How to Make Buttermilk (2024)

FAQs

How can I make my own buttermilk? ›

For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. You can scale the recipe up or down depending on how much you need.

The simplest way to substitute buttermilk is to pour 1 Tbs. of vinegar into a 1 cup measurer and then fill the rest of the measuring cup with milk. Then gently stir the mixture and let it sit for about 5 minutes. If you don't have vinegar, lemon juice and cream of tarter also work as great buttermilk substitutions.

This quick and easy buttermilk substitute is incredibly simple, and my hope is that you have what you need at home already. Here's what you need: Lemon juice OR vinegar. Fresh or bottled lemon juice OR distilled white vinegar will work equally well.

Store-bought buttermilk is thicker, tangier, and more acidic than traditional or homemade buttermilk. If you're preparing a recipe that calls for buttermilk, it's best to stick with store-bought, especially in baked goods that depend on precise leavening.

To make 1 cup of buttermilk just mix ingredients. To make a delicious quart of buttermilk just mix 1/2 cup of dry buttermilk powder with 3-1/2 cups water.

Buttermilk adds a creamy, slightly tangy flavor to both sweet and savory recipes. But if you don't have buttermilk on hand, you cannot substitute regular milk instead, because it doesn't have the same properties.

You want the fattiness from the milk to help make that cultured texture. You can use apple cider vinegar. When making buttermilk with vinegar, you have options. If you don't have white vinegar, another vinegar should do the trick.

If your milk is too cold it might not curdle properly. If this happens then don't worry, it can be fixed. Just let it sit on the counter until room temperature and then add more lemon juice and let it curdle. Distilled white vinegar also works as an alternative to lemon juice.

Heating denatures the milk proteins, which allows the milk to coagulate and thicken more. Raw milk has not been heated; therefore, the proteins remain intact and will not coagulate the same way and cannot create a buttermilk that is as thick.

Yes, you can substitute sour cream! Thin it with milk or water to get the right consistency. For each cup of buttermilk needed, use 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup liquid. Editor's Tip: Sour cream has a higher fat content, so this will result in richer-tasting foods.

Can I use heavy cream instead of buttermilk? ›

Yes, you can swap them in a recipe, but it's not as simple as switching buttermilk for heavy cream/heavy cream for buttermilk. For example, if you're replacing buttermilk with heavy cream you'll probably need to switch out your baking soda for baking powder.

Guidelines from agricultural programs at various universities recommend consuming buttermilk within three weeks of the date stamped on the package. In the test kitchen, we've found that buttermilk won't turn truly bad (signified by mold growth) until at least three weeks after opening.

It's important to know that you can't simply use regular milk as a buttermilk substitute. This is especially true in baking since buttermilk's acidity works with the baking soda in the recipe to leaven. Here are some buttermilk replacements when you're in a pinch.

While the baking soda in your baked goods will react with both types of acid, the flavor simply won't be the same. So, when buttermilk is called for, especially in baking recipes, you're better off throwing on some sneakers and making the extra trip to the store.

Buttermilk is low in fat and contains more protein per cup than milk. It's also lower in calories than milk and high in calcium, vitamin B12, and potassium. And because it contains live cultures (similar to yogurt), it's more easily digestible than milk.