Poll Take Two: What is buttermilk?

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I never knew this was much of a question till I tried to make it. Now I know something I never knew! :blushing:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I make my own butter and as a happy consequence, I have buttermilk left over. I always thougt everyone drank it cultured but, no, many cultures drink just post-butter milk or whey. Actually, to my palate, it's possibly preferable. Still, I'd like to experiment with making my own cultured buttermilk and looked around for recipes. I can find tons of recipes for using plain milk and a bit of left-over buttermilk but non for using actual buttermilk and cultures. odd, imho.

 

So, what about you? What is buttermilk to you, where are you from, and do you have a buttermilk and culture recipe for me?

 

Sorry I have to hurry and post b/f my dog deletes the whole thing. No editing at the mo.

[iamrachelle]

Here's one for using active cultured buttermilk as your "starter"... sort of like friendship bread.

 

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/buttermilk.htm

 

Enjoy!!

[FlockOfSillies]

I don't have a clue what buttermilk is. I'm just following the OP's instructions. :D

[DarcyB]

Adding this from the other thread :)

 

You can also make your own buttermilk by adding a bit of vinegar and letting it sit for 15 min to 'ripen' - for those of us who never buy it because we hate it LOL But I do this method for baking when I need it.

[AngieW in Texas]

I voted other.

 

I add 1 tbs lemon juice to each cup of milk (which I make from nonfat dry milk powder) and let it sit for at least 5 minutes to make it buttermilk.

 

I think buttermilk is what's left after making butter (I'm from the US), but I really don't know.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

The only reason I have half a clue on this one is b/c I am doing MFW Adventures next year! I was reading the manual that a friend lent me and one of the activities is to make butter!

[wapiti]

I don't know what buttermilk is, except that it's more acidic than milk. I just buy it from the store whenever I'm trying to bake from scratch at high altitude.

[Dawn in OH]

Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left after churning cream into butter. Buttermilk sold in American grocery stores these days is cultured and homogenized.

[LostSurprise]

I think buttermilk was originally the milk left over from making butter. Butter was more readily made from milk which had sat for a period of time (and during that time it developed a certain kind of bacteria). Usually it was lower in fat, the fat having glommed together for the butter and removed.

 

Modern buttermilk is cultured milk. A bacterial starter is added to the milk and it's kept at a certain temperature (slightly warm)...much like yogurt.

 

I do this myself. I buy a quart of buttermilk and as it gets low I add more milk, shake it up, and set it out near the stove. In 24 hours I have more buttermilk and I refrigerate it.

 

I'm from the US.

[fairfarmhand]

In an old fashioned world, buttermilk was the liquid left after butter making.

 

Nowadays, the buttermilk you buy from the store is cultured milk. They add culture to the milk to sour it.

 

Did ya know that you can substitute anything sour (sour cream, sour milk, yogurt, cottage cheese) in a recipe for buttermilk? I always add a bit of water or regular milk to get the texture right, but it works.

 

(ETA: I'm from the Us and I voted other)

[LostSurprise]

Other cultured dairy products do work, but they are not all the same kind of bacterial culture. Therefore, be aware that using a different bacterial culture may have different results (less tenderizing, etc.).