On expired sour cream

Sour cream, two weeks past expiration date. OK to eat?

Yesterday I unearthed a carton of 2-week-overdue sour cream in my refrigerator and posed this exact same question to myself. My sour cream was unopened, so I unwrapped it and gazed into the white abyss. I found no suspicious discoloration or sinister odors so I shoveled a heap onto my breakfast nachos. It tasted like sour cream. I happily returned the rest of the carton to the fridge.

The most likely scenario for sour cream “going bad” is that you, the user, contaminate the container with bacteria and that bacteria interferes with the sour cream’s own fermentation. It logically follows, then, that to maximize the shelf-life of your sour cream, you want to minimize the introduction of new bacteria: Spoon your sour cream with clean utensils, don’t double dip, keep the lid clean, don’t lick your finger and swirl it around that creamy whirlpool simply for the thrill of it. These practices will make your sour cream last much longer — perhaps weeks past the expiration date.

How do you know when it’s finally time to throw away your sour cream? Use your senses. First, don’t be deterred by a little separation —  just give it a quick stir and it should reorganize into its familiar consistency. Second, don’t eat any sour cream that shows signs of mold or color change. Third, smell it. Contrary to the name, sour cream has a pretty smooth fragrance. If you whiff something putrid (trust me, you’ll know) then throw it out.

 For more hot tips on fermented dairy, dip into this post on expired buttermilk.
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