# Does anyone here like buttermilk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368 "2010-06-24T15:55:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/21 "2010-06-24T19:32:14Z")
I like it OK by itself but much much better with a square of cornbread torn up into it, eaten like a bowl of cereal. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/22 "2010-06-24T20:17:20Z")
Love it! A cold glass of buttermilk on a hot day is great. And it adds zing to lots of food, especially pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/23 "2010-06-24T21:53:49Z")
I also like it as a flavour but not to drink. To me the taste of buttermilk is too powerful on it’s own. But it’s excellent as an addition to other things, like pancakes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/24 "2010-06-24T22:41:50Z")
I love buttermilk, and also love the little designs it leaves on the glass. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/25 "2010-06-24T23:00:21Z")
Absolutely love it! For drinking ice cold, for cooking and especially for grossing my family out. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/26 "2010-06-24T23:13:04Z")
I wonder if you can use buttermilk to make more buttermilk, the way you make homemade yogurt. As in, scald a gallon of whole or lowfat milk, let it cool to blood heat, then stir in a little buttermilk. Let it sit overnight and you have a gallon of buttermilk? Buttermilk is just thick because the bacterial action coagulated the milk proteins, right? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/27 "2010-06-24T23:14:18Z")
It’s pretty good mixed equal parts with milk, but I can’t drink it straight. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/28 "2010-06-24T23:18:36Z")
Like it okay. Corn bread and buttermilk as an accompaniment to a bowl of pintos. Slice of vidalia doesn’t hurt. I kind of prefer the 2% now though. I drink skim milk so maybe that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/29 "2010-06-24T23:24:39Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I wonder if you can use buttermilk to make more buttermilk, the way you make homemade yogurt. You are 100% correct. My mother did this. She’d buy buttermilk, and leave a bit left over as starter for her homemade batch. I don’t know the recipe but I’m sure shortly someone will be along with details on how to do it ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/30 "2010-06-24T23:28:20Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > You are 100% correct. My mother did this. She’d buy buttermilk, and leave a bit left over as starter for her homemade batch. > > I don’t know the recipe but I’m sure shortly someone will be along with details on how to do it That’d be a good way to make a batch big enough to submerge a couple of cut-up chickens prior to breading and frying them. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/31 "2010-06-24T23:39:28Z")
I always thought that buttermilk had an appealing aroma, but the actual taste took some getting used to. Over the years, though, sip by sip (while I was cooking things using buttermilk) I have acquired that taste, and now I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/32 "2010-06-25T00:43:26Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > You are 100% correct. My mother did this. She’d buy buttermilk, and leave a bit left over as starter for her homemade batch. > > I don’t know the recipe but I’m sure shortly someone will be along with details on how to do it [How To Make Cultured Buttermilk](http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cultured-Buttermilk) ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/33 "2010-06-25T04:06:17Z")
My friend Peter wrote a book called “Drinking Buttermilk: A Eulogy for an American Passtime.” I have the PDF file if anyone is interested. Actually, I see he has it available on the web for free. [http://drinkingbuttermilk.com/](http://drinkingbuttermilk.com/) This is a guy who takes the honey meant for sopapillas at the Mexican restaurant and pours it all over his cheese enchiladas. Whether you want to read anything he has to say about food, I don’t know, but there you have it: a whole book about how much someone likes drinking buttermilk. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/34 "2010-06-25T16:05:52Z")
I absolutely love buttermilk. I go through at least 3 quarts a week, drinking at least one large glass every morning for breakfast. That’ll hold me until lunch. Rather than a sugary or salty snack, I’ll have another buttermilk if I get peckish during the day, too. I actually don’t drink regular milk and haven’t since I was a tot. But bring on the buttermilk! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/35 "2010-06-25T16:13:21Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Love it, especially as lassi with a bit of salt. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > The best stuff is when you get the tiny, yellow butter flakes in there. > > So refreshing. I hate to be that SDMB pedant, but I think we need to define our terms, here. Are you (the OP) talking about the leftover liquid from making butter, or the stuff with bacterial cultures you buy in the store in the carton labeled “buttermilk”? I’ve never had the old style, I think. I do like lassi (sweet, mango, please!) but I think they use the cultured stuff to make them around here. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/36 "2010-06-25T16:15:27Z")
It is somewhat difficult to find buttermilk that is not reduced fat these days. Fortunately, my Kroger has real cultured buttermilk from a local Mayfield dairy. SWMBO uses it for all sorts of recipes, but I like it ice cold on a hot summer evening. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/37 "2010-06-25T16:21:15Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > It is somewhat difficult to find buttermilk that is not reduced fat these days. > Fortunately, my Kroger has real cultured buttermilk from a local Mayfield dairy. > SWMBO uses it for all sorts of recipes, but I like it ice cold on a hot summer evening. I’m not sure I understand why “reduced fat” is a bad thing for buttermilk. The original stuff was naturally nearly fat free (the fat having coagulated into the butter). The cultured stuff is made from skimmed milk to be nearly as low fat as the original stuff, but not quite. Seems like high fat cultured buttermilk would be basically thin yogurt or kefir. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/38 "2010-06-25T16:25:12Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’m not sure I understand why “reduced fat” is a bad thing for buttermilk. The original stuff was naturally nearly fat free (the fat having coagulated into the butter). The cultured stuff is made from skimmed milk to be nearly as low fat as the original stuff, but not quite. > > Seems like high fat cultured buttermilk would be basically thin yogurt or kefir. Well, all I can say is that it tastes differently than reduced fat does. And in this case, ‘differently’ means better (to me, because of course, _de gustibus non est disputandum_). ---
**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:** [June 25, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/39 "2010-06-25T16:32:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I hate to be that SDMB pedant, but I think we need to define our terms, here. Are you (the OP) talking about the leftover liquid from making butter, or the stuff with bacterial cultures you buy in the store in the carton labeled “buttermilk”? Apparently, at least according to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttermilk): > [@](#): > > Some dairies add colored flecks of butter to cultured buttermilk to simulate the residual pieces of butter that can be left over from the churning process of traditional buttermilk. I never knew that. To my knowledge, I’ve never had the traditional “leftover from churning butter” buttermilk, but the typical cultured milk (similar to yogurt or kefir) that you find at groceries. None of the brands I’ve ever bought had butter chunks in them. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368/40 "2010-06-25T16:48:56Z")
The stores here sell the usual 1% style of cultured buttermilk, but they also have a whole milk (I think) version made by Borden. I tried it and it’s too fatty tasting for me. I do remember buying buttermilk 20 or so years ago that had the yellow flecks in it, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-like-buttermilk/544368.md?page=3)