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<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\nThe thickness of buttermilk varies widely from carton to carton. You may need to adjsut the amount you use for a given recipe.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Photo by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Cookbook author Cheryl Day calls herself a \u201cbuttermilk purist.\u201d When she bakes, she uses cultured buttermilk made with nonhomogenized, additives-free whole milk. \u201cIt\u2019s low-temperature, vat-pasteurized,\u201d she says, and praises its rich mouthfeel. \u201cI buy it from a local dairy with happy cows.\u201d<\/p>\n Those details make all the difference. Commercial cultured buttermilks with lower fat and additives don\u2019t have that \u201crich, pure flavor,\u201d Day says. \u201cThere\u2019s a certain taste that you want, especially with something as simple as a biscuit or a yellow cake. When you add a bunch of stuff, it\u2019s almost like overcompensating for the flavor you\u2019re not getting.\u201d<\/p>\n Baking is essentially the world\u2019s most delicious chemical reaction, and buttermilk is prized for how its acidity interacts with alkaline leaveners like baking soda. The reaction produces carbon dioxide, helping cakes, waffles, and biscuits rise. Using lower-fat buttermilk with additives affects how baked goods spread and brown. \u201cIt changes the texture,\u201d Day says.<\/p>\n Renata Ameni agrees. The executive pastry chef and partner at Birdee in Brooklyn, New York, uses slow-cultured buttermilk from local dairy Ronnybrook to make the bakery\u2019s chocolate and red velvet cakes, as well as a buttermilk panna cotta. \u201cIt makes cakes more tender,\u201d she says. \u201cEven if you\u2019re not baking it, like in the panna cotta, you can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n Buttermilk adds tang and acidity to mashed potatoes, makes salad dressings (like homemade ranch) creamy, and adds moisture to buttermilk biscuits and cornbread.<\/p>\n In parts of the American South, buttermilk is enjoyed as a beverage. Some cooks pour it over toasted day-old cornbread to eat like cereal.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially effective as a marinade. In recipes for fried chicken, country-fried steak, and more, the lactic acid in buttermilk gently denatures proteins, reshaping their collagen structures and increasing moisture retention without turning the meat mushy. As a result, buttermilk-marinated meats cook up tender, tasty, and extra-juicy.<\/p>\n Charred chicken breasts coated in a tangy dry rub sit atop a fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumber, and onions.<\/p>\n View Recipe<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n While many argue there is no substitute for buttermilk, you can swap in kefir or stir water or whole milk into plain yogurt until it reaches buttermilk-adjacent consistency. In a pinch, Day has thinned sour cream with water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat\u2019s the best buttermilk for baking?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Buttermilk in savory cooking<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\nWhat\u2019s a good substitute for buttermilk?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n