Although yogurt and sour cream seem to have a lot in common. Is that so? How can an epic recipe become an epic fail if cooked with yogurt? When and how to use sour cream or yogurt? Let’s see how the two are made and where to use each of them for better results.
How are yogurt and sour cream made?
Generally speaking, both yogurt and sour cream are a result of milk fermentation. Yogurt is made by fermenting milk, while cream by fermenting milk cream. Thus, the texture of the sour cream is denser and thicker.
Sour cream is made from pasteurized milk cream. First, a culture of bacteria is deliberately introduced into the milk to grow and create the lactic acid. Namely, this bacteria produces the characteristic acidity, flavor, and thickness of the sour cream. Finally, the sour cream is afterward re-pasteurized to kill that same bacteria and stop the fermentation process.
Like sour cream, yogurt is also a fermented dairy product. It is produced by introducing bacterial culture into milk to produce fermentation. After the bacterial culture is added and incubated, re-pasteurization is no longer necessary.
Differences between yogurt and sour cream:
- Yogurt has about 10% fat. Sour cream fatness is about 20% fat, which is double.
- Compared to yogurt, sour cream is more nutritious. It provides more energy than yogurt.
- Yogurt, unlike sour cream, is a better option for those who are on a diet because it contains less cholesterol
- Sour cream is a better option for creamy recipes such as stews and sauces. The thicker composition allows it to be used in hot recipes. Yogurt, on the other hand, decomposes at high temperatures and forms unattractive and inappropriate lumps.
- Yogurt is the best choice to make dips and fresh sauces as well as low-calory deserts
Too bad for me I wasn’t aware of these differences when cooking meatballs in creamy white sauce for the first time.
Don’t get me wrong, I did everything properly, I used fresh ground meat and veggies, mixed them with flavorful spices, then seared the perfectly round meatballs in Greek olive oil. There was such a deliciously promising smell floating in my parents’ house, and I was so freaking proud of it. And then, the last ingredient added ruined it all, the result was a disappointing consistency and a nasty look. It was yogurt. Don’t do like me, use sour cream or heavy cream when you intend to cook it on heat.
