Homemade Cultured Buttermilk is going to be a game changer for you. It’s literally as easy as mixing two things in a jar.
And whoa are you going to love having all that fresh homemade cultured buttermilk around. Read or scroll through to the end for great ideas on how to use up your real buttermilk.
I use a lot of homemade buttermilk. And by ‘a lot’ I mean a ton.
Many of my baked goods contain buttermilk. Much of my salad dressing uses buttermilk.
And my beloved, The Evil Genius? He drinks buttermilk.
Now before any of you out there yawp with a resounding, “EW!” let me just mention that millions of Southerners and displaced Southerners are right now saying, “Mmmmmmmm! A nice tall glass of buttermilk with salt and pepper sounds mighty fine right now.”
A reminder: never yuck another person’s yum. Unless we’re talking durian, then all bets are off… (You may want to read about my family vs. Durian.)
We go through a lot of the stuff. And I may have mentioned that I live in the middle of nowhere in Amish country before (or a million times before, but who’s counting?) so frequent last minute trips to the store are not convenient.
How to Make Real Buttermilk
There are probably quite a few of you out there saying, “Oh please. All you have to do is add a little vinegar or lemon juice to milk and you get the same thing. Why buy buttermilk?”
See? I just knew someone out there was saying it. Not so fast! It’s not the same thing. To prove my point, I have to talk science for a moment.
While the acidified milk might give you the same tang of buttermilk, it lacks woefully in the texture and viscosity department.
Buttermilk is used in recipes for several important reasons. First, it is acidic, so it helps invigorate leavening agents -such as baking powder, baking soda and yeast- when added to baked goods.
The acid also helps combat discoloration in baked goods and promotes deep, beautiful browning. Buttermilk contains natural emulsifiers; this improves texture and aroma, and extends shelf life after baking.
The acidity of your homemade cultured buttermilk makes it a wonderful addition to marinades for chicken and pork. The acid helps tenderize the meat and gives it a tangy flavor.
Cultured Buttermilk
You know the ‘cultured’ part of cultured buttermilk? It’s good for you.
It contains many active cultures similar to those found in yogurt. Most of the cultures generally found in buttermilk are form the Lactococcus Lactis family and many of their subspecies.
Those cultures are what make homemade cultured buttermilk so thick and creamy. And what? Good for you!
Now that you know more than you probably ever wanted to know about buttermilk let’s get onto the ‘Why make my own?’ thing. Because you can.
Seriously. You need more than that?
Okay. Also make it because it’s dirt cheap, it’s super simple, it’s really fun and you’ll never run out of buttermilk again.
Hang on one second. Someone out there just said, “I never use a whole thing of buttermilk. What do I do with all that buttermilk?” I’m so glad you asked. How about a few of these ideas:
Perfect, flaky, Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Take it from me, these buttermilk biscuits would do my Arkansas Grandma proud… They’re lofty, flaky, tender, and utterly divine.
Bacon and Swiss Rye Muffins These are every bit as good as they sound and as easy as pie. No wait! They’re easier than pie. Pie can be hard.
Grandma’s Buttermilk Cornbread This is my Grandma’s buttermilk cornbread recipe and it is ridiculously delicious and the ultimate comfort food.
Buttermilk Cornbread Rounds Based on my Grandma’s Buttermilk Cornbread recipe, these perfectly portioned cornbread rounds fit neatly in the hand and go anywhere cornbread goes, but look cuter doing it! This one’s going a little way back in the FWF archives.
Buttermilk Pancakes Nothing beats beautiful, light, airy buttermilk pancakes smothered in real maple syrup. Nothing. This one’s also reaching way back.
Garam Masala Depression Cake from Val. Nothin’ depressing about THAT cake, I’ll tell you. We’re talking about a decadent, Garam Masala flavored chocolate cake with orange buttercream and toasted coconut.
Oh my. I only take issue with the number of servings Val specified in it. It looks like a one-person cake to me.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention these others…
- Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies (Drop scones)
- Extra Crispy Fried Chicken Fingers (The Evil Genius can cook!)
- Cornbread Salad
Are you good and hungry yet? Excellent. Let’s make some buttermilk. I promise it doesn’t take but two shakes.
Homemade Cultured Buttermilk
Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cultured buttermilk (from the store or home cultured)
- 1 to 2 quarts skim,1%, 2%, or whole milk from the store or raw milk
Also needed:
- 1 clean, dry quart or half gallon jar with a tight fitting two piece lid.
Okay. Ready? If you blink you’ll miss how to do it.
Pour buttermilk (1/4 cup for a quart jar or 1/2 cup for a half gallon jar) into your clean jar. Top off the jar with your plain milk.
Tightly screw lid to the jar and shake vigorously for 1 minute. Place in a warm (but not hot) area out of direct sunlight.
Let it sit there for 12 to 24 hours, until thickened. Refrigerate when thick.
Use within two weeks. If you re-culture this regularly, you can carry on re-culturing indefinitely.
Now here’s a glimpse of my finished product. Note that mine is super thick. I used raw, whole milk to culture my buttermilk. If you use skim, it may end up a little thinner than what you see here.
Homemade Cultured Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup cultured buttermilk from the store or home cultured
- 1 to 2 quarts skim 1%, 2%, or whole milk from the store or raw milk
- Also needed:
- 1 clean dry quart or half gallon jar with a tight fitting two piece lid.
Instructions
- Okay. Ready? If you blink you’ll miss how to do it.
