Why Make Cultured Buttermilk NOT a Buttermilk Substitute?
Learn how to make real buttermilk from scratch with this simple method. I’m talking true cultured buttermilk, not the buttermilk substitute you make with vinegar or lemon juice. This is the real deal and is the best to use in baking as it results in much lighter and fluffier baked goods like these flaky homemade buttermilk biscuits!
So why should you learn how to make old-fashioned cultured buttermilk when we all know that you can use the hack of taking regular milk, plus an acidic medium like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to make a suitable buttermilk substitute?
That’s a great question, and the reasons are as follows…
Buttermilk is acidic, meaning it helps activate leavening agents giving your baked goods a light and fluffy, almost airy texture. Do you see all those flaky layers in those biscuits and the golden-brown tops? Buttermilk!
Buttermilk actually helps extend the shelf-life of your baked goods because it contains natural emulsifiers. It also gives your baked goods a beautiful golden-brown color.
Buttermilk can actually be used in baking recipes that don’t call for it specifically, but those that call for yogurt or sour cream.
You just need two simple ingredients to make your own homemade buttermilk:
Remember, we’re not talking buttermilk substitutes here, although the method is similar, this is the real deal, true cultured buttermilk made from milk and live cultures.
As I mentioned in my video, the great thing about buttermilk is that it preserves your milk so it will last much, much longer than fresh milk.
I typically use my buttermilk up in about two weeks, but it’s always just as fresh. The thing about buttermilk is that it will continue to get tangier the longer it sits. So it may be more tart than you prefer well before it truly goes “bad”.
If you prefer a nice mild flavor, I’d plan on making a fresh batch every two weeks to keep you in supply of this delicious product.
When making cultured or fermented foods, you want to be sure to keep them about 6 feet away from other cultured or fermented foods. This is to avoid cross-contamination between cultures.
Because buttermilk is a mesophilic culture, I want to be careful to keep it away from things like my sourdough, kombucha, milk kefir, and yogurt. You can, however, keep multiple batches of buttermilk next to each other.
One of my favorite ways to use buttermilk is for my flaky buttermilk biscuits or my favorite honey whole wheat buttermilk sandwich bread. These two recipes call for having buttermilk on hand 365 days a year!
But I’m also excited that you can use buttermilk for cheese making, which is a course I’m creating for all the members of the Pioneering Today Academy. If you’re not yet a member, we’d love to have you come join us! Or, if enrollment isn’t currently open, you can sign up to get on the waitlist and we’ll email you when enrollment is open.
Some other recipes to use up your precious cultured buttermilk are these delicious buttermilk fried chicken strips or these peach buttermilk muffins! When buttermilk is involved, how can you go wrong?
Did you make this recipe? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe on the recipe card below. Also, I’d love to see how you’re using your buttermilk, so tag me on social media @melissaknorris.
How long does this buttermilk keep?
I’m curious too!
It’s a cultured ferment so weeks, the longer it goes the tangier it gets. Most people prefer to do a new batch every 2 to 3 weeks due to this.
Can you freeze buttermilk?
Yes you can!
Thank you Melissa. I cant wait to give this a try! I have done the lemon juice adding for years. I did not know you could do this! Thanks for the info.
After the buttermilk has fermented is it safe to keep it in the fridge if you have sauerkraut in there?
Yes, it’s a cultured ferment so it will last in the fridge, the longer it’s in there the tangier it will get (and if left really long the possibility of mold, which you’ll see and then toss, I had that happen to one batch that I forgot about way in the back of the fridge). For more mild buttermilk do a new batch every 2 weeks.
I have all the same questions!
Once you put your buttermilk in the refrigerator, will that be problematic for sourdough starter also in the refrigerator? Will keeping them on different shelves be enough? We only have one fridge, and I’m super careful with my starter. Thanks for your advice!
Once in the fridge I haven’t had any crossing of cultures. Different shelves are adequate 🙂
After 2 weeks can I use 2Tbsp of my buttermilk to start another batch?
Yes, that’s what I did.
so happy to see this – I currently always keep buttermilk on hand, but would like to be able to make smaller amounts – where can I buy buttermilk culture online? Thanks for all your helpful information.
hi! Can you make buttermilk with raw goat milk as well? Thank you, 🥰
Would it be possible to just use my kefir in the recipes you shared & get the same result? Is kefir as acidic as buttermilk?
