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
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 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
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag @foodiewithfam on Instagram and #hashtag it #foodiewithfamily so I can check it out!
This recipe was originally posted March 24, 2010, and was updated with photos, links, and improved notes March 2021.
Reader's Thoughts...
Aundrea says
You talk about reculturing regularly. What do you mean exactly?
Rebecca says
What I mean by that is to take part of your fresh batch of buttermilk and start another batch with it. 😀
Dee says
Thx for the recipe I use buttermilk in all my baking and delicious in bisquits.
Becky S. Morris says
This buttermilk is excellent and so easy to make! Now Im never out of buttermilk and my chocolate cakes, muffins, etc are perfect. Soured milk is ok in a pinch but buttermilk is always better. Now Im never out!
Sonia says
Hi – I have a quick question. Is this really considered buttermilk? Isn’t buttermilk the liquid leftover after taking butter out of cream? It is supposed to be nonfat and super healthy for you. This is like another version of yogurt almost?
Please clarify…thanks! It was fun reading your post…I like your style of writing! 🙂
Rebecca says
Hi Sonia- There are two accepted uses for the term “buttermilk”. There’s the old-fashioned straight up buttermilk which is the liquid leftover after making butter with cream. There’s also cultured buttermilk which is what this is. It can be made with non-fat milk and is also excellent for you because it does contain bacterial cultures much like yogurt. It is similar but not quite the same thing as yogurt. In yogurt, the milk is heated first, then the bacterial culture is introduced and allowed to set and thicken longer. In the cultured buttermilk, the culture is introduced at a lower temperature in unheated milk. This makes a product that isn’t quite as thick as yogurt. I think the bacterial strains are slightly different, too.
I know in other parts of the world you can buy churned buttermilk, but it isn’t really available commercially here in the US. It isn’t interchangeable with cultured buttermilk in recipes, either. Unless otherwise specified, I’d think you’d be safe in assuming any recipe from the US that calls for buttermilk is calling for cultured buttermilk.
Thanks!
Tina says
The whole point was home made butter milk, cause I don’t have any! So how am I going to make it since you still need butter milk?
Rebecca says
All cultured products need a starter culture; yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, etc… It’s not possible to make cultured buttermilk without a starter culture. If you can’t buy buttermilk locally, you can mail order the starter culture to get things going.
emp says
I have 2 16 oz bottles.
Initially, I filled each with buttermilk and milk mixture, about 1 part buttermilk, 2 parts milk.
Now, I keep them in rotation.
Drain 2/3 of bottle 1, fill it up with milk.
The next day, drain 2/3 of bottle 2, fill it up with milk.
And so on…
It takes 2 days for the buttermilk to mature. This ends up giving me a stable production of about 10-12 oz of buttermilk every day.
If ever I have some extra, I can pour it into a container and put it in the fridge for a while.
Sharon says
I just made butter out of expired heavy cream. I have saved the buttermilk created from the process. How do I store it? Also, will it thicken on it’s own without using any of the “culturing” recipes on your page?
Rebecca says
Hi Sharon-
I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you as I have never made my buttermilk that way. I have only made the cultured variety. I’m guessing it won’t thicken since you removed all the butterfat when you made butter.
kirk says
I had family come to visit and they wanted whole milk, which I don’t drink. I picked up a small container of buttermilk because all of a sudden I craved it. I did the Southern thing and ended up with a cup of buttermilk left and about a quart of whole milk, so I did a web search and found your buttermilk recipe and have made it. I am now waiting for it to thicken. If it turns out, I will next make it with skim or 2%. Thanks for posting this! I shall be back to see what other recipes you have.
Kirk says
Hi Rebecca,
I thought I would report back and thank you for your recipe. I have made two batches of buttermilk using your recipe and have experimented with whole milk and skim. Both turned out very well for me. I am about to make another batch using 2%. My first two batches tasted very good. Not quite like the store bought kind that I used as a starter, but pretty darn good. I was a bit disappointed that my buttermilk didn’t taste closer to the store bought until I remembered your comment about “a nice, tall glass of buttermilk with salt and pepper.”
