Food Lens Images are for illustrative purposes only, may be inaccurate, and do not guarantee the presence or absence of specific ingredients. Food Lens · Dairy
Sour cream
Tangy, creamy, rich, lightly sour, and cooling.
Lens analyzedSour cream is cultured cream with tangy dairy richness used as a topping, baking ingredient, sauce base, and cooling garnish.
Where it comes from
Culturing cream is a dairy-preservation tradition that produced tangy, spoonable creams across Europe and later North American kitchens.
Varieties — Full-fat, light, lactose-free, and plant-based versions vary in stability and allergens.
Related cultured creams appear in Eastern European, Mexican-American, Tex-Mex, and North American comfort foods.
Buying it
Choose refrigerated sour cream with intact seal. Full-fat gives the richest texture; light versions can be thinner.
Storing it
Keep refrigerated and use clean utensils. Discard if moldy, fizzy, or sharply off-smelling.
Keeps about 14 days in the fridge.
Out of sour cream? Good swaps
- Greek yogurt — Tangy and higher protein; less rich.
- Creme fraiche — Richer and less tangy.
General cooking guidance — always check the labels on the products you use. Listahan’s allergen checks run automatically when you plan a recipe in the app. Not medical advice.
Recipes that use sour cream
Common questions about sour cream
What can I use instead of sour cream?
Good swaps include Greek yogurt, Creme fraiche. Each behaves a little differently — see the swaps above for notes, and always check labels for allergens.
How do I store sour cream?
Keep refrigerated and use clean utensils. Discard if moldy, fizzy, or sharply off-smelling. It keeps about 14 days in the fridge.
More dairy
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Make sour cream about your kitchen — with Listahan Pro
Everything above is free, forever. Pro adds the Household Lens — the same food, seen for your family:
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Checked for each member
Flags sour cream per person against your household's allergies and school rules — not just a generic "contains" tag.
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Pantry-aware
Knows whether you already have it, what is running low, and the best swap from what is in your kitchen tonight.
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What it costs near you
A real price from the Presyo community index, so you can plan the budget — not guess.
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Your household memory
Who likes it, plus your own private notes — brand, where you keep it, who skips it.
Allergen safety is always free — Pro adds the automation, never the safety.
Cook with sour cream — safely
Plan a recipe in Listahan and the household allergen check runs automatically — every plan, every swap, every lunchbox. Safety is never paywalled.