Today, many housewives prefer to use the freezers of their refrigerators not only for the preservation of meat products or various processed foods. With the help of freezers, many problems are now solved. They are used to preserve greens, some vegetables and fruits. Cottage cheese, milk and some types of cheeses are frozen and then successfully used in cooking. In the article we learn about whether it is possible to freeze sour cream in a freezer or, for example, on the street (for residents of private houses).
What is it for?
At what points do we ask ourselves about the long-term preservation of certain products? Take at least natural cottage cheese, butter, milk and, of course, sour cream. It is not always possible to buy real home-made products at affordable prices. But what if you bought sour cream from a friend's grandmother more than you can eat for a short shelf life? At such a moment, we begin to think about how to keep the product longer and whether it is possible to freeze homemade sour cream in the freezer.
I must say that sometimes a store product also wants to be kept longer. For example, it became clear to you that a certain portion of sour cream would not be eaten and, most likely, it would go to the garbage chute in a couple of days. Is it possible to freeze sour cream for storage and extension of its shelf life in this case?
The taste will not return
Before subjecting a lactic acid product to deep freezing, it is worth weighing all the positive and negative points that await you after defrosting it. First of all, one must realize that the consistency of the melted product (as well as the taste) will not become the same. Is it possible to freeze sour cream if it delaminates after defrosting? And why do you need a product that you can’t add to a salad or soup?
In pastries and sauces
Sometimes, in order to save a product, you need to sacrifice something. And although you probably won’t eat frosted sour cream with pancakes, you can find other options for using it. Add the product to the dough, sauces or cream.
Leftovers are sweet
So, is it possible to freeze sour cream, which remained in small quantities and its shelf life is striving for completion? Yes you can! But you should take into account some of the rules of competent freezing and comfortable defrosting of such a dairy product. You can freeze homemade sour cream only after preliminary manipulations with the product residues. Do not be scared, everything is done very simply. Read and remember (and, of course, use this method of preserving a natural and healthy product).
In the freezer for three months
Real sour cream has a sufficiently high fat content and after thawing does not change the taste characteristics too much. Before you place the remains of the product in the freezer, you need to thoroughly beat it with a whisk. Such manipulation will help to evenly distribute the liquid and fat component, which are inevitably in the village sour cream. The product is placed in a glass or ceramic dish. These materials are practically neutral for reactions with acids.
The most preferred temperature for reliable preservation of the rustic product will be -25 ° C. After freezing, the structure of your sour cream will inevitably become grainy. Do not be alarmed, this is not a sign of a bad product or unfit for eating.
It is also necessary to defrost in the refrigerator. Remove dishes with sour cream from the freezer and leave in the refrigerator for a day. Now it can be used for sauce for cabbage rolls or for baking. Although, to be more frank, this product can also be added to the first courses, the taste will not suffer.
From the store
Is it possible to freeze sour cream from a store? Of course, if there is a little store-bought product left, you need to beat it, like rustic sour cream, and place it in a container of glass (or ceramics) and send it to the bowels of your freezer until better times. It should be thawed according to the same principle as the village one: put in the refrigerator for a day. Only such a product will look less presentable than its natural "brother": the liquid and thick (if you can call it that) parts will separate. Of course, you can beat the melted sour cream again or simply drain the resulting liquid.
Sometimes in stores we get already frozen (and melted) sour cream. You can guess this by the way the liquid part separated from the thick (at least a little). Is it possible to freeze sour cream if it has already undergone a similar procedure? No, then nothing will save her anymore. Repeated freezing is highly undesirable and even contraindicated. It is better to use such a sour cream product before it expires. With this low-quality ingredient, you can bake a cake or cookies if you do not want to send sour cream to the bin tomorrow.
Freeze for the future
A few tips for those hostesses who are not confused by the fact of the delamination of thawed sour cream. A store product can be bought for future use and frozen directly in packages:
- Place the bag or plastic bag with sour cream in your freezer without printing it.
- Write on the package the number when you froze the product and the date by which it must be used. Now sour cream can be in the cold for up to six months. When it is needed, take it out and place it in the refrigerator to defrost. After the product has melted, it must be slightly beaten (or mixed vigorously with a spoon).