Beverage - How to turn regular milk into buttermilk recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you change regular milk into buttermilk? ›

For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. You can scale the recipe up or down depending on how much you need.

To make 1 cup (240 mL) of buttermilk substitute, add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add milk to the 1-cup line (240 mL) and stir. If you measure the milk separately, you'll need a scant — or not quite full — cup (around 220 mL).

Cream of Tartar + Milk

In the event you're caught without lemon juice or vinegar, use this buttermilk substitute. For 1 cup buttermilk in baked recipes, use 1 cup milk plus 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar.

If you've ever started a recipe only to find you forgot to buy buttermilk, you've learned that you can make faux-buttermilk by adding a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk. So if your milk is already a little sour, why not keep the process going and ferment your milk more?

You can make homemade buttermilk with 1 cup of milk and 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Simply stir the two ingredients together and let them sit for 5 minutes. The milk will react with the acidity of the vinegar and curdle slightly, creating the same, tangy, creaminess of store bought buttermilk!

Store-bought buttermilk is thicker, tangier, and more acidic than traditional or homemade buttermilk. If you're preparing a recipe that calls for buttermilk, it's best to stick with store-bought, especially in baked goods that depend on precise leavening.

While the quantity of acid could be fine-tuned, the consistency of milk-based substitutions will be unavoidably thin. Compared to cultured buttermilk, plain milk is watery, making the dough so heavy and wet that it oozes into a puddle, turning the biscuits flat and dense.

Heating denatures the milk proteins, which allows the milk to coagulate and thicken more. Raw milk has not been heated; therefore, the proteins remain intact and will not coagulate the same way and cannot create a buttermilk that is as thick.

Not only does it deepen the flavor of your bake, but the acid in the buttermilk works with leaveners like baking soda to give it a fluffier interior crumb and more rise. However, it does not react the same way with baking powder.

Opened buttermilk can last up to 14 days in the fridge and slightly longer than its expiration date if unopened. It can be frozen opened or unopened in an airtight container for up to 3 months. If you notice any changes to the smell or look of your buttermilk, it's best to toss it to avoid getting sick.

What to do with milk gone bad? ›

Spoiled milk can replace buttermilk or sour cream in baked goods. It can also be used to tenderize meats or added to soups, casseroles, or salad dressings. You can likewise use it in certain cosmetic applications to soften your skin.

Buttermilk has more acid than regular milk, which will reduce the carbon dioxide released and thwart the leavening process important to these recipes. To achieve the desired result when using buttermilk instead of milk, be sure to substitute baking soda for some or all for of the baking powder.

Buttermilk is used primarily for its pleasant tangy flavor, but it can also help tenderize and leaven certain baked goods.

They're not completely interchangeable. Yes, you can swap them in a recipe, but it's not as simple as switching buttermilk for heavy cream/heavy cream for buttermilk. For example, if you're replacing buttermilk with heavy cream you'll probably need to switch out your baking soda for baking powder.

All you need is milk or half-and-half and a lemon or a bottle of vinegar. Just remember that buttermilk adds a nice tanginess to dressings, batters, and baked goods so making your own is the best option when you're in a pinch.