You love it with latkes, you need it with nachos, and find it essential with baked potatoes. But sour cream is also a crucial ingredient in creamy casseroles, stroganoffs, and paprikas; it's delicious spooned over pork chops, and stirred into salad dressings, and added to cakes to moisten and soften them.
Not-So-Sour Cream
As sour things go, sour cream isn’t actually very sour. The name “sour cream” actually describes a process of thickening regular cream, called “souring,” which produces a gentle, pucker-free tangy flavor.
Light varieties of sour cream contain a cream and milk mix, which results in less fat. And “fat-free sour cream” means it was made from non-fat milk with no cream used.