oh wherefore arth thou Buttermilk?

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
there were some questions about this recently. here's my take / experience:

"store bought buttermilk" - actually is not the same thing as the butter milk of history.

the "old style" aka "classic" butter milk is the liquid left in the 'container / churn' after making butter.

hmmm, "butter whey" if you will.

I bring this up because I make home made butter time-to-time. not for the butter - but for the butter milk. which I use for pancakes and waffles - and yeah - it's a treat - and ayup, seriously superior to "store buttermilk"

the butter of course does get used. a pint of heavy whipping cream will give you a batch-o-unsalted butter plus something slightly over a cup of real butter milk. butter whey with itty bitty chunks of butter floating around in it.

it is more acidic / tart than 'other stuff' - so I cut the baking powder in half.
cup of flour,
cup of butter milk,
one egg,
1/2 tsp baking powder,
light pinch of salt,
tbsp sugar.

beat the egg in the buttermilk, mix, adjust consistency - pour out pancake, drop a batch of blueberries into the puddled batter, wait-for-it-bubbles, flip. minor slather of fresh home made butter and real maple syrup. avoid over-eating....

if you have a stand mixer, making butter and capturing real buttermilk is absolute duck soup.

mixer, whisk attachment, dump in one pint/two cups heavy cream - start on slow until foam forms, increase speed. takes about 15 minutes and here's what to watch for (otherwise you make a mess.....)

- you get the foam
- then the volume and whipped cream
- then it looks a little dry - you'll see gaps where it pulls from the sides
- then the volume collapses
- then the mixture starts to look 'grainy'
- don't leave now, it's about to happen....
- continue on medium speed and in short order the butter 'falls out' in yellow chunks all caught up in the whisk
- _immediately_ reduce to slowest speed
- failing that, this is where the "How did I make that big a mess?" comes in - the butter milk is quite liquid and the butter is quite solid and at high speed the buttermilk spatters _everywhere_

pour off the buttermilk, use a spatula / big wooden spoon to squeeze the chunks of butter together - more buttermilk appears, pour off.

form the butter into a roll/chunk/hunk - wrap in alum foil for storage.

oh, the buttermilk freezes well if you have any extra - plastic zip bag....
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Wowwwwwww!

What an excellent post, ChowderMan!

I am so going to try this sometime!

COOL!

Lee
 
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