# Making your own buttermilk...



## WhateverYouWant (Mar 7, 2020)

I have never bought buttermilk. It seems like one of those things I'll use a cup of, and never touch it again (until it's spoiled).

So there are a number of methods for making buttermilk substitute, with everything from adding vinegar, lemon juice, creme fraiche, or sour cream, to milk.The latter two seem to me the best advice.

So I have any of you done this, and what were your results?


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## Cooking Goddess (Mar 7, 2020)

I don't worry about having buttermilk on hand since I found Saco Buttermilk powder. I use buttermilk only for baking, so it works for me. If you want to drink buttermilk or use it for a ranch dressing, you would need to buy or make it.

https://www.sacopantry.com/buttermilk/


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## Cooking Goddess (Mar 7, 2020)

BTW, Scott, this stuff stays good in the fridge for a very long time.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz (Mar 7, 2020)

Cooking Goddess said:


> I don't worry about having buttermilk on hand since I found *Saco Buttermilk powder*. I use buttermilk only for baking, so it works for me. If you want to drink buttermilk or use it for a ranch dressing, you would need to buy or make it.
> 
> https://www.sacopantry.com/buttermilk/



+1

I'll be using this product tomorrow morning when 
I make Waffles for Sunday Brunch


(file photo, with BACON!!)


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## RCJoe (Mar 7, 2020)

If your home has it's own septic system as does mine,  buying buttermilk isn't such a bad investment.  You can make numerous baked goods with it. It keeps rather well in the refrigerator, but if it does go bad just flush it down the toilet as it will renew the bacterial culture and keep it working well.  When I can find it on sale,  I buy a gallon of it each year just to flush it along with two pounds of brown sugar. It is quite effective and much cheaper than using "Rid-X".

A friend of mine was a plumber and told me to maintain my system this way
when I had him to install a garbage disposer for me.  He told me
it really wasn't a good idea to use a disposer when you have a septic tank, so I agreed to regularly flush buttermilk into the system.  So far no problems and I've never had to pay for a pump truck to service it.


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## pepperhead212 (Mar 7, 2020)

I always have a half gallon of BM in the fridge, sometimes to drink, usually to bake with.  When I get down to the last cup and a half or so, I buy another half gallon of full fat milk, and pour out about half a cup, replace it with some BM, shake it well, and let it sit for 12 hours, a little less, in warm weather, checking towards the end, for thickess.  I just use that half cup of milk, and the rest of the BM in some bread, or something else.   I use it in a lot of Indian flatbreads in place of the yogurt, often called for.


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## GimmeAnother1 (Mar 7, 2020)

I’ve been going by this lately

https://youtu.be/qKU4nynlIgo


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2020)

I don't consider anything that isn't what's leftover from churning butter, to be "real buttermilk". Everything else is a substitute, even the stuff you buy at the store. But, the the store bought stuff and the homemade stuff, work fine in recipes. I guess if you are trying to be really authentic, you should use the old fashioned, churned stuff for old recipes. I remember drinking it as a kid, when visiting Denmark. I didn't really care for it. Also, the fat content in that old fashioned buttermilk is comparable to skim milk. Nowadays, I usually use a teaspoon of vinegar in a measuring cup that I fill with milk to a cup. If I had sour cream and no milk, I would thin the sour cream with water or milk nd use that. In some baking recipes, thinned yogourt would work too. In baking recipes, it is there for the acid and as a liquid component.


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## WhateverYouWant (Mar 8, 2020)

GimmeAnother1 said:


> I’ve been going by this lately
> 
> https://youtu.be/qKU4nynlIgo



Unfortunately, he starts out the video demonstrating he doesn't know the first thing about modern buttermilk. Store bought buttermilk doesn't have anything to do with butter. It's made using milk in a fermentation process. Pretty hard to keep watching from that point.


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## WhateverYouWant (Mar 8, 2020)

Cooking Goddess said:


> I don't worry about having buttermilk on hand since I found Saco Buttermilk powder. I use buttermilk only for baking, so it works for me. If you want to drink buttermilk or use it for a ranch dressing, you would need to buy or make it.



You've piqued my interest CG. But why can't you use it for ranch dressing?


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## GimmeAnother1 (Mar 8, 2020)

ScottinPollock said:


> Unfortunately, he starts out the video demonstrating he doesn't know the first thing about modern buttermilk. Store bought buttermilk doesn't have anything to do with butter. It's made using milk in a fermentation process. Pretty hard to keep watching from that point.





To sum it up it is basically 

Milk with lemon juice
Milk with white vinegar
Sour cream thinned out

He prefers sour cream thinned out.

Current explanation. 
https://www.thespruceeats.com/buttermilk-storage-1807745

The vid does say it’s not always made from cream but yea gives traditional example instead of this chemical method.


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## WhateverYouWant (Mar 8, 2020)

GimmeAnother1 said:


> To sum it up it is basically
> 
> Milk with lemon juice
> Milk with white vinegar
> ...



