1. On sale there is “sour cream from standardized cream”. Should I buy or not? To produce the product, cream that is too heavy is diluted with milk, that is, “normalized”. This is usually not reflected in the taste and it does not abhor GOST. You can buy such sour cream.
2. According to GOST R 52092-2003, sour cream, depending on the mass fraction of fat, is: low-fat (10-14%), low-fat (15-19%), classic (20-34%), fat (35-48%) and high-fat (50 – 58%). The latter is from the realm of fantasy, or from the countryside.
The same GOST reports that sour cream should be a homogeneous, thick mass with a glossy surface. It should smell like other fermented milk products – milk, without foreign odors. Color – white with a cream shade, uniform throughout the mass. Excessive purity of color, its perfection is rather a disadvantage than a virtue. At the same time, heavy cream sour cream has a softer, creamier shade.
3. Real sour cream should not undergo high-temperature processing – pasteurization, sterilization. If the package contains the abbreviation UHT – this means that this is a sour cream product that does not contain live microorganisms. In addition, if the composition includes vegetable oils and food additives, then this is a combined product and it does not have the right to be called “sour cream”.
4. The quality indicator is the shelf life of the product. Real sour cream, not burdened with preservatives, “does not live” longer than 7 days. An increase in the shelf life says that you may have a sour cream product in front of you. It can be stored for up to 4 weeks.
5. Sour cream at a lower temperature in the refrigerator may be thicker, and at room temperature – more liquid. This is a natural change in the consistency of a fermented milk product. If the sour cream is equally thick both in the cold and in the warmth, this is an indicator that stabilizers are included in the composition.
6. The main defects, vices of sour cream can be considered: insipid taste that appears when using a poor-quality starter culture or at too low fermentation temperatures; sour taste and whey on the surface of the product – if the storage temperature is violated. A lumpy consistency appears as a result of insufficient mixing of the product during fermentation.
7. To evaluate the quality of sour cream after purchase, it is enough to dissolve 1 teaspoon of sour cream in a glass of hot water. If the product is of high quality, then sour cream will completely dissolve in water without residue. If not of high quality, then it will settle to the bottom – most often in the form of small grains. Perhaps cottage cheese was added to such sour cream to thicken it. The appearance of white flakes on the surface indicates the beginning of the sour cream souring process. This means that the temperature regime for storing the finished product was violated in the store.