Why Freezing Sour Cream For Later Isn't Such A Great Idea

If sour cream is a part of your arsenal of ingredients then you know the reluctant feeling of having to pop open a fresh cup for a small job. Perhaps you only needed a scoop for your long-awaited taco night, but now there's a half-full container slowly inching toward its expiration date. The freezer begins to look more appealing by the second as you rack your brain over what can be done to maintain the newly-bought sour cream. After all, other things can freeze. Why not sour cream?

Turns out you can freeze sour cream. It's not like it's going to poison you or anything. But if you're expecting to defrost it and find that smooth, creamy goodness still intact, you're setting yourself up for disappointment since freezing messes with the consistency in a big way. What you pull out of the freezer weeks later won't look or feel like the same product you originally bought. You can still use it in this form, but it definitely doesn't deliver the same impact or appeal once thawed.

Sour cream is an emulsion, which just means it's made up of fat and water held together in a creamy suspension. The cold temperatures of a freezer disrupt that balance. As it freezes, the water content in the sour cream separates from the fat, forming ice crystals. When it's thawed again, those ice crystals melt and leave you with a watery, grainy mess instead of a spoonable topping.

No amount of stirring is going to bring it fully back to life. At best, you'll have a lumpy texture which looks curdled and won't blend into recipes as seamlessly as fresh sour cream would. That's why you'll usually hear that frozen sour cream is only good for cooking in situations where texture doesn't matter as much. An example of that would be a creamy soup base, baked macaroni, or a slow-cooked stroganoff. Even then, the flavor can take a subtle hit, especially if it's been frozen for more than a month. 

If you do freeze it, thaw sour cream in the fridge (not on the counter) to avoid food safety issues. Expect a short window for use, as well. Once thawed, it should be consumed within a couple days. If you're looking for taste and texture, it's best to buy in smaller containers and use it while it's fresh.