# Can I use this buttermilk? (Need answer fast!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020 "2010-08-12T04:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/1 "2010-08-12T04:28:27Z")
I have some buttermilk that has a “sell by” date of 8/10/10. It smells a bit off, but I think that is what buttermilk is supposed to smell like. It is slightly separated, but fine if I shake it up. I’d like to make a batch of my famous banana muffins. Is it OK?? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/2 "2010-08-12T04:43:55Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I have some buttermilk that has a “sell by” date of 8/10/10. It smells a bit off, but I think that is what buttermilk is supposed to smell like. It is slightly separated, but fine if I shake it up. > > I’d like to make a batch of my famous banana muffins. > > Is it OK?? Yes, it should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/3 "2010-08-12T04:47:40Z")
I put some buttermilk in the freezer. (I hate buttermilk, but I’ve a recipe that calls for it.) How long should I let it defrost in the fridge before I use it? What about on the counter? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/4 "2010-08-12T05:10:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I put some buttermilk in the freezer. (I hate buttermilk, but I’ve a recipe that calls for it.) How long should I let it defrost in the fridge before I use it? What about on the counter? Until it melts should be fine. If you’re specifically asking how long that will be, well, too many variables to give a clear answer. Just wait until it becomes liquid. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/5 "2010-08-12T05:33:26Z")
OK well I went ahead and used it, and my banana muffins are in the oven now. The only thing I didn’t do was lick the bowl… didn’t want to get sick just in case it was bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/6 "2010-08-12T11:20:55Z")
I’ve used buttermilk that has been out of date by a couple of months, and it’s never made me sick. The same goes for a lot of my family. As long as it doesn’t actually have mold growing on it, you can use the buttermilk. After all, buttermilk is already spoiled when you buy it, which is the whole point. The bacteria introduced into the milk to make it into buttermilk will keep other harmful bacteria from growing for a long while. I just wouldn’t recommend drinking it when it’s that old, as the taste gets quite bad. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/7 "2010-08-12T14:12:12Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > The only thing I didn’t do was lick the bowl… didn’t want to get sick just in case it was bad. Better safe than sorry, of course. But 8/10 is a “sell by” date, not a “use by date.” Properly refrigerated, milk should last at least a week beyond the “sell by” date. And it’s not like there’s some special mechanism by which milk suddenly goes bad at the stroke of midnight on the expiration date, anyway. Buttermilk should be able to last much longer, given the reasons **Mr. Accident** has stated. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/8 "2010-08-12T14:28:48Z")
‘There’s milk in the refrigerator that’s about to go bad. Whoops… there it goes.’ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/9 "2010-08-12T14:35:33Z")
I generally dispense with buttermilk and just use sour milk - which in old cookbooks was often used freely interchangeably with buttermilk anyway. Don’t have any sour milk? Just take a tablespoon of white vinegar and add milk to make 1 cup. Let stand a few minutes to sour the milk up and you’re set. I’ve done this for baking and in making fried chicken. No complaints yet. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/10 "2010-08-12T16:34:35Z")
Buttermilk lasts a good long time past its sell-by date. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/11 "2010-08-12T23:58:43Z")
I just bought some of [this](http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html) yesterday. As someone who has thrown out my share of half-full cartons of buttermilk, it felt like I was discovering gold in the grocery store. ETA: You know, that site isn’t really clear. It’s powdered! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/12 "2010-08-13T00:13:06Z")
I’ll use buttermilk as long as it’s in liquid form. When it starts lumping up is when I toss it out. I’ve used the powdered buttermilk, but I don’t like the results as well in baked goods. Anything that has baking soda in it seems to need the ooomph from the slightly acidic nature of buttermilk. ---
**Author:** ![Picard\_Kills\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Picard\_Kills\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Picard_Kills_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/13 "2010-08-13T00:51:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘There’s milk in the refrigerator that’s about to go bad. Whoops… there it goes.’ I love you. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/14 "2010-08-13T00:55:51Z")
I only use buttermilk only when making pumpkin whoopie pies (which isn’t all that often) so I never buy it. I just do the milk and vinegar thing. It’s so much less expensive than buying buttermilk. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/15 "2010-08-13T00:55:52Z")
Stole it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/16 "2010-08-13T07:44:46Z")
> [@Sue\_Duhnym](#): > > I just bought some of [this](http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html) yesterday. As someone who has thrown out my share of half-full cartons of buttermilk, it felt like I was discovering gold in the grocery store. > > ETA: You know, that site isn’t really clear. It’s powdered! I have seen that and have been thinking about trying it. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-this-buttermilk-need-answer-fast/550020/17 "2010-08-13T14:21:22Z")
How did the muffins turn out? Are you okay? 😃