- Pour buttermilk (1/4 cup for a quart jar or 1/2 cup for a half gallon jar) into your clean jar. Top off the jar with your plain milk. Tightly screw lid to the jar and shake vigorously for 1 minute. Place in a warm (but not hot) area out of direct sunlight. Let it sit there for 12 to 24 hours, until thickened. Refrigerate when thick. Use within two weeks.
Notes
This recipe was originally posted March 24, 2010, and was updated with photos, links, and improved notes March 2021.
Tony says
I used a shop bought yogurt maker, fresh whole milk and a table spoon of kefir yogurt.
Followed the instructions; but gave it two sessions, the result was curds and whey
(Buttermilk) absolutely delicious, was this the real McCoy or just stale milk?
Rebecca says
Hey Tony! If you added kefir, it sounds like you cultured it alright!
Savvy says
Getting so tired of every “cultured buttermilk” recipe requiring me to already have cultured buttermilk. I can’t buy it where I am and have no idea how to make it, so how am I supposed to start this?
Rebecca says
Hi Savvy- All the recipes call for using cultured buttermilk because that’s the quickest, easiest, least expensive way to get the culture you need to make it. If you absolutely positively cannot find it in your grocery store, you can mail order the dried culture, make a batch of buttermilk, and keep reculturing that. Or, you could go “rogue” and try an equivalent amount of plain, unsweetened yogurt in place of the buttermilk. The real key here is that you need the culture. It’s non-negotiable. 🙂
Savvy says
Well, when I found your recipe I searched “how to culture buttermilk”, because I want to know how to do it from scratch. No, I absolutely positively cannot find it in my remote region of Portugal because it is not used. Also with customs no one will mail it. I know there must be some way to learn to culture from scratch, but apparently no one is sharing.
Rebecca says
Did you see my suggestion that you try using a yogurt culture in the absence of the other options?
Mark says
Wow! I don’t bake but drink a few pints of buttermilk a week, yes it’s an acquired taste for some but being from Ireland and having a grandmother who was constantly baking soda bread may have something to do with loving the taste!
I’ve made 3Litres so far since finding this recipe and will continue to “Stick it to the man!”
Thanks Rebecca.
Rebecca says
Thank YOU, Mark!!! I’m so glad you love it and that you took the time to tell me. 🙂
Elisa says
I’ve wanted to try this forever and it didn’t work. Used activated live buttermilk with whole milk and it just kind of smelled rotten after a day and never thickened.
Rebecca says
Hmmm, Elisa! Let’s see if we can trouble shoot what went wrong for you. What was your room temp/humidity like?
Tanya says
Just thought I would mention, I’m actually cultivating Buttermilk to use as a starter culture for cheeses, many use mesophilic culture and that is what Buttermilk has. So much cheaper and easier than buying culture. Pour into muffin pan and freeze.. I use silicone so it’s easy to remove once frozen. Keep in freezer and use 1 frozen block per gallon. If you use ice cube trays, it’s 1 per quart.
Rebecca says
Thanks for the great input, Tanya!! I appreciate you letting us know this great hack!
Enola says
Can you use outdated milk that’s just past it’s date maybe thickening in place of milk?
Rebecca says
Hi Enola- That’s up to you! I’d personally go with the fresh milk so I could control the rate of fermentation and the flavours, but if you try it, please let me know how it works out for you!
Phyl says
Once I freeze it, can I use it to reculture? I freeze yogurt culture and can use it again to make yogurt but am curious about buttermilk.
Rebecca says
You betcha, Phyl!! It may culture a little more slowly, but it should work!
Wally says
I don’t understand why is safe to leave milk out for hours, is it the added acid? Thank you
Rebecca says
Hi Wally- It’s because you’re adding good bacteria which eats the same stuff that the bad bacteria would were it there. It’s the same concept as culturing yogurt. It’s wonderful!
Dean Duncan says
To make cultured buttermilk, you need…cultured buttermilk. The whole reason I searched for this recipe is because none of my local stores sell cultured buttermilk. So I was looking for a way to make some without having some on hand to begin with. Guess I’ll have to keep looking.
Rebecca says
Hey Dean- It’s a fact, you need something that has the culture in it to make cultured buttermilk. You can also order dried buttermilk starter, but then you’re reconstituting dried cultured buttermilk to make buttermilk. 🙂 It’s worth it either way you make it, because the homemade is so luscious.
barbara freeman says
I see powdered buttermilk for sale. Would this make buttermilk starter?
Rebecca says
Hi Barbara- I’m not sure. It’d have to have live and active cultures (or cultures that are dormant.) Does the powdered buttermilk you see say anything about that?
Charlie says
Such a long story , y can’t u just get to how to make the buttermilk, I still don’t know , recipe that’s all I ask and not the 2/3 page stories
Rebecca says
There’s a lot of helpful information in there for folks who need it, Charlie. Of course, if you’d prefer to get simple recipes with no lead-in or information, you’re welcome to purchase my cookbooks instead of availing yourself of those that I’ve provided freely here for the low-low price of scrolling.
Elaine says
Are you familiar with Dairy Fresh Bulgarian Buttermilk? They don’t make it anymore, but I am dying for the recipe. Do you think it was the type of butter that they used ? I had also heard that someone thought that they used yogurt. Thanks
Rebecca says
Hi Elaine- I have had a few other folks ask about that, but have never tried it myself so I’m afraid I’m not much help on that front.