Buttermilk 101: The MOST Important Ingredient that's not in your fridge right now
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- Опубликовано: 25 дек 2020
- Are you one of those awful people who never have buttermilk in your fridge? STOP IT! Buttermilk is literally the most important ingredient in my refrigerator, I use it almost daily.
Flour sack towels: amzn.to/37Ry5fQ (I use these all the time in my kitchen for straining cheese or cold brew, or lining my rising bowls for sourdough bread.)
Grain/jelly bag: amzn.to/49GaLyU (Also superior to cheesecloth for straining, I also use it for infusing large batches of tea, making jelly, beer, etc.)
This video will explain how diverse buttermilk is for everything from baking to marinating, as well as the laughably simple method for making MORE buttermilk when you start to get low:
Refill your buttermilk container with any type of dairy milk (skim, 2%, whole, cow or goat), and you can use quality organic grass-fed milks to create a "premium" buttermilk that can be impossible to find in most area. Shake well to distribute the old buttermilk into the new milk, and leave on the countertop at room temperature until it thickens. (The cooler your kitchen, the longer it will take to ferment, from a minimum of a day, to potentially 3 or 4 days.) Once you can tell it has thickened, shake it and put it back in the fridge.
The more old buttermilk is in the container, the faster the milk will ferment. So if your container was empty, with only a little buttermilk clinging to the sides, it will also take longer for the new milk to ferment.
This method works best when you start with standard low-fat cultured buttermilk, rather than the "Bulgarian buttermilk" which uses a yogurt culture that prefers to ferment at temperatures warmer than room temp.
Both storebought and homemade buttermilk last FAR beyond the expiration date. It is only bad if mold is growing on the surface of the buttermilk, smells terrible, or it has separated into large, heavy clumps. (Some graininess or gentle separation is completely normal, just shake it to smooth it out. Buttermilk is, in fact, soured milk, so it should smell like sour milk...this doesn't mean it is BAD...technically it has already "gone bad" with an intentionally-selected strain of lactobacillus bacteria.)
If your buttermilk over-thickens, simply give it a good shake to loosen it up. If it's still too thick for your liking, add a little milk and shake it well, then put it back in the fridge.
To turn buttermilk into cheese, place in a covered, non-reactive, oven-safe pot and bake in the center of a 375F/190C oven for 20 minutes. Check for a clean separation between a fairly firm curd (the solid white part) and the greenish, clear liquid whey. If the separation isn't clear, bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the curd has fully separated. Strain through a flour sack towel ( amzn.to/37Ry5fQ ) or jelly/grain bag ( amzn.to/3hikPEf ), or cheesecloth or even an old, clean t-shirt, to separate the whey.
Refrigerate or freeze the whey, and use it in place of water, cup for cup or ounce for ounce, in ANY baking recipe, particularly bread and sourdough.
Hang the bag and allow the curds to drain for a minimum of 4 hours (for a creamy cheese), or up to 12 hours (for a drier, firmer, sharper cheese). Mix salt (at least 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, more to taste) and any desired additions into your cheese.
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So great to know the expiration date means nothing, that I can substitute buttermilk for milk in recipes and even cooler that I can renew it instead of buying more! You are such a fountain of knowledge and I really appreciate you!
exactly! This is exactly the most useful buttermilk video with tons of engaging information. Most other videos are so sloooow...with exactly the same basic information being regurgitated over and over.
Ben!!!! My life has opened up to a whole new world! I'm 69 years old and I can't believe how you have encouraged me to try all these amazing new recipes! Thank you!
Organic Valley farmer here... thanks for the support! Here because of your simple sourdough. Love it... thank you!!!
Buttermilk tip: inoculate a jar of cream or half and half with buttermilk (like a tablespoon per pint), and whoa nelly you have a nice CHEAP substitute for crème fraîche.
I always have buttermilk, whole milk gourmet. Thank you so much for this video. 71 years old, grew up on a farm and never knew I could make buttermilk. I am headed to the kitchen to make it with store bought. I make everything I can with BM. our favorite is pancakes, biscuits, chocolate cake, sour cream big soft sugar or molasses cookies and always fried chicken and fish. You have made my day/year!
