Any substitutes for buttermilk?

[Jasmine-Rose]

Hi All,

I'm brand new to this and I'm hoping someone can offer suggestions. In this area (New England) the smallest quantity of buttermilk I can find is a quart. That's a lot of buttermilk to buy if all I need is 2/3 cup. I know I could keep baking muffins until I use it all up but I'm trying to cook light, and cooking lots and lots seems to defeat that purpose!

Can I freeze the buttermilk? Is there a substitute that you've had success with? Is the powdered stuff any good?

Many thanks in advance.

[Irene Bartlett]

Hi,

Welcome to the board. I had the same problem until somebody on this board informed me that you could find powdered buttermilk which is great. I also know that you can mix milk and lemon juice to substitute to buttermilk but I don't know the quantities. Maybe someone else .... ?

[Alisa]

Welcome!
I make buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, and letting it stand for a few minutes. It will curdle a bit.

Alisa

[AD]

There are numerous substitutions. The powdered stuff tastes terrible in my opinion, even in baked goods. You can add 1 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar to 1 cup regular milk, and I believe you can also use vinegar if you don't have the lemon juice. You can also use plain yogurt.

[munchies]

As others have mentioned, you can make your own. If you want to use vinegar, use 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

On a thread a few days ago, somebody mentioned that they do freeze buttermilk in ziploc baggies in "usable" sizes (maybe 1/2 cup or so)

Finally -- WELCOME! :D

[SandyM]

Hiya Jasmine - and welcome aboard!

In my opinion, the powdered buttermilk is awesome in baked goods, and it lasts quite a while in the refrigerator. I use it exclusively for anything requiring buttermilk, and sometimes (depending on the recipe) substitute it for regular milk.

[Deanna]

Just threw out a quart of buttermilk, myself, today!

My boss (who is quite a bakestress) uses powdered buttermilk exclusively, and swears by it.

I'm going to go with her recommendation and give it a try myself!

d

[Jasmine-Rose]

Many thanks to all for your ideas. I'll try each and find one that works out well. Gotta be better than throwing away all that buttermilk!

[Beth]

I use the powdered buttermilk for most purposes and thought I'd throw in a tip. Stir the powdered buttermilk in with your flour and other dry ingredients and use plain water where the directions tell you to add the buttermilk. If you don't blend the powder into the dry ingredients, it may not dissolve evenly and you could get little white lumps.

As I recall, on an earlier discussion, the reviews for the powdered buttermilk were generally very good for baking, but less satisfactory for salad dressings and such.

[sneezles]

When using the lemon juice/vinegar recipe for buttermilk...add the tablespoon of either to a liquid measuring cup and then add the milk to equal 1 cup.

[kbucky]

I always sub yogurt, and have no problems!

[Searcher]

Buttermilk lasts a lot longer in the fridge than you'd think. It will separate though, so shake it holding the top closed. Or besides freezing it in zip lock bags in 1/2 or 1 cup amounts, people also freeze it in tablespoon in ice cube trays then pop them out and place in a large plastic freezer bag. That would be a good way to get the extra 1/4 cup (4 cubes) for the Died and Went To Heaven Chocolate Cake! Yum!!!!