream is that you will ferment heavy cream instead of milk. You are getting all the same, powerful health benefits of milk kefir in a rich, creamy sour cream.
Health Benefits of Kefir
Kefir has powerful healing qualities and is one of the most potent probiotic foods you can eat. It’s anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, incredible for digestion and your gut health.
I’ve been experimenting with fermented dairy using milk kefir grains to make milk kefir, kefir cheese and kefir sour cream for some time. Most people who can’t tolerate dairy can usually tolerate milk kefir, because the bacteria in it helps digest lactose. My husband is lactose intolerant, but can drink milk kefir. Not only that, but it’s nutrient dense, improves gut health, symptoms of candida and more. Milk kefir is a must in my fermented food arsenal to maintain a young, vibrant body.
I first learned about the benefits of milk kefir when I started the Body Ecology Diet. According to Body Ecology…
Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.
The enzymes, probiotics and vitamins in milk kefir contribute to clear skin, a flat stomach, increased vitality and longevity. You can ferment milk using milk kefir grains (different from water kefir grains) or a powdered kefir starter. Currently I’m using milk kefir grains I bought from Amazon, but I have used the powdered kefir starter from Body Ecology too. I’ve been making milk kefir for years now and notice a difference in my energy levels and digestion when I drink it regularly.
Tools you will need
To make Kefir Sour Cream you will need milk kefir grains or kefir culture starter, a mason jar, a nylon mesh strainer (metal ones hurt the kefir grains), a silicon spatula and heavy cream. I use grass-fed, organic heavy cream when available, because it contains more vitamins.
- 1 pint organic heavy cream (grass-fed cream if available)
- ¼ cup milk kefir grains(if you use kefir starter, follow the directions on the packet)
- mason Jar
- nylon mesh strainer
- silicon spatula
- Pour the heavy cream in a glass mason jar.
- Add the milk kefir grains.
- Seal with a lid and set on your counter in a cool place out of direct sunlight for 24 hours.
- The kefir cream will get really thick like sour cream.
- After 24 hours strain out the milk kefir grains from the kefir cream. Use the strainer and a silicone spatula to push the cream through the strainer to separate the grains from the cream.
- Put the milk kefir grains in fresh milk and store in the refirgerator until you are ready to use them again. They will need fresh milk every week when you are not making kefir.
Articles
Kefir: the Not-Quite-Paleo Superfood
9 Evidence Based Health Benefits of Kefir
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I made it and I love it!!!!! And my Kefir grains must of liked it cause in 36 hours they doubled.
Wow! That’s great :)
It worked and tastes like, ta-da, sour cream! It took two days, and the kefir, as Katja mentioned, grew in the cream which is not what I expected to happen. I am so pleased to have another convenient use for my raw cream.
I made a kefir smoothie with two T ground almonds and two T of pumpkin seed flour, can be sweetened with stevia. I have used chestnut flour (two T) instead of ground almonds. These nut flours are bought at nuts.com
I make kefir cream using light cream (half-and-half). Works just like regular sour cream with 40% less fat. I use a sous vide water bath at 86℉ / 30℃ for 10 hours and then take it out and let it continue fermenting at room temperature. Once the kefir cream cools by itself (indicating that the fermentation has nearly stopped), I put it in the refrigerator.
I didn’t know you could use a sous vide water bath. That is so interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Can you use raw milk for this recipe?
Raw milk will make milk kefir and will be more liquid. You can use raw cream though.
You can use raw heavy cream if you can find it, but the key is the cream—–it’s thick. My kefir starter, which I use for my sour cream, came from raw milk kefir. But, if nothing else make kefir. It’s supposed to be even more nutritious than yogurt. I drink it straight and sometimes blend in berries. Frozen strawberries make it sweet!
I can’ find cream that is not Ultra Pasturized anywhere. Has anyone tried Heavy Cream Powder?
I haven’t tried powder, but I would try the Ultra Pasteurized first.
I get my minimally pasteurized, not homogenized whole milk from Homestead Creamery in Virginia. Kroger stores in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia carry it. It’s perfect for kefir. I save some of my kefir for the next batch. My starter (some of her kefir) was given to me by a friend (83 years old) who has been making it for years. Unpasteurized milk is impossible to obtain in some states due to regulations, but, you can get it in South Carolina if you look for it. Once you have obtained the source you can use your starter for years and years from your own kefir. I use the recipe that I found here for sour cream and it is so good that I could eat it with a spoon! Homestead Creamery has the heavy whipping cream in quart bottles (return for deposit) and it has an aqua blue cap. The Creamline Whole Milk has a gold cap, not red. I think that the red is more processed but is still whole milk.