Farm Sour Cream

Description

The manufacturing of sour cream begins with the standardization of fat content; this step is to ensure that the desired or legal amount of milk fat is present. As previously mentioned the minimum amount of milk fat that must be present in sour cream is 18%. During this step in the manufacturing process other dry ingredients are added to the cream; additional grade A whey for example would be added at this time. Another additive used during this processing step are a series of ingredients known as stabilizers. The common stabilizers that are added to sour cream are polysaccharides and gelatin, including modified food starch, guar gum, and carrageenans. The reasoning behind the addition of stabilizers to fermented dairy products is to provide smoothness in the body and texture of the product. The stabilizers also assist in the gel structure of the product and reduce whey syneresis. The formation of these gel structures, leaves less free water for whey syneresis, thereby extending the shelf life. Whey syneresis is the loss of moisture by the expulsion of whey. This expulsion of whey can occur during the transportation of containers holding the sour cream, due to the susceptibility to motion and agitation.[16] The next step in the manufacturing process is the acidification of the cream. Organic acids such as citric acid or sodium citrate are added to the cream prior to homogenization in order to increase the metabolic activity of the starter culture.[15] To prepare the mixture for homogenization, it is heated for a short period of time.