Buttermilk

[bill ace 350]

I didn't notice any difference when making schnitzels, except with venison backstraps. We make a lot of schnitzels, both pork and chicken here, along with fresh homemade brotchen.

Do you notice any difference between store bought buttermilk and homemade?

Thanks.

 

[wimpy]

Do you notice any difference between store bought buttermilk and homemade?

Thanks.

Store bought commercial buttermilk is a bit thinner than the dairy type buttermilks. Our best dairy near me is Calders dairy which has a better flavor than, say, Krogers or such. I like to let it ferment longer, sometimes 36 hours (our kitchen is cooler in the winter) as it seems to thicken up a bit more.

 

[chef k-dude]

Bought some buttermilk starter culture a while back.

Made one quart, using the instructions.

Turned out very thick, almost like a sour cream consistency. Very good taste though.

Anyway, when it was almost finished, I took about a heavy teaspoon and put in a fresh quart of milk as a starter.

Works great! Great flavor, great consistency.

Saved a few bucks!

I missed that you used a teaspoon of what became overly thick buttermilk, to then create a good consistency buttermilk. I have read that you can make more buttermilk with buttermilk. I can see how one could perpetuate the buttermilk stash!

One note I want to share for anyone that doesn't know this. You can prolong milk storage in the fridge by downsizing it in to smaller containers. I've had milk last at least a month doing this. When I open a half gallon for instance, I divide it in to 2 quart jars, then as one of the quarts gets to a pint, downsize to a pint jar, then to a half pint if I'm not using it for a while. The quart that was not bieng used stays good for a long time ,then when I get in to that, keep downsizing. Like with many foodstuffs, you can keep it from going bad longer by reducing the air volume in the container/size its in.

Where do you get your starter, how is it stored, how long does it last? What I see online seems a bit pricey...trying to figure out how it saves money, but from other comments making it this way tastes better? Of course letting unpasteurized milk set out is apparently the best way but we dont have any dairies we can by unpasteurized product from.

Apparently full fat yogurt can be used too, thinning it to the needed consistency. It's a probiotic like buttermilk. I absolutely love a yogurt drink I get from the Halal market

You pretty much have to go to a Halal market to get the stuff. Last time I was in town I bought 3 gallons and and it was on Ramadan special

The yogurt drinks in Western groceries all seem to be flavored with fruit, vanilla...and other non-flavored probiotic drinks are loaded with sugar. I've been playing with making my own version of it and its pretty good...better than store-bought buttermilk, but still nowhere near as good as the Merve Aryan. I only get in "to town" once every few months, sometimes longer otherwise I would have it in the fridge all the time.

 

[bill ace 350]

I missed that you used a teaspoon of what became overly thick buttermilk, to then create a good consistency buttermilk. I have read that you can make more buttermilk with buttermilk. I can see how one could perpetuate the buttermilk stash!

One note I want to share for anyone that doesn't know this. You can prolong milk storage in the fridge by downsizing it in to smaller containers. I've had milk last at least a month doing this. When I open a half gallon for instance, I divide it in to 2 quart jars, then as one of the quarts gets to a pint, downsize to a pint jar, then to a half pint if I'm not using it for a while. The quart that was not bieng used stays good for a long time ,then when I get in to that, keep downsizing. Like with many foodstuffs, you can keep it from going bad longer by reducing the air volume in the container/size its in.

Where do you get your starter, how is it stored, how long does it last? What I see online seems a bit pricey...trying to figure out how it saves money, but from other comments making it this way tastes better? Of course letting unpasteurized milk set out is apparently the best way but we dont have any dairies we can by unpasteurized product from.

Apparently full fat yogurt can be used too, thinning it to the needed consistency. It's a probiotic like buttermilk. I absolutely love a yogurt drink I get from the Halal market
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You pretty much have to go to a Halal market to get the stuff. Last time I was in town I bought 3 gallons and and it was on Ramadan special

The yogurt drinks in Western groceries all seem to be flavored with fruit, vanilla...and other non-flavored probiotic drinks are loaded with sugar. I've been playing with making my own version of it and its pretty good...better than store-bought buttermilk, but still nowhere near as good as the Merve Aryan. I only get in "to town" once every few months, sometimes longer otherwise I would have it in the fridge all the time.

I tried the starter in the picture. Large envelope came with 5 smaller envelopes inside. They are to be stored in the freezer. Pretty much the same storage as starter cultures for meat.

 

[chef k-dude]

Saw that on Amazon. Thanks.

 

[forktender]

My wife is a big fan of it too. I still make it Keto with NaturalMate granular in the curd and about a teaspoon of turbinado sugar (about 4 grams carbs) for the brule on top. I use a culinary torch for that. I'll try to remember to take a couple pics next time. Not much to it. Most critical thing is the water bath...handling them in the bath without getting water in them. My oven racks dont slide very smooth!

I have a turkey breast in the freezer that needs cooking. I'll have to look in to that. I WAS going to smoke it...wonder how well smoke and buttermilk go together? Sounds weird but might be good.

There was no buttermilk taste whatsoever, it was just super moist and tender, so I'm sure it will be great. For sure, the next one I smoke will get the buttermilk bath this night before.

 

[SaltPorkResearch]

OMG the thought of that.

No need for any culture if you use live or real buttermilk. I have some that is from a few years ago still running. Top it off with milk and keep at room temp a day or 2 is all then back in fridge.

I fermented a bunch of SS with buttermilk/yogurt/kefir. Was convinced I was onto something big and did not want to spend $ for culture. I was not overly impressed. Yes there is some acidity and some flavor but it just didn't "pop". The VERY first time I fermented with a culture (FRM52) I was BLOWN AWAY. No other way really. I tried ALL the other hacks (fermento/etc) and NONE compare honestly. That said, buttermilk was the best of all but still no where as good as the culture. That said, buttermilk is great to have around. Pancakes/baking/marinades. I had a fried chicken phase a while back. 1:1 buttermilk:Franks hot sauce is a wicked good marinade for that.

I am also trying the kefir as a starter culture for some sausage/salami. The fermented meats are really interesting. With all the variety in yeast fermenting beer there must be some variety in fermenting meat.

Good on yah for trying some things. Research is a difficult business.

Kicking the idea around of trying to make a sourdough like starter culture using meat, but I just don't have enough knowledge on the subject yet. Maybe my basement has a unique salami flavor I can capture.

I think of buttermilk as just regular milk that didn't get pasteurized. Lots of uses. Why use regular milk when you got milk with a tang! Great for making pancakes, biscuits, coleslaw, salad dressing, marinades, gravy....

Buttermilk is handy to have around and keeps in the fridge for a very long time.

 

[chef k-dude]

Thanks for the inspiration from the original post topic. I did take the cream I had in the fridge and make a batch of creme brule, then used the rest with some long-in-the tooth buttermilk to make creme fraiche. It came together overnight wonderfully.

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At the moment, I knew this was what appeared to be a random South Park reference. I am WAY to mature to have known exactly what...I cannot stand the voices of many of the characters on that show, so I was never a fan; but the humor is great if one can stand the audio! I had to read the Wiki on it...that was a funny episode, but the "shaker weight" had to be the funniest part!

There was no buttermilk taste whatsoever, it was just super moist and tender, so I'm sure it will be great. For sure, the next one I smoke will get the buttermilk bath this night before.

Definitely going to look in to this. Will post the results!