How To Make Sour Cream in Buenos Aires

Many an expat complains about how few food products exist here in Argentina, making many dishes difficult to make. Many different types of cakes, cheesecakes, quote unquote ethnic foods and so forth are very hard to make because of a lack of ingredients.

One ingredient that is key to cheesecake as well as many mexican dishes is sour cream.

Sour cream, as it exists in the USA, does not exist in Argentina. The most similar thing we have is Casan Creme. Casan Creme is most likened to something that exists in a nether region somewhere between cream cheese and sour cream. It has the consistency of sour cream, more liquid and just barely solid, but more of the flavor of cream cheese. In other words it does not have the sourness of sour cream.

So, in order to make sour cream you will need the following ingredient:

1. Full size container of Casan Creme – 300 grams.

2. The juice of about 1.5 lemons.

3. A teaspoon of salt.

Its super simple! Mix all of this together… you *will* get some separation but just keep mixing. The lemon is going to give the sour flavor so depending on how sour you want it, add more/less lemon.

This adds a whole new level to your ability to cook in Argentina, especially making dishes that are not traditional to Argentina (because of course they do not even know what sour cream is!).

I look forward to hearing your stories about cheesecakes, beef stroganoff, or artichoke dip. Stay tuned for other substitutes and recipes like barbecue sauce and ranch sauce.

Two different restaurants that are doing their own versions of this stuff are The Office and Randall’s, the only two American style eateries with American comfort food that I know of in Buenos Aires. Both do a tremendous job and I highly recommend them.