DIY -- dairy decisions

You know I make my own yogurt if you've been reading this page.
It's $1 less per quart of product, plus I save even more because it makes a great dip.
I also said cheddar cheese probably wasn't cost effective.
Now sour cream -- that might be cost effective.
A recipe I found calls for 4 quarts of heavy cream at $4 a quart, plus a $2 packet of culture.
For $17 you can get a well known brand of sour cream.
You can see that you won't save much.
And it does go bad if you keep it too long in the fridge.
But you can freeze it for up to six months.

NOW: commercial sour cream can contain lots of chemicals:
modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, guar gum, carageenan, calcium sulface, potassium sorbate (preservative), xanthan gum and locust bean gum.

So it depends on why you DIY. 
But once again, you're going to need that big pot to hold that gallon of cream. 
If you can save money on also making cottage cheese ($4 for 3/4 quart at the store vs. $4 for a gallon of milk)
and paneer ($5 for 8 ounces versus $4 for a gallon of milk),
you might want to add sour cream to your repertoire.
I mean, Shavuot is coming and dairy foods are the tradition for this time of year.

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