6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (2024)

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Recipes

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (1)

Chemistry Expert

Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

Learn about ourEditorial Process

Updated on January 07, 2019

If you don't havebuttermilkon hand, it's easy to apply a little kitchen chemistry to make buttermilk substitute from regular milk.

Why Use Buttermilk?

Usually, buttermilk is used in recipes not just because it has a more complex flavor than regular milk, but also because it is more acidic than milk. This allows buttermilk to react with ingredients suchas baking sodaorbaking powderto producecarbon dioxide bubbles. Buttermilk is a key ingredient in soda bread, for example, because of its different chemistry.

Use Any Kind of Milk

You can use any kind of milk to make buttermilk! Basically, all you are doing is curdling the milk by adding an acidic ingredient.Commercial buttermilkis made either by collecting the sour liquid from churned butter or from culturing milk withLactobacillus. The bacteria curdles milk by producing lactic acid in the same process used to make yogurt or sour cream. Buttermilk made from butter often contains flecks of butter in it, but it is still relatively low fat compared with whole milk.

If You Want Lower Fat Content

If you want even lower fat content, you can make your own buttermilk from 2%, 1%, or skim milk. Be aware this may affect your recipe if the buttermilk is intended to supply some of the fat in the recipe. Using a low-fat product cuts calories, but it also affects the texture and moisture of the final recipe.

Use Any Acidic Ingredient to Curdle Milk

Use anyacidic ingredient, such as citrus juice or vinegar, or any cultureddairy productto curdle milk and produce buttermilk. For best results, add the milk to the acidic ingredient, rather than the other way around, and allow 5-10 minutes for the ingredients to react with each other. The exact measurements are not critical, so if you only have a teaspoon oflemon juicerather than a tablespoon, for example, you'll still get buttermilk.

Don't overdo the acid, or you'll get a sour-tasting product. Also, you can refrigerate the buttermilk to use later. There is nothing magical about the 5-10 minutes given in these recipes. It's just a safe amount of time to allow the reaction to occur. Once the milk curdles, you've got buttermilk. You can use it or refrigerate it, as you prefer.

Pick the perfect recipe for your needs. There's even a vegetarian and vegan recipe option.

of 06

Use Lemon Juice

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (3)

One of the easiest ways to make buttermilk is to mix a small amount of lemon juice into milk. The lemon adds a pleasant tangy flavor to the buttermilk.

Pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup. Add milk to reach the 1 cup mark. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (4)

What Is Buttermilk?

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

of 06

Use White Vinegar

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (5)

Vinegar is a good kitchen chemical for making homemade buttermilk because it's readily available and adds acid without making a big change to the flavor of the buttermilk. Of course, you can use flavored vinegar if it works for your recipe.

Use Yogurt

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (6)

If you have plain yogurt on hand, it's a perfect choice for making homemade buttermilk!

In a liquid measuring cup, mix together two tablespoons of milk with enough plain yogurt to yield one cup.Use as buttermilk.

of 06

Use Sour Cream

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (7)

Got sour cream? Add a dollop of sour cream to milk to make buttermilk.

Simply thicken milk with sour cream to reach the consistency of buttermilk. Use as directed in the recipe. As with the milk, you can use any fat content sour cream. For best results, use low-fat or light sour cream rather than regular sour cream or fat-free sour cream.

of 06

Use Cream of Tartar

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (8)

Cream of tartar is a kitchen chemical typically sold with spices that you can use to make a simple buttermilk substitute.

Whisk together 1 cup milk with 1-3/4 tablespooncream of tartar. Allow the mixture to sit atroom temperaturefor 5-10 minutes. Stir before use.

of 06

Try a Non-Dairy Buttermilk

6 Simple Kitchen Chemistry Buttermilk Recipes (9)

Youcanusecoconut milk,soy milk, or almond milk to make non-dairy buttermilk, perfect as vegetarian or vegan buttermilk. The process is the same using these ingredients as it would be using dairy milk, but the flavor will be different.

Simply follow any of the earlier recipes using lemon juice (1 tablespoon), vinegar (1 tablespoon), or cream of tartar (1-3/4 tablespoon) mixed with 1 cup of your choice of non-dairy milk to make the buttermilk. Take the recipe into account when deciding which ingredients to use, to get the best flavor and result.

Format

mlaapachicago

Your Citation

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How to Make Buttermilk." ThoughtCo, Sep. 7, 2021, thoughtco.com/how-to-make-buttermilk-recipes-607455.Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, September 7). How to Make Buttermilk. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-make-buttermilk-recipes-607455Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How to Make Buttermilk." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-make-buttermilk-recipes-607455 (accessed April 1, 2024).