5-ways: How to Make Homemade Buttermilk Recipe in 10 Minutes?

Every time you need buttermilk, these five ways of preparing it in just a couple of minutes will be of great help.

Buttermilk is a common ingredient used for cooking or baking so you will probably want to have it at hand more often. 

Firstly, What is Buttermilk?

If you consider the name, anyone would think about a high-fat milk, with a buttery texture. This is not quite true. In fact, buttermilk has no butter in it. It has also a lower fat amount than regular milk. But the name is appropriate for the original buttermilk. This fermented beverage was a result of the process of churning butter.

One of the greatest properties of buttermilk is that it speeds up the action of leavening agents in baked products and this is the reason why it is so often used in the kitchen.

There are two types of buttermilk: cultured and churned.

One thing is for sure: the buttermilk you can find in the grocery store is completely different from the one your grandparents used to enjoy.

These days, the process of making buttermilk is pretty similar to the one of preparing yogurt. And nothing is homemade but rather an industrial process. It is made out of skim or low-fat milk usually instead of whole milk and that is the reason the fat content is reduced.

Producers add bacteria cultures to this type of milk and let it ferment for 12 to 14 hours at about 69F, which is a low temperature.

Some products also contain salt, sugar and other stabilizers. You will be able to read “cultured buttermilk” on the label.

The original version of homemade buttermilk consists of the little bit sweet liquid which remains after the butter is churned. It is possible that this beverage has tiny pieces of butter that didn’t reach to the top in the skimming process.

You will get a small amount of buttermilk as it takes about one gallon of heavy cream to return ½ pint of buttermilk. Although the traditional churned buttermilk tastes and looks creamy and reach, it doesn’t contain much fat because all the fat ends up in butter.

Nowadays we may find large range of products, from skim to full-fat, similar to yogurt or sour cream.

But in both cases, the fermentation process turns the milk sugars into lactic acid. This compound is valuable for baked goods both because of its tangy taste and for the fact that it helps with leavening agents. Lactic acid also blocks the spread of unhealthy bacteria and increases the shelf life for this product. 

The buttermilk you find in stores is thicker and more acidic than its original relative. When combined with baking soda, it helps with the rising of the batter. Also baking soda decreases the acidity in buttermilk. 

How to Use Buttermilk?

The use of buttermilk dates back years ago. Its great properties for baking were valued but so was the slightly sour flavor. Recipes like buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk pancakes call for it because the lactic acid gets the dough to rise vigorously.

But not only baking goods benefits from the buttermilk’s qualities. It can also be used in recipes for fried chicken or to tenderize meat. It is a primary ingredient in dips, salad dressings or Southern pies.

However, in my opinion, the best use I give to buttermilk is to drink it. This is actually a healthy beverage which contains a lot of active cultures and probiotics, often found in fermented beverages like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchee or natural yogurt. It helps with promoting gut health and brings substantial benefits to digestion.

Health Benefits of Buttermilk

First of all, some people can digest buttermilk easier than other dairy products. This is due to the lactic acid in this beverage. This acid makes it easier for some of us to digest lactose, the natural sugar contained in dairies. 

Being lactose intolerant means that you don’t have an enzyme called lactase which helps in breaking up the lactose. After we grow up, approximately 65% of us develop a more or less prominant lactose intolerance. 

For example, I can’t drink plain milk, I experience some nasty pain after doing that. When I try buttermilk or kefir instead, everything is good.

However, I can’t drink these everyday either so I need to keep in mind that I can only enjoy dairy products once a week.

By drinking buttermilk, you will also benefit from calcium and phosphorus. If it is store bought, it might be fortified with vitamin D. All these vitamins and minerals are important for bone health and lower the risk of osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

Another health effect of buttermilk consumption could be a better oral health. One of the ailments that affect us often is periodontitis, an inflammation caused by periodontal bacteria. It is known that fermented products may have anti-inflammatory action on the skin cells thus reducing inflammation. Scientists have associated consuming fermented dairy foods with a decrease in the appearance of periodontitis.

Cooking with Buttermilk

Consider the fact that buttermilk curdles pretty quickly when heated so try to heat it over low temperatures in a separate pan (a made in the USA stainless steel or non stick works nicely)if needed. Buttermilk recipes are usually quite easy

How to Substitute Buttermilk? What's a Buttermilk Replacement?

It is extremely probable that you don’t always remember to buy buttermilk. It happens to me pretty much all the time. Lucky me there are a few ways to make it at home with regular pantry ingredients.

If a recipe calls for buttermilk, then buttermilk replacement it should be. Plain milk won’t do the same job and will definitely not create the same effect. For example, plain milk doesn’t tenderize gluten nor creates baked goodies which are fluffy and light.

Homemade buttermilk is the answer for this situation. And it is actually healthier since it doesn’t contain any additives.

How to Make Buttermilk From Milk?

For homemade buttermilk you will need… milk. That is the main ingredient for all the “How to make buttermilk?” recipes.

In addition, some acid or lactic cultures are necessary.

How to Make Buttermilk with Lemon?

The first recipe for DIY buttermilk calls for lemon. Add one tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to a cup of plain milk.

Give it a small stir.

Set aside for ten minutes at room temperature. The acid from the lemon juice will help the milk curdle a bit.

How to Make Buttermilk with Vinegar?

This process is similar to the previous one. Pour plain milk in a cup and add one tablespoon of white vinegar. Stir and let the milk sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. The acid from vinegar will work the same as the one from the lemon and slightly curdle the milk.

How to Make Buttermilk with Yogurt?

Fill ¾ of a cup with yogurt. Add ¼ cup of milk in a thin stream and whisk until you get the consistency of buttermilk replacement. It is possible that you will need to adjust the quantities a bit depending on how thick the yogurt is.

How to Make Buttermilk with Sour Cream?

Measure out ¾ cup of sour cream and ¼ cup of milk. Start whisking the milk into the sour cream until you get the thickened consistency of buttermilk. You may need to add more milk in case the sour cream is thicker.

How to Make Buttermilk with Kefir?

Kefir is also a fermented drink but its consistency is thicker than the one of buttermilk. So you can thin it a little bit with plain milk and get a DIY buttermilk.

How to Store Buttermilk?

There are two options of storing buttermilk: in the fridge or in the freezer. 

How to Make Vegan Buttermilk?

If you prefer a non-dairy version, rest assured that you have a simple solution at hand. Just replace the plain milk with soy or almond milk, add one tablespoon of lemon juice and you will get the vegan buttermilk. Keep in mind that not all non-dairy milk types curdle, for example you won’t be able to make buttermilk out of coconut milk.

Now that I told you about the 5 ways of making a buttermilk recipe, you should also know that there are at least 5 ways to cook several ingredients.

Pumpkin

You can enjoy this delicious fall ingredient in at least five ways: pumpkin soup, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin smoothie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cranberry muffins.

Chicken

There are probably way more than five ways to cook chicken, but here are some suggestions: chicken and rice soup, chicken and potato salad, chicken and cashew stir-fry, cheesy chicken pasta with zucchini, rosemary grilled chicken.

Blueberries

These delicious berries are great in muffins, in a blueberry sauce, for overnight oats, in a fresh fruit salad, or in a blueberry jam for your morning pancakes.

Chocolate

What about this delight? Isn’t it true that you would love to know more ways to enjoy chocolate? You may start by covering some fruits like banana or strawberries with it. Or maybe some homemade popcorn. Use it for and exquisite chocolate cake or for an orange and chocolate cheesecake. Or maybe you would like some chocolate fondue.

Cultured foods

Here are five ways to enjoy more cultured foods: