Cultured Buttermilk
Cultured buttermilk is a flavorful and probiotic drink. It is a delicious substitute for yogurt and perfect for baking! See the sections above for advice on where to find the culture in your grocery store and how to maintain it so you can keep making buttermilk!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Traditional
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups milk (whole or skim)
- 1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
Instructions
- Mix the buttermilk and milk in a clean glass jar.
- Place the lid on the jar and leave the jar to ferment on the counter for 4-12 hours (see notes). Buttermilk doesn’t have a yeast-based culture so a tight-fitting lid is fine. Buttermilk thickens best at temperatures of around 68F to 86F (20C to 30C). Expect it to take a bit longer if it’s colder than that.
- Taste the buttermilk to determine when it is done. It should taste slightly sour and a bit like cottage cheese. The first time you make buttermilk, it may take a little longer (up to 24 hours) to achieve a nice flavor. It will depend on the quality of your buttermilk culture. However, once you’ve established your culture, it should ferment within 4 to 8 hours.
- Store in the refrigerator and use it within 2 weeks.
Notes
- If the buttermilk hasn’t soured within 24 hours, then the culture wasn’t alive and vigorous. If this happens, then I recommend trying a different brand. See the section above for more information on finding good buttermilk cultures.
- Save a bit of your buttermilk to make future batches! See the section above for details on how to keep a vigorous culture.