What is Buttermilk?
The real buttermilk is the actual liquid that remains after butter is made. It is very sour, contains particles of curd and has the consistency likened to that of watered down cream. Understandably, selling the leftover or by-products of the butter making procedure isn’t really something that dairy companies want to do. So instead commercialised buttermilk exists and can be spotted in most supermarkets. This commercial buttermilk is standard milk that has been fermented with bacteria to create the same thing, often what is used in the process is lactic acid .
The process of creating buttermilk is quite similar to that of making yoghurt, but where they differ is that making buttermilk has a shorter fermentation timeframe of around 12-24 hours. Buttermilk is usually sold in smaller containers than regular standard milk, and also has a longer shelf life than regular milk. It is popularly used in pancakes, breads and sometimes even as a salad dressing.
Buttermilk has many uses around the kitchen, it is so useful in some cultures that there has been a rise of people making buttermilk themselves. This is further popularized by the fact that buttermilk is relatively easy to make and doesn’t need any other ingredients other than milk and vinegar. Which are things always lying around homes.
The biggest point to note is that there is no butter in buttermilk. No butter is added during or after the process. This is where a lot of people get confused, because most assume that due to the name butter must be added at some point. The only thing that is added to the milk is either vinegar if you are making it at home, or lactic acid if you are using a store bought version of buttermilk. Overall buttermilk is an inexpensive useful ingredient that is cheap to buy in the shops and even cheaper to make at home.