I have also seen milk mixed with sour cream or yogurt. And also Kefir. Of those most convenient would be lemon juice as I always have fresh lemons and/or frozen cubes of it on hand... but I'm guessing milk and sour cream tastes better.

CG's powder has me thinking though. So far everything I've read has been very positive. It is used in HVR's dressing mix (which tastes fantastic). So as long as it doesn't throw a wrench in the leavening process it seems like it would be the best alternative.

I'll look for it next time I shop.


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## medtran49 (Mar 8, 2020)

We've used the Saco for years and years.  It keeps FOREVER in the fridge.  I do use it for salad dressings, though I add some extra powder when I do that or add a little less water.  You just have to shake it really, really good, let it sit for 5 minutes, and repeat twice to get all the clumps out that the powder forms.  



 I imagine you probably could get around the clumping by adding a very small amount of liquid to begin with, mixing, then adding a little more, but I always forget to try that.  That's what I do when making mustard sauce using dry mustard and it works quite well.


I imagine the clumping and possibly the thinness of the powdered buttermilk is why CG doesn't use it in salad dressings.


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## pepperhead212 (Mar 8, 2020)

I know I have seen something that ATK did, comparing various substitutes for buttermilk, but I couldn't find it - I'm sure it was one of those sidebars to making biscuits!  However, seriouseats has a similar article, and came to pretty much the same conclusion: milk+lemon juice or vinegar was the worst sub, the powdered BM a little better, and thinned yogurt or sour cream better, but some drawbacks.  I don't think ATK tried kefir, though less people have this around than BM.  And they note another thing to think about with BM, if you don't use it often, but want the flavor and other benefits: it freezes well.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/04/how-to-substitute-buttermilk.html


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> I know I have seen something that ATK did, comparing various substitutes for buttermilk, but I couldn't find it - I'm sure it was one of those sidebars to making biscuits!  However, seriouseats has a similar article, and came to pretty much the same conclusion: milk+lemon juice or vinegar was the worst sub, the powdered BM a little better, and thinned yogurt or sour cream better, but some drawbacks.  I don't think ATK tried kefir, though less people have this around than BM.  And they note another thing to think about with BM, if you don't use it often, but want the flavor and other benefits: it freezes well.
> https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/04/how-to-substitute-buttermilk.html



The thickness of cultured buttermilk, mentioned in that link, probably makes it inappropriate for some older recipes that were developed with the old fashioned whey buttermilk.

One should be able to make one's own cultured buttermilk in the quantity needed. Start a day or two ahead of time. I have noticed that it's usually the same lactobacillus that is found in cultured buttermilk and in sour cream. I make a cultured milk product called quark. Many recipes for making quark use cultured buttermilk. I use a tablespoon or so of sour cream in a litre of milk. It sits at room temperature overnight or a bit longer and clabbers and then there are further steps to make it into quark. But, at the point where it has some curdles, I imagine that it is cultured buttermilk.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 8, 2020)

I make sour cream--rarely buy it. Learned this from my Grandma. It is thinner than commercial (store-bought) sour cream and is more tart. The best sour cream I ever have made was from raw milk--can't get that here, but I have a friend who has dairy goats and am looking forward to making sour cream from goat's milk--the goats are kidding now. I can still taste the coddled cream I used to make when I dated a dairy farmer.


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## pepperhead212 (Mar 8, 2020)

taxlady said:


> The thickness of cultured buttermilk, mentioned in that link, probably makes it inappropriate for some older recipes that were developed with the old fashioned whey buttermilk.
> 
> One should be able to make one's own cultured buttermilk in the quantity needed. Start a day or two ahead of time. I have noticed that it's usually the same lactobacillus that is found in cultured buttermilk and in sour cream. I make a cultured milk product called quark. Many recipes for making quark use cultured buttermilk. I use a tablespoon or so of sour cream in a litre of milk. It sits at room temperature overnight or a bit longer and clabbers and then there are further steps to make it into quark. But, at the point where it has some curdles, I imagine that it is cultured buttermilk.


I'm not sure what the difference is between the two bacteria cultures used in buttermilk and sour cream, but they are definitely different.  I discovered this when I started making my own crême fraiche, or crema, and the two, when used to sour heavy cream, produced a totally different flavor.  I liked the BM version better, and it produced a more acidic product, which stored more or less indefinitely.


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> I'm not sure what the difference is between the two bacteria cultures used in buttermilk and sour cream, but they are definitely different.  I discovered this when I started making my own crême fraiche, or crema, and the two, when used to sour heavy cream, produced a totally different flavor.  I liked the BM version better, and it produced a more acidic product, which stored more or less indefinitely.


Interesting. I actually got some sour cream in today's grocery delivery, and it no longer mentions the strain of lactobacillus. I wonder if there are differences between what is available in the US and in Canada, or maybe even regionally.


