Recipes to use up buttermilk!

[judydawn]

It's in the EDC CB79.

[cathy79]

It's in the EDC CB79.

Excellent, thought it might have been a secret, tweaked version.  Will try it now.

[CarolineW]

I make any bread recipe I feel like, and replace the water with buttermilk.  It's always worked out well for me.

[cookie1]

If I have buttermilk I use it in anything. Cakes, muffins, biscuits.

[andiesenji]

An old southern tradition (American south) is  Buttermilk Pie.
I make it but don't have a recipe per se, it is one of those things I have been preparing so long that I just make it up as I go.
This one is very close to mine:  http://southernfood.about.com/od/chesspies/r/bl00510h.htm


Saveur magazine published a rather different recipe in October.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cardamom-Buttermilk-Pie

[Thermomixer]

Sound interesting indeed.  Great stuff - is your store bought buttermilk thick and sour ( we have cultured) or watery and thin like that left over from making butter??  The Saveur recipe makes it sound like the butter must have been sour ??  Maybe from the cultured butter production as in some European countries.

[andiesenji]

Sound interesting indeed.  Great stuff - is your store bought buttermilk thick and sour ( we have cultured) or watery and thin like that left over from making butter??  The Saveur recipe makes it sound like the butter must have been sour ??  Maybe from the cultured butter production as in some European countries.

I use both types - the liquid that remains after churning butter, poured off prior to adding water to the churn.  I do "culture" the butter or rather the cream prior to churning.  It's just a matter of taking it up to 180° F (82 C) allowing it to cool, adding the culture, (the same Bulgarian culture) and holding it at 85° F. (29 C) for 24 hours.   The result is butter with a much more pronounced "buttery" flavor, some people think it has a slight cheese-like flavor.  I like it because it was what I grew up with. 

I also use full-fat cultured buttermilk (Bulgarian culture) that I make on purpose - similar to making yogurt but a totally different flavor - for drinking and to use in cooking, baking, etc.   It has a flavor like liquid sour cream. 

Oddly enough, they have about the same properties in cooking or in baking.  Sometimes the volume of liquid has to be adjusted a bit, one way or the other, but I usually hold back part of any liquid in baking and add the last part if it looks like it needs it.  This is simply experience.   There are a lot of variables because many recipes behave differently because of weather.  There are some things that simply cannot be done on a rainy day.  Every try to do meringues when it is raining???   An exercise in humility.

I'm not really fond of whipped cream - I much prefer sweetened sour cream for fruits etc., and the thick buttermilk is excellent when sweetened.  (I now use Splenda or a combination of that and sugar because of diabetes.)

[Thermomixer]

Thanks for all that - you must have an interesting heritage too.  Sounds like fun in your kitchen.

[CreamPuff63]

Think that in some curries buttermilk is also used. (Can also make a substitute with milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon to curdle when you don't have any buttermilk).

[cathy79]

JudyDawn - the buttermilk bread is my current favourite.  Have you tried substituting the buttermilk with anything like the milk and vinegar idea?  I don't make enough butter to get the buttermilk I need. 

[judydawn]

No I haven't CB79 - if I don't have it frozen, I just buy some and then there is enough to do a batch of scones too. The milk and vinegar/lemon idea sounds good though, cheaper than a carton of buttermilk and no need to run to the shop. Will try that myself next time.

[andiesenji]

Do you have dried buttermilk at the stores in your area?   I read an online article written by a chef in  Melbourne a couple of years ago where he mentioned using dried buttermilk in recipes.
He had seen it here in the US while on a visit and searched for, and obviously found it, when he returned home.

It keeps for years if kept in a sealed container and is terrific to use in baked goods.  I use it in my basic baking mixes (prepared in bulk) and then only have to add water and eggs, instead of the liquid buttermilk.

The brand I get here is SaCo because it is available at the bakery supply store in bulk.  However, I have seen the Alibaba brand at the Philippine market and it is identified as Product of the Philippines.   

[Thermomixer]

I don't eat much icecream, but my ex did and I think that buttermilk powder was an ingredient in many.  It is certainly available here. 

It is likely that the chef was Shannon Bennett ?

Would be good to make buttermilk pancake mixes for storage !!!

[andiesenji]

One of my cousins has a "secret" recipe for a holiday drink made with buttermilk and orange juice - however there are other ingredients that she will not reveal and it has become an ongoing ambition of mine to figure out the recipe. 
The stuff is delicious and is almost addictive.  One cup is never enough!

[judydawn]

If anyone can work it out andiesenji, you can   I can never understand why anyone keeps a recipe a secret. She obviously never makes it in front of you.