Many people ask “Is sour cream gluten free?” To answer that question we took a look at some major brands to determine what the manufacturers had to say about the topic. Sour cream is one of those products that you cannot give a general “yes or no” to whether it contains gluten. Some have gluten and some do not. While we could not examine every possible brand, we tried to take a decent sample of popular commercially produced sour cream brands. However, let’s take a look at what is gluten, first.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, rye, oats, and barley. It is in flours, pasta, bread, cakes, cereal, beer, and many other wheat-based or other grain foods. Gluten gives bread and other products that bouncy feeling when you press on them. People typically seek gluten-free foods because they have difficulty digesting the gluten protein. Maintaining a gluten-free diet is especially important for people with celiac disease because the gluten protein can cause damage to the small intestine from an irregular immune response. Celiac disease is uncommon, affecting approximately 1 percent of the population. However, there are still many people that are sensitive to gluten but don’t have the severity of celiac disease.
Is Sour Cream Gluten Free?
You may be wondering why the heck can there potentially be gluten in sour cream when sour cream is made from milk and not wheat or grains. Sour cream in a pure form is nothing more than cream, an acid like white vinegar or lime juice to thicken the cream, and maybe some salt. However, when you buy it commercially you can find wheat-based additives that usually work as stabilizers or thickeners. If you have trouble with gluten, it is important to learn how to read food labels to determine what ingredients contain gluten. Food manufacturers will not always come out and say directly if a product has gluten. Check out this article on determining gluten ingredients by reading the labels.
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Let us take a look at some major sour cream brands and see what the manufacturers have to say about gluten. Note that ingredients can change at any time so check the labels or with the manufacturing before buying to ensure your product is gluten-free.
Sour Cream Brand Gluten Statements
| Brand | Company Statement on Gluten |
|---|---|
| Daisy | "Daisy products are gluten-free. They contain no starch." |
| Organic Valley | Website verifies their sour cream is gluten-free |
| Straus Family Creamery | "Straus Family Creamery’s certified Organic Sour Cream is Non-GMO Project Verified, certified kosher and gluten free." |
| Hood | No gluten in all sour cream products. |
| Darigold | All Natural, Cream Agria Mexicana, & Original Sour Cream are listed as gluten-free. |
| Horizon Organic | "We make every effort to ensure that Horizon Organic milk products are free of wheat, wheat gluten, rye, oats, barley and malt. While it is virtually impossible to be certain that each carton is 100% free of all gluten, Horizon Organic milk products are suitable for most people with wheat and gluten allergies. People with severe allergies should consult a doctor before introducing a new food." |
| Cabot | "All of Cabot's products are gluten-free with the exception of the spreadable cheddars and deli cheese that is repacked at your local grocery store. Due to our sourcing, we cannot guarantee spreads to be wheat-free. Repacked deli cheese is wrapped at store level where gluten could be present leading to contamination. All of the rest of Cabot’s products and ingredients have been researched and verified to be gluten-free and are produced in a gluten-free environment. " |
| Kemps | "Kemps products including milk, sour cream, cottage cheese and yogurt are gluten free. " |
| Tillamook | "Just a few of our products contain gluten. All of our cheese, yogurt, sour cream and butter products are gluten-free (hooray!)." |
| Clover | Sour cream products reflect as being gluten-free |
| Nancy's Organic | "A thick, rich and delicious sour cream, fully cultured with live probiotics and made with fresh, organic milk from local family farms. Free of additives, thickeners or preservatives. Gluten free and certified Kosher. " |
| Friendship Dairies | From website FAQ: "Q: Are any of your products gluten free? A: Yes. They all are." |
