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North/Central Europe: Information on Buttermilk
What is buttermilk? Where does buttermilk come from?
Natural buttermilk is a product of the butter-making process. After a cow is milked, the cream is removed from the milk by either allowing it to rise to the top and then pouring it off, or using a mechanical device like a cream centrifuge to remove it. The cream is then churned or mixed vigorously so that the butterfat molecules gather together in bigger and bigger lumps. When the lumps of butter are finally removed, the liquid that remains is buttermilk.
The name buttermilk therefore has more to do with the process that produces it than the actual content of butterfat in the milk... which, after churning, is fairly low. There may be some tiny flecks of butter left in the buttermilk after the butter has been removed. In fact, some companies that make buttermilk commercially (like southern California's Knudsen Dairy, whose buttermilk is shown below) actually reintroduce tiny butter flakes to improve the flavor and make the buttermilk feel and taste more like "old fashioned" churned buttermilk.
Natural buttermilk has a tangy flavor that some people enjoy as a refreshing drink. The acid pH of the buttermilk also makes it ideal for any baking that involves baking powder or bicarbonate of soda / baking soda / bread soda. The acid encourages the baking powder or baking soda to raise the baked goods higher and lighter than they would do if plain milk was used.
What is the difference between natural buttermilk and cultured buttermilk?
Natural buttermilk is what's left over after butter is churned from cream. Unfortunately it has a short shelf life -- only three or four days -- and so most commercial dairies and milk companies process the natural buttermilk into something else (casein, whey, and other milk byproducts) and sell it to companies that use the byproducts in food processing.
However, the same commercial dairies have responded to their customers' demand for buttermilk by coming up with a substitute. This commercially made buttermilk is made from pasteurized skim milk, which the dairies inoculate with a culture of friendly bacteria (usually Streptococcus lactis cremoris), similar to the cultures used to make sour cream and some cottage cheeses. The bacteria process the lactose in the milk and produce lactic acid, adding a flavor very like the traditional tangy sourness of buttermilk. This product is sold as cultured buttermilk.
Does cultured buttermilk taste different from traditional or natural buttermilk?
Yes, it does. Naturally made buttermilk is significantly tangier tasting, and usually richer tasting as well.
Is it possible to make buttermilk from scratch at home?
Absolutely. You're going to wind up making butter as well, but if you've never had homemade butter before, you're probably going to be surprised by how good it is. (Making your own butter also means you can control its salt content, which makes this a useful technique for people on low-sodium diets.) Click here for our instructions on how to make your own butter and buttermilk at home.
What is the fat content of buttermilk?
In the case of natural buttermilk, this depends on how you do your churning. The fat content can be as low as 0.1% or as high as 2%. Commercial cultured buttermilk is usually around 2%, but can be lower: check the label.
I can't get buttermilk and don't want to make butter to get it. What are substitutes for or alternatives to buttermilk?
There are a couple of different ways you can proceed. Where small amounts are involved for cooking or baking purposes, you can make a buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to each 15 tablespoons of milk. This will produce 1 cup of fake buttermilk.
If you are going to be doing a lot of baking that calls for buttermilk, but you don't want the buttermilk for drinking, you can make a buttermilk plant which will produce about a quart of buttermilk substitute to start with, and which will keep renewing itself indefinitely if you care for it properly. There are many recipes across Europe for this preparation, under many names: it was a staple in the continent's dairy cultures, useful for keeping baking and cooking going during those times of year when the local cows were not in milk. Click here for our buttermilk plant recipe and method.
Q: How long can you keep buttermilk?
A: Commercial cultured buttermilk, especially if unopened, will usually last at least a few weeks on the shelf in the fridge: the fact that it has its own assertive friendly bacterial culture makes it more difficult for unfriendly bacteria to invade it. Fresh homemade buttermilk will last a much shorter time, only three or four days. (And if you find that you like the flavor, it'll be surprising if it sits around even that long.)
Here are some of the names for buttermilk in other European languages, so that you can identify them if you run across them. (Please bear with us, as this list will take a short time to assemble.)
- Denmark / Dansk / Danish: kærnemælk
- Germany / German / Deutsch: buttermilch
- Greece / Greek / Ελληνική: βουτυρόγαλα
- Italy / Italian / Italiano: latticello, siero di latte
- Poland / Polish: maślanka
- Portugal / Portuguese / Português: leitelho
- Holland, the Netherlands / Dutch / Nederlands: karnemelk
- Spain / Spanish / Español: suero de la leche
- Swedwn / Swedish / Svenska: kärnmjölk
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