A lady at our church used to make buttermilk chocolate cake. That was one of the finest cakes I've eaten. Haven't had it since the late 1970's. Thanks for reminding me !!
I love to make biscuits with buttermilk. Big difference from anything else.
How about kefir?
I am 77 years old and cannot believe all the information you are providing. So informative. I plan on watching all your videos. Please keep up the great work
Thank you for the explanations. I am a microbiologist by training, and I love that you inject the food science in your videos.
I'm absolutely fascinated with your videos. I'd been stressing over my sourdough starter and a FB sourdough group comment led me to you. I have since gone down every rabbit hole your videos provide. The way you interject the science into your recipes gives the why. And I'm a why girl who learns thru rationale. Thank you so much for taking so much of your time and efforts to teach. I've learned so much and will likely binge the heck out of your channel until I've seen everything you've put out. 🙏🏻
I'm SO glad to hear this! I get so many comments from people saying, "You talk too much." But those people will never learn to understand what they're doing...they will follow directions, and then be frustrated when it doesn't turn out how they expect.
And btw...once I trouble shot my starter issues with your sourdough starter instructions and learned what Flora needed (after four weeks of acetone smelling starter that just wouldn't thrive), she took off like a bat out of hell! Within three days after feeding her MORE than a 1:1:1 ratio I had an active and mature starter. She was not getting enough to eat. This is why people need to hear you talk 😉
Btw btw...currently watching season 2, episode 4 of Master Chef. I won't look for spoilers...I HOPE YOU WON!!!!
My sentiments exactly!!
Love your easy sourdough recipes and the buttermilk hints here. Awesome!!!Thank you so much! Cinnamon rolls are waiting to be made later today for tomorrow morning bake. 🥰
I cannot believe how easy it was to make a gallon of buttermilk with only 1/4 cup leftover buttermilk, and almost a full gallon of whole milk! Ben Start, thank you, sir! I love how you give all the pertinent details to your tutorials. God bless!
LOVED THIS! As a kid our milk was straight from the cow. My mom was known for her delicate, tasty baked goods. She used sour milk, as we NEVER wasted a morsel of food! We always had fresh buttermilk, icy cold, for my daddy to drink, since he was Polish and it was a nutritious quick refreshing snack. Thank you for teaching new generations the old ways!
Finally someone who educated the public about the wonders of buttermilk . I always keep buttermilk in the fridge, not only to brine and bake with, but to drink for the delicious flavor. It contains probiotics and it really can help an acid stomach or if one drank to much like a member of our family. The first thing this person does when they wake up in the morning is to drink a big glass of cold buttermilk to soothe the upset tummy.,
SO GLAD I FOUND YOUR CHANNEL. WHO DOESN'T LIKE A RECIPET THAT THRIVES ON NEGLECT!
I make my own butter from 1 qt of whipping cream in a hand churn. After 15 -20 minutes I have butter and buttermilk, which we use for baking.
I drink buttermilk with some Himalayan salt and a pinch of black pepper. You could also make a chili paste in a mortar and use a pestle to crush it and put into your buttermilk too. It can taste hot but I like it that way. I like the thai 🌶.
I tried this, and it worked! It took a solid 48 hours to thicken like you said, and now I will have buttermilk indefinitely. Also, if anyone lives in/near Lancaster County, PA, there is a grocery store called Shady Maple that has 3 different brands of actual Buttermilk. It's expensive, but if you want to try to real thing, go get you some.
This man is amazing,a natural teacher.
