Homemade Buttermilk:
Thick & Tangy, Cold & Creamy
and You Made It Yourself!

Talk about a Christmas gift that keeps on giving!

Let me explain. At Christmas, I gifted myself with magazine subscriptions. For the first time in several years, I subscribed to Saveur, Bon Appetit and Vegetarian Times. I figured the subscriptions were not just for me but for the industry as a whole, paying for inspiring writing and recipes. (Another “gift”? Subscribing via Amazon Magazine Subscription Manager. Now my subscriptions are in one easy-to-find Amazon-efficient place.)

My favorite subscription so far, for everyday recipe inspiration, is Vegetarian Times.

But the Bon Appetit subscription paid for itself in the first issue. Buried in the verrrry back of January was a toss-off recipe for making buttermilk.

Now for the record, I’ve always been keen on buttermilk. Why?

But when the fridge is buttermilk bare, like most of us, I have on occasion “made-do” by souring milk with vinegar or lemon juice as a substitute for buttermilk. That make-do buttermilk isn't that great, especially when commercial buttermilk is inexpensive and keeps for several weeks.

But over the years, I’ve also read that “store-bought buttermilk isn't what it used to be”. Would I be willing to put some effort into producing really good-tasting buttermilk? Heck yeah!

But this recipe? It is ever so easy! No yogurty heating and cooling contortions! No weird ingredients!

It takes no more than a little commercial buttermilk as the “starter” and then regular milk.

The first batch sat on my counter for a little over 24 hours and – not to overstate this or anything – IT WAS A REVELATION.

Tangy but with a touch of something akin to sweetness. Pillows of luxuriant creaminess. The first batch was made with whole milk and didn’t last long, I stirred it into soup and cereal and fruit and even took spoonfuls straight from the jar.

Since then I’ve made a new batch every week or so, often with whole milk, some times with skim milk. I use it for the typical buttermilk recipes but also as a substitute for yogurt and sour cream. I can’t get enough of this stuff!

In fact – for anyone who doesn’t have access to affordable Greek yogurt? (My regular grocery charges two arms and two legs for Greek yogurt.) Make the buttermilk with whole milk, then drain out the whey – it’s a very close cousin.

My favorite, by far, is making buttermilk with whole milk. This creamy stuff, it’s easy to imagine, is what old-timers so fondly remember about buttermilk.

For additional tang, I make buttermilk with goat milk too. I find it at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and even my regular Schnucks grocery here in St. Louis and unfortunately, the skim version is becoming harder to find.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!