# Can buttermilk be frozen?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-buttermilk-be-frozen/418285>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 6, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-buttermilk-be-frozen/418285 "2007-09-06T20:22:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-buttermilk-be-frozen/418285/1 "2007-09-06T20:22:30Z")

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Well, I mean I have no doubt that it _will_ freeze, but can I thaw it with decent results for baking?  
Most of the recipes I use it in call for 1/4 to 1/2 cup or so, and I’ve only seen it sold by the litre. I always end up using a bit of it, having the rest turn extra nasty in the fridge, toss it, then repeat a few months later. I’m thinking that I could freeze in 1/4 cup amounts, and have a freezer bag of wee little buttermilk hockey pucks.

Any thoughts?

(I’ve tried the “add lemon juice to milk” substitution method, but it just didn’t work. The pineapple cake needs real buttermilk)

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**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-buttermilk-be-frozen/418285/2 "2007-09-06T20:31:01Z")

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I freeze it all the time, in ice cube trays. I then use it when I make Ranch dressing. That’s not baked, obviously, so I am not sure if there would be a difference, but it works just fine in dressing.

I might have made pancakes with previously frozen buttermilk once and if I recall, they were find too.

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**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-buttermilk-be-frozen/418285/3 "2007-09-06T20:37:25Z")

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Thanks!  
I imagine that if it works in dressing, it’ll do just fine once it’s baked in cake batter.