Another great one, thanks! If have a lot of whey left over from the cheese making and want to try something different than using it when baking, here's a tip. Make what in Swedish is called messmör and mesost . Traditionally it was a poor people's way of using everything. During the summers when the women and children were up at the seters (transhumance farms) they had to make the most of the milk form the cows and goats without it getting spoiled. So when the butter was made they got the buttermilk and when they had made cheese (which was even easier to keep), they made messmör and mesost. (it's something else in Norwegian but made in similar way there, it just means whey-butter and whey-cheese) What you do is you just simmer the whey very slowly for a very long time until the sugars are somewhat caramelized and you have achieved a creamy texture. Sometimes you would add a little cream late in the process. What you have is messmör which is used as a bread spread. If you instead keep on reducing and caramelizing it it will become mesost, since it gets so thick it can be cut and used as cheese on your typical open face sandwich.
Way too much trouble.....🤣
You just explained why my buttermilk came out like Elmer's glue! Thanks!
I’m a baker and I love buttermilk .
I wanted though to thank you for several things you mentioned about the merits of using buttermilk .
I know I’m a nerd , but found that buttermilk episode FASCINATING !
If you're a nerd, you're in VERY good company on my channel!!
@@ultimatefoodgeek Your Crazy
I too found this video fascinating!
😲 Say what now?! So, you’re telling me all these years I’ve bought dairy only for it to sit on the counter and “spoil” has been UNNECESSARY?! I just got TKO’d 🥊 🥊🥊with all that information! AND AND AND I have a half gallon of milk in the fridge right now! (I bought it to make brioche) I can’t wait to make buttermilk for my biscuits and cheese and 🏃🏾♀️💨 Gotta go make and bake! Bye 👋🏾 and thx 😊
We make kefir and yogurt at home. We're on septic so I do pour occasional whey down the drain to incorporate good bacteria into the septic system.
Thank you, I've been told to do yeast every month. Do you alternate the two? How much do you pour down? I've been adding it to my compost pile.
@@michelesoto5919 about a cup or two. No exact science to it. What about you and yeast? How much do you add?
@@eszhun2296
Thank you!! For yeast 1 heaping teaspoon a month flush down in each towel bowl.
Just did my first buttermilk batch! Husband thought I was crazy :)) I left it out 2 days so it’s really thick & creamy. It’s been super handy for making homemade ranch dressing with it every couple days or so! HE appreciates that! I think I may try it in an ice cream recipe next! Thanks for the great tips!!
Ever since moving to the South, we’ve found so many uses for buttermilk, and I always have it on hand. But, I did not know this voodoo about (non)expiration dates and making an entire new bottle from the residue of the previous one. Once again, my mind is blown and I am wiser for it. Thanks Ben!
I have been using your sourdough recipe for a long time now.... I've watched many of your videos and never clicked on this one because I agree, buttermilk is a KEY ingredient in the kitchen, I use it in everything. I cook a lot of deer meat and it is my secret weapon. I finally watched this last Wednesday. My mind was blown when you said I could make bmilk at home. Finished the video, walked right to my refrigerator and pulled out both milks. Followed your instructions and on Friday morning... I had thick and tangy buttermilk on my counter. My house stays very cool, so it did take a bit longer and Thurs night, I really didn't think it was going to work. But it did! Thank you... I've been paying nearly $5 for a half-gallon every couple of weeks. Great video, thank you!
You are a genius Ben Starr! Do you know how many containers of buttermilk I have thrown away because I thought they had gone bad? Well no more! Thank you for your sharing your expertise. I can now have buttermilk on hand in my kitchen!
Hello, Ben. I'm moving from cow's milk to goat milk (lactose and casein considerations). I used goat's milk and added buttermilk. It worked! "Goat Creme Fraiche" I'm heating the goat creme fraiche to make a a version of chevre as i write. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Great info for a lot of people who ignorantly buy buttermilk when it is not necessary.
Butter maker here 👋🏻 I work for a 100% grass fed farm where I make real cultured butter and get loads of buttermilk. All raw dairy. Most of it gets fed to the hogs because not enough people buy it. Never knew the stores butter milk wasn’t real until I worked there. It is definitely a lost art that my local farm keeps alive. We also make all kinds of cheeses and cultured cottage cheese.
Amazing! And sad that the hogs get most of the real buttermilk. But I'm sure they're quite happy about it! (We used to get expired milk from the grocery store to feed to our pigs...I remember how utterly ecstatic they were about it.) Your farm sounds truly amazing!
