cultured buttermilk…

Photo courtesy of Big Oven

In the past whenever a recipe has called for buttermilk, I’ve resorted to making sour milk. It’s an easy substitution. Pour a little lemon juice or vinegar into a cup of milk and wait five minutes. Since I never had buttermilk on hand, it was easier to substitute the sour milk in a recipe than load everyone up and make a dash for the store for one item.

At some point, I realized how ridiculously easy it is to make buttermilk. Pour a cup of buttermilk into a clean jar. Add milk. Cover and let sit at room temperature until it has thickened up and turned into cultured buttermilk. Keep in the refridgerator like you would store bought buttermilk.

It’s much less expensive than buying buttermilk. Plus, if you are looking for a full fat version, you can make it. The fat content of your homemade buttermilk will be determined by the fat content of the milk you use.

My husband used to be leary of homemade dairy products, afraid that there may be more bacteria in there. I think the buttermilk convinced him, though. He was excited that we would always have buttermilk on hand for cooking. Since I’ve been using actual buttermilk in recipes which call for it, there is no going back. Sour milk just can’t compare to the wonderful richness of cultured buttermilk.