A coworker gave me a recipe for oatmeal pancakes. They contain buttermilk. I hate buttermilk to drink. I never use it for biscuits or anything else because I don’t want leftover buttermilk around. But I wanted to try the recipe, so I got some. (Actually, it turns out that I won’t be able to try it this weekend. The milk has an expiry date of 9/09, so I have a little time.) The problem is that the store doesn’t carry the required quantity of one pint. The smallest container I could get was a quart. Since I’m unlikely to use the remainder any time soon (and may not get to the pancakes next week), is it OK to freeze buttermilk?
Also: I can’t eat that many pancakes in one day. Can the batter be frozen? Or should I use all of the batter and freeze the pancakes?
Yes, buttermilk can be frozen. Just shake well upon thawing. Also, buttermilk keeps in the fridge a LOT longer than regular milk, long past the sell-by date.
Definitely make the pancakes and freeze, don’t freeze the batter. (Given the ways of the universe I’m sure someone will pipe up and say they’ve successfully frozen batter, I just haven’t.)
Keep in mind you can buy powdered buttermilk if you don’t like buying/keeping fresh. Works just fine in baked goods / quick breads.
You can always sub plain yogurt for buttermilk in baked goods recipes. The flavor will be slightly different, but it will have a tang and the chemical properties are similar enough as to not mess with any leavening agents.
You can also make sour milk for use in recipes that call for buttermilk. Put one tablespoon of plain vinegar for each cup of milk required in the bottom of a measuring cup, then pour in the milk to the right level. Skim milk will give the most buttermilk-like results. Don’t stir, just let it sit in room temperature for at least five minutes.
Now, if you don’t usually have milk on hand, this still means having to buy something, but your store may carry pints of plain milk even if it doesn’t carry pints of buttermilk.
You can freeze pancake batter, but the results are much much better if you freeze the actual pancakes.
I think I may have made those oatmeal pancakes. I made the whole batch and froze the extras, and they came in real handy when we needed just a quick bite of something in the morning. Wrap them up well and don’t keep them in the freezer forever, they can absorb odors and taste freezer burned after a time.
I don’t care for regular pancakes, but I do like oatmeal in any form. So I thought the oatmeal pancakes were quite tasty and had a better texture than the mushy bland type.
1-1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Combine the first three ingredients and let stand 1/2 hour or overnight in the refrigerator. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Cook on oiled griddle.