Smetana (dairy product)
A bowl of borscht with smetana | |
| Type | Sour cream |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Central Asia |
| Main ingredients | Heavy cream |
| Similar dishes | Crème fraîche |
Smetana is the English-language name for the different types of sour cream traditionally prevalent in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia. It is a dairy product produced by souring heavy cream. It is similar to crème fraîche, but nowadays mainly sold with 9% to 42% milkfat content depending on the country. Its cooking properties are different from crème fraîche and sour cream sold in the US, which contain 18% butterfat. It is widely used in cooking and baking.
In some of the Slavic languages (Czech, Slovak, Slovenian) the sole word smetana refers to (sweet) cream. In these cases an adjective (zakysaná, kyslá, kisla) meaning 'soured' is needed when referring to smetana in the English sense.