Substitute for sour cream?

Hi guys,

I have a really good recipe for Mexican corn bread that calls for sour cream, I need suggestions for a substitute that is trail compatible.

The recipe also calls for milk, but I think powdered milk will work.

Thanks for any advise.

Sour cream will keep for about a day or so not refridgerated. It is already "bad/curdled", it will begin to mold rapidly, but if you keep it sealed it should be fine for a day. If you see mold, just spoon it off. I have heard of mixing clarified butter and milk powder as a sour cream substitute....never tried it though doesn't sound like the same to me haha.

I like to make a chicken or steak fajita the first night out, so I bring fresh sour cream along with my frozen chicken breast wrapped in a towel. Never had a problem.

Best way I can explain it is to think of it like a soft cheese, like cream cheese. Perfectly fine not refridgerated for a reasonable amount of time. Just use it up first.

Thanks for the reply Rambler, I wasn't sure how long it lasted out of the fridge. Can you freeze sour cream I wonder?

I will give the clarified butter and milk powder a try at home.

I have never frozen it, but don't see why you coudn't.

If you do take sour cream, it will last longer if its never been opened. The factory seal will keep it longer than if you open it and expose it to fresh air.

Homemade Sour Cream
From: Paula Peck's The Art of Fine Baking (1961)

2 cups of heavy cream
5 teaspoons of buttermilk

Combine cream and buttermilk in a screwtop jar.
Shake the jar for a minute. Let stand at room
temperature for 24 hours. If room is especially cool (on
a cold winter day) let stand an extra 12 to 24 hours.
Cream will thicken. Refrigerate at least 24 hours,
preferably longer, before using.

NOTES: Homemade sour cream can be kept in the
refrigerator a whole month, and it will get thicker and
thicker and better and better. It can be whipped, if you
make it with heavy cream, but be careful not to
overwhip, as it will turn to butter in a flash.

Or, Quark may be an option for you - here is info from
the Epicurious glossary:
Quark [qwark] - A soft, unripened cheese with the
texture and flavor of sour cream, Quark comes in two
versions - lowfat and nonfat. Though the calories are
the same (35 per ounce), the texture of lowfat Quark is
richer than that of lowfat sour cream. It has a milder
flavor and richer texture than lowfat yogurt. Quark can
be used as a sour cream substitute to top baked
potatoes, and as an ingredient in a variety of dishes
including cheesecakes, dips, salads and sauces.

Well I'll be darned, maybe there is some truth to the clarified butter and powdered milk claim.

Thanks for that post Gary, will have to check out Quark, sounds interesting.

Thanks guys, I enjoy cooking and just thought it would be nice to sit back in camp and try some of my favorites, one grows tired of the simple spartan trail foods over and over.

I am trying to get better at trail baking, but I can only make a couple things so far that turn out good.

I appreciate the advise!

Trout, are you going to be posting the cornbread recipe? please?

Sure, I will post the recipe, my only hesitation has been that I have not perfected cooking it on the trail. I do not have directions for mixing or baking, I have been mixing all ingredient in a mixing bowl and baking in a greased pan at 400 degrees until done.

I was surprised at how good it was, but I'm not a Mexican cornbread officionato, so your opinion may vary. I do not have a white gas stove that simmers so I have been using a slow burning alcohol stove to do the baking and that works pretty good for me right now, but the cornbread, while tasty, does not get browned like in the stove in my kitchen.

Mexican Corn Bread

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup self rising corn meal

2 tsp. sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup oil

1 cup milk

1/4 cup salsa

I have'nt had an oven in a long time but used to add chopped jalapeno's to my cornbread.

And I see you add sugar to yours, where I come from (New York state) northerners put sugar in their cornbread while southerner's don't. I grew up in NY till I was 16, but finished High School in Arkansas.

Gary, you are correct. Most of the people I know (live in the deep South) HATE sweet cornbread. I like both. I dont like it when someone makes it with a consistency like cake.

Around our house we eat it different ways, if I'm eating it in soup, or with pinto beans I like plain 'ole yellow, unsweetened, course cornbread. I prefer the corner pieces please.

As a side with chicken, fish, or seafood I prefer sweet cornbread, and sometimes we add onions to make it similar to hush puppies.

I've also had it before with fried pork skins crumbled in it, and that was good to.

Why don't you convert the recipe to a dry one and use powdered eggs and powdered sour cream and powdered milk and dehydrated salsa?

Do they make powdered sour cream? Everything else I can get or make, and yes that's a good idea.

I've never tried dehydrating sour cream.

My god man. Just google powdered sour cream.

Haha, yes of course, I can Google it, and I did actually.

One of the benefits of asking questions on forums is that you often get the answer, plus additional information by those who have experience using or doing something, which I value more than the average search result.

So now I know I can buy powdered sour cream, the question I really have is: How good is it, and are there any tricks to using it?

So say you converted it all to dry or dehydrated. The liquid or water to add pretty much needs to be done on the run. I do not think there is a formula.

Trout? Question for you..... I do not mean it in a bad way at all........ Are you Anal Retentive?

Good question,

With some activities I tent to be retentive, mostly in the planning or organizing stages, but when I actually get out and do something like backpacking, hunting, racing, I can be a little expulsive, but not as bad as Bear Grylls.

So I would say Trouthunter to try the powdered sourcream at home first, before heading into the field with it. As cook I often try new ways of preparation and cooking of foods at home, so I know what I am doing later in camp.

What is the brand name or company(s) that make instant sour cream?

Nothing is better than fresh sour cream! That's why I carry it for my first night or two.

However I did expermient with using powdered milk and clarified butter, I also tried once with powdered butter. Both turned out well. Nothing close to the real thing, but it worked the few recipies I experimented with. I would say it works if your adding it into a recipie, but wouldn't use to dollop on top of something like you might do with real sour cream.

For quick and easy 'cornbread' on the trail, our scouts used the cornbread muffin mixes in the plastic pouches. They mixed it with powdered milk and water, omitted the egg and cooked it like pancakes. Probably not quite as tasty as Trouthunters recipe but it worked well for hungry kids preparing their own meals and there was little waste weight in the packaging to pack out. It makes a good side with dehydrated hamburger stew.

Powdered sour cream works well enough in baking but don't try to make it back into sour cream for a topping... it just doesn't work. Sadly.

Thanks for the replies,

Internet searches help, but advise from people who have tried things helps to cut down on my own trial & error. I've had a lot of it lately.

Please sign in to reply