Sour cream (śmietana) always has been number one dressing on a salad at my childhood home. Not only on the salad, but my mother used it a lot in the kitchen with other dishes. Śmietana was on pierogi, naleśniki, potatoes, in the soups, sauces, in cakes and other desserts! Everything is better with sour cream in Poland:)

Image credit East News

What can you buy in Polish supermarket? Sweet cream, obtained through the centrifugation of milk. The cream is usually pasteurised at a high temperature or sterilised. Sweet cream with a fat content of 9% to 18% is used as coffee creamer (śmietanka do kawy). Kremówka cream contains between 30 and 36% fat, and it is used for desserts. Sour cream on the other hand is a product made by adding lactic acid bacteria to the sweet cream.  Fat content here is between 9-36%

9-12% are great for salads or smoothies

18-20% are great for sauces

30-36% are great for desserts

The simplest way to say it: śmietanka is sweet and śmietana is sour!

Going back to a salad dressing, My 2 favorite salads are pretty simple, but so delicious! Mizeria is one of them! Sliced cucumber with fresh dill and sour cream (some people use plain yoghurt instead of sour cream) – nothing more delicious!!! My Greek husband loves it too! It kind of reminds him of Greek tzatziki!

Another delicious salad is just simple fresh lettuce with sliced radishes and fresh dill, again, with sour cream! Both of these salads have amazing, simple taste any time of the year, but especially on a hot, summer day!

I know that sour cream is still used a lot as a salad dressing, especially in the Polish villages! At my parents house is definitely number one!