Most of us stand a black slate when it comes to differentiating between Sour cream and yogurt since both of them are the result of fermented milk. Both of these are fermented dairy products and have a rather short expiration date.
If you are running low on one of them, can they be used interchangeably? Don’t worry! We will tell you all the differences to the extent of ingredients. So, that you can decide on your own whether you want to experiment or not.
Key Takeaways
- Yogurt is a dairy product made by fermenting milk with live bacteria cultures, resulting in a thick, tangy, and creamy product; sour cream is a dairy product made by fermenting cream with lactic acid bacteria, resulting in a tangy, slightly sour flavor and a thinner consistency than yogurt.
- Yogurt is often eaten as a snack or used in cooking and baking; sour cream is commonly used as a topping or condiment.
- Yogurt is typically lower in fat than sour cream and can be used as a substitute in many recipes; sour cream has a higher fat content and a richer flavor.
Yogurt vs Sour Cream
The difference between Yogurt and Sour cream is that sour cream is made by adding lactic acid and bacteria to a mixture of cream & milk and letting it sit till the mixture sours and thickens. On the other hand, Yogurt is made by fermenting milk only instead of cream.
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Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Yogurt | Sour Cream |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria used for fermentation | Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus | Lactococcus lactis subsp latic or Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris |
| Shelf life | 1-2 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Fat content per 100 gm | 0.4 gm | 20 gm |
| Taste | Somewhat bland but tart flavor | Thick tart taste due to its creaminess |
| Calories per 100 gm | 59 | 193 |
What is Yogurt?
Yogurt also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt depending on the region where you live is made industrially by bacterial fermentation of milk.
The bacterial culture is a combination of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria. This bacterial culture is known as yogurt culture.
The process starts by heating the milk to about 85-degree Celsius to take away its proteins so that it doesn’t turn into curd. After heating the milk, it is allowed to cool to about 45-degree Celsius.
The bacterial culture is then mixed in and the mixture is allowed to stand still with a constant temperature of 45-degree Celsius for about 4-5 hours. Yogurt has a shelf life of 1-2 weeks.
Yogurt is prominently used as a base for certain dishes and dips instead of sour cream as a healthier substitute.
It can also be used to enrich the taste of dishes like guacamole, hummus, or spinach and artichoke to give that extra tangy taste.
Yogurt can also be made at home by repeating the above process but in a contained state.
Various substitutes like plant milk yogurt are on the rise owing to their environment-friendly nature like soy milk yogurt, rice milk yogurt, almond milk yogurt, and coconut milk yogurt.
What is Sour Cream?
Sour cream or soured cream is made by fermenting the mixture of milk and cream.
The bacterial culture used is a combination of Lactococcus lactis subsp latic or Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris which sours and thickens the cream giving that rich and thick flavor.
Sour cream earns its name from the production of lactic acid by bacterial fermentation. This process is known as souring. Sour cream has a shelf life of 3 weeks.
Sour cream is made by adding bacterial culture to the mix of cream and milk and heating it to a temperature of 23 degree-Celsius. The process is stopped when the mix reaches the appropriate flavor and thickness.
The lactic acid produced in the process stops the protein, thickening the cream, and giving its characteristic sour flavor.
Sour cream is used in a variety of dishes like sour cream doughnuts, sour cream Lasagna, enchilada casserole, and the most famous tomato soup.
Main Differences Between Yogurt and Sour Cream
- Yogurt is made by fermenting milk on the contrary Sour cream is made by fermenting a mixture of milk and cream. The bacterial cultures used are also different.
- The bacterial culture used in the fermentation of yogurt is Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus while Lactococcus lactis subsp latic or Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris produce lactic acid in a mixture of cream and milk which in turn give that characteristic tangy flavor to Sour cream.
- Yogurt is a low calory food item while Sour cream is heavy in calories due to its thickness. Therefore, Yogurt can be used in place of sour cream to preserve food calories maintaining that tangy flavor.
- According to a taste test, yogurt tastes tangy but somewhat bland. On the other hand, Sour cream also tastes tangy but is richer due to its creaminess. If you are all into flavors, we would recommend you sour cream as it is much richer in flavor.
- The shelf life of dairy products is usually low and in this case, it is even lower because of the fermentation process as the bacterial culture needs a certain temperature to stop working. Yogurt lasts about 1-2 weeks while Sour cream can last up to 3 weeks.
- https://elibrary.asabe.org/abstract.asp?aid=34291
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1998.tb17922.x
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
