2007-01-21 14:58:12 · 15 answers · asked by mjbooth38 1 in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
the cream is already sour, why would it need an expiration date
2007-01-21 15:05:02 · update #1
Check the dates, it is still a dairy product...
2007-01-25 12:42:09 · answer #1 · answered by lovelostboys 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably you have the idea that they make sour cream by taking ordinary cream and letting it sit out on the window sill for a couple hours. lol
But that's not how it works. (Surely you suspected this) ;)
It's true they start with light cream or the equivalent. Having pasteurized it, which kills most of the microorganisms that make raw milk go sour, they then dump in a special bacterial culture that produces lactic acid.
Chilling the sour cream after the bacteria have had 12-16 hours to do their thing halts the "ripening" (i.e., souring) process, resulting in a product that is merely tangy rather than completely rank.
But bacterial action doesn't totally stop, and if the sour cream sits around long enough it will eventually become so sour (or moldy) that it's inedible. The same will happen to virtually any dairy product, since some sour-inducing microorganisms invariably survive pasteurization. Thus the expiration dates.
2007-01-21 15:08:57 · answer #2 · answered by sugar candy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
unfortunately, nobody seemed to find the irony in your question. sour cream is made by adding bacteria to cream, which causes it to go sour. immediately after this happens, it is pasteurized to stop the process of the introduced bacteria. however, it is still able to spoil like other dairy products if left past it's expiration date or in warm temperatures.
2007-01-21 15:17:14 · answer #3 · answered by hunting wabbit 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good Point. I think that the experation date tells you when the sour cream, will go sweet. Now we don't want sweeet cream! How about them potatoes.
2007-01-22 07:42:06 · answer #4 · answered by xoxoxo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
u must hav never seen expired sour cream
2007-01-21 15:06:48 · answer #5 · answered by Jeffrey 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
old sour cream can make you sick
simple enough even for you to understand
2007-01-21 15:08:34 · answer #6 · answered by littleheadcat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what, you don't want an expiration date on your food? I would like for somebody to tell me "don't eat that, mold is starting to grow on it" I think thats what expiration date is for.
2007-01-21 15:07:39 · answer #7 · answered by keziah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cottage cheese is spoiled milk, and it has an expiration date... It can still go bad.
2007-01-21 15:07:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the same as all the other dairy products. They eventually spoil and the date tells you how fresh it is.
2007-01-21 15:01:42 · answer #9 · answered by Chef Mark 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sour is one thing. Moldy is another.
2007-01-21 15:06:32 · answer #10 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