Homemade Buttermilk Syrup Recipe - I Heart Naptime (2024)

FAQs

What vinegar to use for buttermilk? ›

What you'll need: Whole or 2-percent milk and fresh lemon juice or white distilled vinegar. Why it works: Buttermilk brings its tangy flavor and acidic makeup to recipes, important in baking when you're using baking soda as a leavener, which needs acid to activate it. Here, you're creating an acidic dairy mixture.

How long does homemade buttermilk last? As long as you store it in an airtight container in a very cold part of your fridge (i.e.: not the doors, which are the warmest and most often exposed to warmer air), it can last up to two weeks.

1/3 cup buttermilk = 1/3 cup milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar. 1/2 cup buttermilk = 1/2 cup milk + 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar. 2/3 cup buttermilk = 2/3 cup milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar.

This quick and easy buttermilk substitute is incredibly simple, and my hope is that you have what you need at home already. Here's what you need: Lemon juice OR vinegar. Fresh or bottled lemon juice OR distilled white vinegar will work equally well.

When sodium bicarbonate comes into contact with an acidic liquid—think buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, molasses, coffee, citrus juice, or vinegar—it produces carbon dioxide gas, and those bubbles produce the lift that you're looking for.

Start by combining ¼ cup of buttermilk from the previous batch with 1 quart of pasteurized milk in a container. Cover the container with a towel or coffee filter secured with a rubber band, or put a lid on the container and culture in a warm spot, 70°-77°F, for 12-18 hours.

However, sour cream is thicker than buttermilk, so it's best to thin it with water or milk when making a buttermilk substitute. To replace 1 cup (240 mL) of buttermilk in a recipe, combine 3/4 cup (172 grams) of sour cream with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of water or milk, and whisk the mixture until smooth.

You absolutely can freeze buttermilk. In fact, it's a great way to keep some of the fermented dairy product on hand for recipes that only need small amounts. This way, you don't need to buy another quart or half gallon and face the challenge of once again using it up before the expiration date hits.

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.

How is buttermilk traditionally made? ›

Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in Western countries is cultured separately.

Homemade Buttermilk Is Actually “Soured Milk”

Unfortunately, given the limited quantity of vinegar that you can add without negatively affecting flavor, the milk can only get so thick. Homemade sour milk is indeed much thinner than commercial buttermilk and tends to have a vinegary taste.

I often use lemon juice to curdle the milk but white vinegar works just as well. I've also seen others use apple cider vinegar with good results.

You can make sour milk with fat-free, reduced-fat, or whole milk. Use lemon juice or white distilled vinegar with 5% acidity, which has a neutral in taste and is colorless. In a pinch, you can use white wine vinegar. Any other vinegar is not suitable because it will give off its taste and color to the sour milk.

While this vinaigrette recipe calls for white wine vinegar, other kinds of vinegar can add flavor. Red wine vinegar adds excellent flavor, and balsamic is terrific and will take you in a whole different direction.