I’m so glad to see this video! My daughter (a grown woman) and I had a heated discussion about sour milk the other day and she threw out my expired milk saying it was rotten. I told her don’t throw that it out I will be baking with it. It went down the sink with her saying it is rotten and I can’t use it. Now I can show her your video! Thank you so much for explaining all this!
Love the part about the buttermilk to.
Regular milk that has soured from the fridge may be colonized with an unknown bacteria, so it IS best to toss out milk that has become sour. If you intentionally colonize it with a culture specifically selected for milk fermentation, like buttermilk culture, then it's fine. But I toss our any regular milk that has soured in my fridge, when I didn't sour it myself.
@@ultimatefoodgeek I’ll be darned I didn’t know that
You can make cheese with souring milk. You have to sour it for curds
Thank you for setting me straight on buttermilk. I'm one of the ones who throw out left over buttermilk that was sitting for over a month. Whew! Now I can keep it and replenish it for life. Thanks again. I just love all the tips and information you give.
Back in the '50s, my mom used to put a cup of buttermilk into a watertight plastic container, fill it with reconstituted nonfat dry milk, and store it in the fridge for several days. It separated into fair-sized curds that were easily broken up. She called it "clabbered milk". It was a good, healthy energy-filled drinkable snack. Haven't thought of this in years. I'm sure she'd be surprised to find that it could safely be fermented at room temperature. Thanks for the memories!😊
I LOVE hearing old techniques like this. So many have vanished. Thanks for sharing! If you're curious about fermentation, the book The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz is a large compendium of this kind of knowledge from cultures all around the world. It's a fascinating reference to keep around.
Wow! So much to learn in one short video!! Thank you!
You are a very good teacher. I wish you were my teacher when young. Keep going please!
OMG as someone who is sensitive to pasteurized dairy products.. you are the man cuz cream cheese is my weakness. Thank you so much!
Love your videos. Always so informative. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this information!!!
Gawd dang it, you always make baking look like something I can do. I've been using your lazy sourdough bread (love it) so now I'll have to try this buttermilk recipe. I have learned more from just a few of your videos than I have from countless others. Thanks and keep it up.
Kefir will separate without heating it. Love to make kefir and make all kinds of things with it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️. The best probiotic you can get !!!
You are so precise thank you 🥰🥰🥰
THANK YOU , HAPPY NEW YEAR, awesome video
This is so excellent!
Such awesome info, thanks dude
Wow. I'm inspired. Thanks Ben.
Genius! Just found you, but you have earned my subscription!
Seriously, love the content! Keep it up.
So informative! And so much fun to watch and listen to you. Thanks!!
This is a great video! I’ve watched it several times now! Thank you!!
Amazing info! so informative and useful!!
You have a new fan. I’ve watched several episodes and love, love, love the complexity and thoroughness of your videos. Thank you!
Wow. I had no idea. Thank you so much. You entertain and inform.
THANK YOU SO MUCH wow the information loaded in this is more than I could have asked for
Another excellent vid.. thx for the knowledge Ben.
Wow 😯
I never knew this. Love love love your videos.
I love this one too!! Thankyou so much Ben, you the star man. :)
Wow !! I learned so much from this video , Thankyou 😊
One of the most informative and useful food videos I've watched. Thank you
Just stumbled on your channel from your sourdough videos... love your presentation and expiation of basic techniques! Looking forward to watching more!
You are the coolest ever! Thank you so much for this video!!
Thank you !! Good stuff 🎁❤️
love it - thanks for this.
Brilliant! Thanks Ben. No more wasted Buttermilk. 😊👍
😲😲😲 This is crazy cool!!! I can't believe I never knew any of this!!! Thank you 🧡
Best information ever!!❤️
Tks for sharing these golden nuggets with us ☺️
oh my goodness.. i learned so much watching this video.. and it answered a lot of questions I have had for a very long time.. and totally love the cheese recipe.