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## Josie1945 (Mar 8, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> I'm not sure what the difference is between the two bacteria cultures used in buttermilk and sour cream, but they are definitely different.  I discovered this when I started making my own crême fraiche, or crema, and the two, when used to sour heavy cream, produced a totally different flavor.  I liked the BM version better, and it produced a more acidic product, which stored more or less indefinitely.



Dave,
   Would you please post your recipe for Crema .I use the same method
that you use to make buttermilk. (Good Stuff )

Josie


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## Cooking Goddess (Mar 8, 2020)

ScottinPollock said:


> You've piqued my interest CG. But why can't you use it for ranch dressing?


Two reasons. The first is the point that *medtran* made - it's a thinner consistency than real buttermilk, and blending the dry powder with liquids is a PITA. The second reason is that we don't use up a creamy dressing fast enough and we're perfectly happy with Ken's Buttermilk Ranch dressing...which is on sale frequently for $2.50 or less for a pint bottle.



medtran49 said:


> ...You just have to shake it really, really good, let it sit for 5 minutes, and repeat twice to get all the clumps out that the powder forms....I imagine the clumping and possibly the thinness of the powdered buttermilk is why CG doesn't use it in salad dressings.


Yup! But now you got me to thinking...I bet a stick blender would take care of the lumpy part. 



taxlady said:


> I don't consider anything that isn't what's leftover from churning butter, to be "real buttermilk"...


We're lucky around here. I can buy "*Kate's Buttermilk*" locally when/if I want to use real, liquid buttermilk.


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## pepperhead212 (Mar 8, 2020)

Josie1945 said:


> Dave,
> Would you please post your recipe for Crema .I use the same method
> that you use to make buttermilk. (Good Stuff )
> 
> Josie



I just pour a pint of heavy cream into a pint jar, add a tb of buttermilk, and shake it up. Then I set it on the counter for 24 hours, maybe a little less, in warm weather.  The cream becomes very thick, then, when refrigerated, it becomes solid.   It keeps for a long time, until I use it up.


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> I just pour a pint of heavy cream into a pint jar, add a tb of buttermilk, and shake it up. Then I set it on the counter for 24 hours, maybe a little less, in warm weather.  The cream becomes very thick, then, when refrigerated, it becomes solid.   It keeps for a long time, until I use it up.



I just want to mention that I this doesn't usually work if you have high temperature pasteurized cream or milk. The high heat does something to the shape of the proteins and they just don't curdle properly. I have had no problems when using regular pasteurized milk or filtered milk.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 8, 2020)

taxlady said:


> Interesting. I actually got some sour cream in today's grocery delivery, and it no longer mentions the strain of lactobacillus. I wonder if there are differences between what is available in the US and in Canada, or maybe even regionally.


The absolute best buttermilk I have ever had was the buttermilk I bought at that little shop we went to after a Danish Luncheon in Montreal--it was real buttermilk, not what you buy in the grocery store. As I remember, it cost a pretty penny, but it was soooooo good, TL. I bet the sour cream there is just as good. My brother and I hated the cottage cheese in Ontario. We would go to a little store on Bank St. in Ottawa and buy cottage cheese from Quebec. It is hard to explain why we didn't like it--we just didn't. I used to always buy organic milk whenever I got a chance to go to VT or NY. I hated Canadian milk sold in the bag. All I can say is that VT, NY, WI, and MN milk is sweeter. I think it is because of the feed. I know clover plays a huge part in the feed in WI and MN.


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## pepperhead212 (Mar 8, 2020)

taxlady said:


> I just want to mention that I this doesn't usually work if you have high temperature pasteurized cream or milk. The high heat does something to the shape of the proteins and they just don't curdle properly. I have had no problems when using regular pasteurized milk or filtered milk.



This always works for me, and the only cream I use for it is the usual UHTP heavy cream.


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## bethzaring (Mar 8, 2020)

As Taxy states, there are two types of buttermilk.  What is left after butter is churned and cultured buttermilk.  Since I no longer make cheese, where the starter was either cultured yogurt or cultured buttermilk, I just add lemon juice to milk when I need buttermilk in a recipe.  I always have milk on hand and add lemon juice to it when I need buttermilk.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 9, 2020)

bethzaring said:


> As Taxy states, there are two types of buttermilk.  What is left after butter is churned and cultured buttermilk.  Since I no longer make cheese, where the starter was either cultured yogurt or cultured buttermilk, I just add lemon juice to milk when I need buttermilk in a recipe.  I always have milk on hand and add lemon juice to it when I need buttermilk.


I belong to the camp that drinks buttermilk...but, you can freeze it or buy powdered buttermilk. When I was an exchange student in Germany, we spe nt 3 weeks on the island of Juist. There I was introduced to a drink that is made with buttermilk and orange juice or lemonade. I do that in the summer. I also like my buttermilk ice cold with grated lime and fresh ground pepper. My Dad drinks his with salt added. When I was a child, buttermilk was kept in the "cooler" at The Lake (this was an insulated box through which the Artesian spring water ran--best water ever).


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