Months-old raw cream... what to do with it?

[hummingmom]

I was just rearranging stuff in the fridge, and came across a couple of pint bottles of certified raw cream, dated 2 months ago. They're still sealed, and they were in a cold part of the fridge. They seem to have separated, and the upper (thick) part has bubbles in it.

How do I know if this is safe to use -- and if so, what do you suggest using it for? I'm going to hazard a guess that my family wouldn't like a big dollop of it on their nachos. Anyway, we just opened a big tub of sour cream. But maybe it could be used to make cream cheese?

Raw cream is a precious commodity around here. If it can be used at all, I'm game.

[hummingmom]

Update: I've opened the bottles, and poured them into some clean plastic containers. The cream didn't have much of a smell (and really only a few bubbles). Seems perfectly safe, but I'm still wondering how to use it up. I found one more bottle, so that's 1.5 quarts altogether. And we already have lots of fresh cream and sour cream on hand.

If I freeze it in smaller containers, will it get a funny texture when I thaw it? I'd probably be adding it to cream soups or sauces, if that makes a difference.

[snowbunny]

Throw it out. Raw cream may seem like a precious commodity, but it's been lurking in your fridge for months.

[hummingmom]

It's always been my understanding that if raw dairy "goes off" in a way that makes it unsuitable for eating, your senses are going to tell you about it. When I opened this cream, it looked and smelled well within the parameters of ordinary cream that was just somewhat past its prime -- i.e., a bit thicker and more sour than usual. So I'm not seeing why the fact that it's two months old means that it's likely to be unsafe, in the absence of other indications (nasty smell, stuff growing on it, etc.).

I realize that it would be a no-no from a public health perspective, but they would frown on half the stuff we eat. AFAIK, they haven't done any studies on raw cream that's from healthy cows, sealed in clean containers by a certified dairy with very low bacteria counts, and kept for several weeks in a very cold refrigerator.

Now that it's been opened, I'm more concerned about it, as the air in my uncertified, unsterilized kitchen is likely to be a cornucopia of various molds, yeasts, and toddler germs. So last night I decided to add some good cultures, to try to keep the "balance of power" on the side of the yummy guys. I inoculated one container with Meyenberg Goat Cream Cheese (very yummy product, BTW), one with additive-free commercial sour cream, and one with Greek yogurt. Then I put them in the oven overnight, with the light turned on.

This morning, the sour cream one seemed to have separated, but when I went to strain it, it was still very runny. It tasted like plain old fermented cream. Not something I'd eat straight, personally, but it would be fine for soup and so forth.

The yogurt one smelled yogurty, but was also still runny.

I haven't checked on the goat cream cheese one yet.

If they don't seem to be progressing to my liking -- which is typically my experience with fermenting raw dairy -- I'll scald the cream and start over with yogurt cultures, to make creme bulgare. (I considered doing that in the first place, but half the fun of TF is doing these science projects. )