So many times I ignored interesting recipes because I thought I would waste the rest of the buttermilk I would get to make it. Not anymore; you've made a convert! Can't wait to make my own and find new ways to use it. Thanks for a real eye opener.
You are quite the scientist. Very informative video and you kept my attention all through.
You are amazing! Love all the info and I will definitely be using buttermilk from now on!
I couldn't love this video more! Please continue to post common sense (although not so common for the likes of us struggling cooks) videos like these. I think you would be surprised at all the little tidbits you know that you may take for granted, that it is GENIUS information for the rest of us!!! THANK YOU!!! Just an FYI, I just ordered your cookbook!
I had a gallon of milk that was past its sell by date, unopened. It tasted fine, but might not have lasted very long--so I made buttermilk! What a win! Split it into two, and one thickened more quickly than the other, so it's going to be cheese. :) Thank you for this.
Thank you...loved the video!
Very thorough information! Thank you.
thanks for the great information. ...and for using metric :)
It worked! Mine took about 16 hours in my warm kitchen. It concerned me at first because it appeared very thick. But I gave it a good shake and it looks and smells like buttermilk! I’m about to make some buttermilk bread with it. Thank you, Ben! Honestly so grateful for your videos. Please keep them coming!
Thanks so much for sharing! You are truly a wealth of information
Awesome video, thanks so much ❤
This is really informing and I have always used these practices in the past. The only problem I’ve had in the past is getting others to believe it. Now I’ve finally found someone that knows what there talking about to proVe it. Thanks for all the information you’ve shared here.
Ben, how can I ever thank you for having unlimited supply of Buttermilk. And thank you for clarifying on Yogurt Culture & Sour cultures. You definitely know your stuff. I’ve been fermenting with mesophilic cultures for weeks now I leave it for about 24-36 hrs and great tasting results every time.
I must say I’m so glad I found your channel!! Thank you
Game changer.....thanks for the info!
Wow, so glad I found you on U tube! Have watched several videos and am now headed to your web site! So much to learn, so thank God I’m retired! Keep up all the good info, it’s amazing and especially enjoy your delightful presentations!👍
This video got me making buttermilk for myself. Forgot about it in the fridge for four months, checked it yesterday, it was still rip-roaring ready to go! Made some lovely pancakes with it.
Hurrah! I love it.
Never thought to make pancakes with buttermilk.....now I will try it thanks....
Thank you for the information
thank you for all the valuable information. Wow I learned so much, thanks again.
All good! I have tried all these things. They are wonderful fun and delicious. Making yogurt cheese right now, and always keep buttermilk in fridge for me or drink and cook with ...💙
My husband's grandmother who lived through the depression made her buttermilk that she baked with out of a small amount of buttermilk, dry milk and warm water and let it set on the counter to sour.
That's how my grandmother made her buttermilk
This is extremely exciting!!!
Valuable information here. Thanks!
I always amaze when my wife buys store bought buttermilk when I have fresh homemade kefir in the fridge always. I use kefir interchangeably for buttermilk.
THANK YOU! I also make kefir at home and never realized I could substitute that for buttermilk……
What a fabulously informative 23 minutes! I'm really enjoying your RUclips videos and looking forward to seeing what you do next ;-)
me too
This was super informative. Thank you so much 🙏🏼
I just found you and I am so happy I did, awesome content
Going to try this, buttermilk is awesome to have on hand. But run out when I want it..lol
That whey can also be used as a protein shake after training. Mix it with oats, chocolate and a banana and is the perfect post-training shake.
Very informative thank you.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video; No more waste!
I absolutely loves this channel and Ben’s approach ! I come from France and I cook a lot of things from scratch, and this is the way I was taught. I have also studied microbiology so yes ! Hurray for all these wonderful and very healthy approches to using buttermilk. I did not know the trick of using whey in bread, will definitely try. Thanks Ben 😊
This is my first video of yours, will not be the last! Thank you for all this great info!!! Glad I found your channel, when googling why buttermilk goes bad so quick, spoiler alert (pun!) it doesn’t!!!! 🤯
So much knowledge! Thanks Ben.
Thanks for the infomation