Sour cream is a popular fermented milk product with a fat content of 15 - 58%, obtained from cream and sourdough. It is prepared by the method of fermented milk fermentation of cream using strains of specially grown bacteria or fungi.
It is used as the main or additional ingredient for preparing a variety of dishes and delicacies. For the first time, sour cream in the vastness of modern Russia and the CIS countries became widely known during the time of Kievan Rus, when people learned how to process milk in a special way.
The very first recipe for making sour cream consisted in the method of removing the upper settled layer of “swept away” sour milk and settling it in a cool place. After the invention of the separator, the cooking method has become much faster and easier. Therefore, today sour cream can be found in every store at an affordable price, which allowed it to become a favorite product for many gourmets. And each time, spreading it on a slice of bread or adding to borsch, one wonders, so how do they make sour cream?
What is sour cream made of?
In order to make sour cream, you need good fat milk, which is separated into cream and skim milk using a separator. The cream is crushed to a homogeneous mass and infused with the sourdough to turn them into sour cream of the highest quality. The production method is no different from the recipes used at home.The main difference is the size of production and technical equipment.
Interesting Facts: Sour cream became known throughout the world in the XIX century after the first wave of emigration from the territory of modern Russia to the countries of Europe and Asia. At that time, it was compared with European cream, but after a short period of time, sour cream took its place of honor in the menu of all Europeans, as an amazing delicacy.
Cooking sour cream
High-quality milk is brought to the dairy factory. It is bought on special farms or from the rural population, owners of cattle. All purchased raw materials are carefully checked for the presence of antibiotics, sour-milk bacteria and other foreign components. After receiving positive results, milk is sent for storage at a temperature of 6 ° C until the start of the production process. A temperature of 6 ° C is considered optimal for the development of sour-milk bacteria, which give milk special properties.
Milk is distilled into the separator through a pipeline system. Under the influence of rotational force, the raw materials are divided into skim milk and cream with a high content of milk fat. They are separated, cooled and separately transferred to the next stage of production. Cooling to a temperature of 10 ° C is necessary to stop the fermentation process so that the cream does not sour for a long time. Skim milk is sent to the packaging, and cream to the next step in the preparation of sour cream.
The cream is distilled into a special stainless steel container with hidden thermocouples, which gradually heat the entire mass to a temperature of 65 ° C. Under the influence of heat, fat globules become plastic and are easily subjected to mechanical stress. In a homogenizer, balls of fat are crushed into smaller fractions, as a result of which the mixture becomes homogeneous. After obtaining the desired consistency, the cream is distilled into special 6-ton tanks, where they turn into sour cream.
Ferment (bacteria) is added to the container - frozen lactic streptococci. For 10 hours of thorough slow mixing, the cream turns into a homogeneous sour cream. The finished product is checked in the laboratory for quality and sent to the packaging stage. Sour cream is packaged in bags or plastic containers and sent to store shelves.
Interesting Facts: Sour cream is considered exclusively a Slavic product. This is evidenced by the ancient recipes of borsch, potato pancakes and dumplings. Basically, only wealthy landowners, landowners and pastoralists could prepare it. But with the development of technology and population growth, the product gradually became available to all groups of the population.
Sour cream is easy to prepare both at the factory and at home. To do this, you just need to separate the cream from the milk and add a little leaven. Fresh sour cream will delight adults, children and even the most sophisticated gourmets.
