What to do with leftover buttermilk
What to do with leftover buttermilk
Buttermilk is a tricky purchase: it's absolutely essential to some recipes, but you almost always end up with some of it left over, languishing in the fridge and waiting for you to notice the expired expiration date.
Here are a few things to help you use it up:
Buttermilk fried chicken: The buttermilk tenderizes the chicken and adds another component of flavor to what's already a classic. (Simply Recipes has a good recipe.)
Buttermilk in mashed potatoes: The tart creaminess adds tons of flavor, and contributes less fat than cream or whole milk.
Whole wheat pancakes:These work so much better with the richness of buttermilk, and they lend an added savoriness that makes these pancakes work well as a side for any meal of the day.
Buttermilk soups:The tangy taste of buttermilk goes well with many subtle and sweet vegetables like cucumbers, beets, celery and summer squash. Alone, they form the backbone of some simple and delicious soup recipes – cook vegetables, blend until smooth, stir in buttermilk – that are really wonderful when served cold.
When a recipe calls buttermilk and you don't have any, here's what you can do: for every cup of buttermilk called you need, mix 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 cup milk. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes or so. The combination will come close to the tangy creaminess of buttermilk.
What is buttermilk, anyway?
Real buttermilk is the sour liquid left over from the process of churning cream into butter. That's usually not what you get when you buy a carton at the store, however. Most commercial buttermilk is made by adding a culture to milk (like you would to make cheese). As the culture converts lactose to lactic acid, the milk thickens and sours. (Commercial sour cream is made by a similar process.)
Acidulation is the process of making something acid or sour.
For example, acidulated water has added lemon or lime juice. Bathing sliced apples or artichoke hearts in a bowl of acidulated water until you're ready to use them prevents them from turning brown once they have been cut.
Vinegar added to milk transforms it into buttermilk.
Related Article: I don't have any buttermilk.
