How to Freeze Sour Cream or Cream Cheese

Freeze sour cream or cream cheese with care.

Freezing is a suitable and effective option for preserving many different foods. When you freeze foods, you prolong their storage life by preserving them at low temperatures. While freezing works for some foods, other foods may not freeze with desired outcomes. Often when you defrost dairy foods, they become grainy or watery. Sour cream and cream cheese are two dairy foods that may not thaw with best results; however, you may want to try freezing these foods in small amounts to check their quality after defrosting.

Things You'll Need

• Sour cream
• Cream cheese
• Plastic freezer containers
• Freezer bags (zipper type)
• Permanent marker

Instructions

1. Place the sour cream into a plastic freezer container. Leave at least 1 inch of free space at the top. Seal the container tightly.

2. Place the cream cheese into a freezer bag while the cream cheese is still in its original packaging. Close the freezer bag almost completely and squeeze the bag to remove as much air as possible. Close the bag completely.

3. Write the contents and the date on either the plastic freezer container or the plastic freezer bag with the permanent marker.

4. Place the containers or bags into the freezer and leave them in the freezer for up to two months.

5. Remove the items from the freezer when ready to use and defrost them in the refrigerator for at least eight hours.

6. Unwrap the items and assess the quality of the sour cream and the cream cheese after they thaw. If the foods are separated and watery, stirring may restore them.

Tips & Warnings

• Both sour cream and cream cheese may taste different after freezing and thawing. You may also notice a grainy texture that was not present before freezing. If you freeze and thaw these items, they may not be satisfactory to eat alone but may be used successfully in recipes.

References

• University of Georgia: Freezing Prepared Foods
• Missouri Families: Food Safety