This is NOT real buttermilk, real buttermilk is a by product of making butter, it is what is leftover after the butter forms clumps. Cultured butter milk is a misnomer, because it is just skim milk that is cultured, making fermented sour skim milk.
You’re incorrect in saying it’s a misnomer (which I covered in the article), buttermilk is a by-product of making butter and cultured buttermilk is fermented milk (and it’s only skim milk if you use skim milk). Neither are a misnomer, hence the word CULTURED. They’re two different things.
I ordered my stuff and can’t wait to make the biscuits
Yay, I’m so excited for you!
I’m the only one in my home, so I’ve kept powdered buttermilk and powdered milk on hand. Are these ok?
The powdered buttermilk will only work if it says from live cultures and has been stored in a cool environment, otherwise, the cultures are probably dead. I haven’t tested it with powdered milk, it’s important that the milk source hasn’t been UHT pasteurized.
Hi Melissa!
I make my own butter from store bought organic heavy cream. I store this “buttermilk” for 10 days in the fridge and toss the unused portion. Can I make the cultured buttermilk from this buttermilk? Or would it be best to use whole milk? Thank you!
No, the culture for fermented buttermilk needs the fat/sugars found in the full milk, not the washed part.
I had the same question about using the buttermilk leftover from making butter. If you use Cultured Buttermilk for many of those recipes, what do you do with the buttermilk left over from making butter?
Buttermilk leftover from making butter can be used in baking recipes that call for water or as some of the milk, but if it calls for cultured buttermilk (because you have the fat content) then it’s best to use the cultured buttermilk for the best texture. I have bread recipes that use water so I would use the buttermilk from butter making in those.
very good
I’m so excited! I buy buttermilk all the time. Correct me if I’m wrong, I can use store-bought buttermilk (must say live cultures) and store-bought milk? It doesn’t need to be raw? Thank you!
You got it, it doesn’t have to be raw milk (my milk isn’t raw) and live cultures is the ticket!
The buttermilk in our area says it contains “bacterial culture”. Do you know if that would work?
Yes that is what you’re after!
What makes it buttermilk….cultured milk on counter to what point. Taste the determining factor, consistency? I purchase raw milk and have cultured milk, but just to see how long it can be on counter and how tart. Ive seen some cultured milk videos, but i never found one where they answer at what point it is yogurt, what point buttermilk…..
Yogurt and buttermilk are two different cultures so it doesn’t go from one to the other. Yogurt is a different process as it requires heat (most yogurt cultures are thermophilic and require heat to ferment) whereas buttermilk is a mesophilic culture and doesn’t require heat. As for the buttermilk knowing it’s done it’s both consistency and flavor profile, time varies based on that as well as the temperature of your home because a warmer home will make it ferment faster than a colder home.
So if i put milk out on the counter and let it sit, at some point is it buttermilk? ..I mean how was the first buttermilk made? Just by being out? If this is how it was originally made, my question is, can i make the buttermilk culture myself. When do i know it is buttermilk? Slightly tart with yogurt-like consistency, but runnier. I guess that is what im asking….can i make the buttermilk culture myself?
If you have raw milk yes, if you’re using store-bought milk you have to add a culture otherwise it will just go bad. No, you can’t make it yourself unless you have raw fresh milk straight from the cow.
Can you tell me to get started making the buttermilk for the first time….. which brand of cultures to buy ?
It’s all listed above in the article.
Hi! can ultra-pasteurized milk be used? Thanks!
For cultured products, you should ultra-pasteurized.
I was just wondering today if I could use my Grace Harbor Farms buttermilk to start some with raw milk that was still drinkable but past the pull date (so might get to off for drinking soon). And your instructions fit the bill😃. FYI, I had buttermilk opened in May 2020 and used it up end of Dec. 2020. If it still smells okay and no mold it’s fine! Also I’ve had an unopened plain Greek yogurt (Greek Gods brand) a year past the pull date and it was still good. The good cultures in the plain yogurt and cultured buttermilk really keep the bad cultures away! I also found an unopened mascarpone in the back of the fridge that was still good as well and I’m actually a stickler for pull dates as I worked in grocery for 21 years!
Sorry, I forgot to add that the mascarpone was 5 yrs past the date and the plain yogurt was a qt. size, although I don’t know if the size mattered. Truly aged cheese 😳.
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