Topic: Sour cream separation.

[8ullfrog]

Sometimes when I'm in a rush, I'll make a ramen packet and toss a tablespoon of sour cream in to blunt the seasoning.

The other morning I opened a new sour cream to find a rather unfortunate variance.

It had separated it's congeal-y bits and the milk, so it was like a yogurt sauce.

I'm not a fan of yogurt sauce, but I was in a hurry, so I spooned that poo in, spun it up with a fork and threw it in a container for travel.

What the golly happened to my sour cream?

[mishca09]

sometimes it settles and you have that milky water on top. you just have to mix it up and its alright to eat. OR it could be spoiled maybe… I know supermarket not too far here has lazy/slow workers and most of the time they will leave cold items like eggs and meat and dairy on the sidewalk right under the sun. 


did it smell funny?

[8ullfrog]

smells fine, and it's kind of the opposite of what you describe. I'm familiar with the top layer going liquidy, but this is the whole tub.

the dry/curdy? part sticks to the sides and skims off the top. It's confusing and a little gross.

If I just use this tub for ramen it will probably be fine, I guess I can just grab a new tub on monday, it's only $2.80

But I was wondering just what the golly happened to it.

[mishca09]

is it still white ? I googled curdled sour cream and …..

"If it isn't out of date simply mix back together, but if the separation is severe and the color has changed from a pretty white color, then toss it out - processed cream putrefies, and if the color is leaning towards a yellow color cast, then it's bad."

and its not moldy , so it could be fine… but I suppose its better not to take chances with dairy

[8ullfrog]

white as paint.

[mishca09]

its probably fine then I would continue to use it.

[6pairsofshoes]

Sour cream, like yogurt, buttermilk and cheese is a dairy product produced by introducing a particular strain of bacterium that controls the spoilage.  I'd advise you only to discard it if it's moldy.  If it is sitting in a warm place for any extended period of time, the watery bits will separate from the solid.  I'd simply pour off the extra liquid and eat it as normal.  The minute you encounter mold, though, toss it.

[8ullfrog]

UPDATE: It's our sack of poo refrigerator.

If you put anything on the top shelf near the back, it will freeze. In the prior example it was sour cream. Recently, it was cream cheese.

It was still the same deal, but due to freezing, it resembled cottage cheese. Which is unfortunate.

[6pairsofshoes]

Some fridges will do that if the distribution of cold air is impeded by food packages.  Often they recirculate air from the freezer down and if the vents are blocked you will get weird temperature spikes in the interior.  You might want to check and see if that's part of the problem.

[8ullfrog]

I'd love to just shitcan the thing, but my roommate is stubborn. I think I mentioned before that our bathroom was in pretty bad shape before he gave in and called property management (We rent.)

He's in the "don't rock the boat" (Panic attack if boat rocked) mindset.

Meanwhile, our slumlord would gladly sell the place out from under us if he could find a buyer.

Eh, rent is probably the cheapest in CA, so you gotta take the bad with the good.