Buttermilk, where are you?

The need for buttermilk in my kitchen is rare. How about you?

I have a favorite recipe that calls for a 1/4 cup of the thick, bitter milk, but I've never used that ingredient in it. Luckily my mom taught me a substitution for buttermilk way back, and so I thought I'd share it today.

You see, I found another recipe calling for it today and did the substitution thing again, and thought, hey, I should share this. After all, how many of you have purchased a carton of this rarely-used milk only to have the majority of it go to waste? With this substitution you can use skim milk, so even the health benefit is reason enough to try it out. If the waste factor, expense, and inconvenience of purchasing it isn't enough reason, that is.

So, to make your own buttermilk, mix a little vinegar in with skim, 1%, or 2% milk, whatever you regularly stock your refrigerator with, to equal the amount of buttermilk called for. For 1/4 cup of buttermilk, I measure my milk just to below the 1/4 mark, then add a tablespoon or so of vinegar until it reaches the 1/4 mark exactly. Stir it. See the curdling happen before your eyes, and there you have it, a no fuss, easy-to-make substitution for buttermilk. Hope this helps!

Blessings,

Eileen