I thought to myself “hey, you have lived in South Georgia for over twenty years and yes the buttermilk with salt and pepper sounds great.” I reached for the salt and pepper. I added a bit of salt, stirred to and took a taste. Heaven! My buttermilk now tasted BETTER then the store bought. I looked on container from the store bought buttermilk – a lot of salt and some chemical flavoring. All mine needed was a bit of salt!
Thank you very much for posting this and educating me. I am now “sticking’ it to the establishment” as I make my own buttermilk. I appreciate your posts!
Rebecca says
Aw shucks, Kirk! Thanks so much! Salt is a cure all in my kitchen. It saves so many dishes!!
Carter says
I think that this post may have answered a lot of other people’s questions as well as the ones I had . Thanks for your post as well as the follow up. Now all I have to do is go to the store and buy me some cultured butter milk and a big enough jar to try this with. My only problem is finding a place in my home warm enough to hide it for 24hrs….. oh I will be using whole milk since that’s what we normally have for the kids
David says
Hello, my apologies if my question may already be answered in your comment section… being that store bought cultured buttermilk is pasteurized as is yogurts and the like. Does it contain live cultures? The store brand I have at the moment doesn’t list any type of live culture. While trying not to be obtuse I understand it contains lactococcus lactis which is a live culture right ? Thank you for your input/advice.
Rebecca says
Hi David- I use “Cultured Buttermilk” to culture mine!
Denise Freitas says
I grew up with my mother making homemade cultured buttermilk every week because my father didn’t drink “sweet milk” and she used it in many of her recipes. The only difference, she began with powdered milk which was cheaper back in the 50’s & 60’s (yes, I’m way over the hill). She always reserved 1/2 cup of her buttermilk to which she added the reconstituted non-fat milk, mixing it in a lidded, enamel ware pot. (I have that pot sitting in my kitchen today among many of her antique kitchen items.) She set the mixture out on the counter to clabber overnight, then chilled it before whisking to break up the curds. While I didn’t drink a lot of buttermilk, every once in a while I would share a glass with my daddy and boy was it tangy and cold. I use her same method, but have had trouble with my buttermilk thickening as much as hers did. Any thoughts on why this is happening? My guess is my kitchen is too cool even though it is a west facing room. I am challenged to make yeast dough in the fall and winter except using a bread-machine for rising because the kitchen is too cool.
Steve says
Hello, this discussion has been very helpful. But I am looking for a buttermilk starter for cheese making. Is this done by clabbering buttermilk? How do you know how butter milk has reached its best flavor? PH?
Kerry Butler says
I probably shouldn’t even make a comment because I don’t like the taste of buttermilk, but I DO have a question. I use it in some my baking, but have frozen it in one-cup containers. The muffins seemed to turn out good, but is okay to freeze buttermilk?
Rebecca says
It is absolutely fine to freeze buttermilk. It loses some of its probiotic benefits, but it is still good for baking!
Amie says
I read on a book I could use whey from my yogurt making to male my buttermilk. But my first test has takes more 3 days to thicken. And it doesn’t smell as lovely as it should. Have you ever tries using whey?
Rebecca says
No whey! Ha ha. I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist the pun. Actually, I’ve never read that, and haven’t deviated from this method because it works so perfectly! I guess I’m not much help at all today 😀
Linda says
Thank you so much for your post. Grew up loving buttermilk thanks to my W Virginia Granny. My favorite meal is onion cornbread with buttermilk. Cast iron skillet, carmelized onions in bacon lard, then pour cornbread batter over that and bake as usual. Crumble in bowl and top with good sea salt,lots of pepper and buttermilk..Yummy! Can’t wait to make my own buttermilk
Rebecca says
Ohmygosh, Linda. That sounds insanely good. I need to try it. My aunties would adore this, too.
Johanna says
I absolutely love this buttermilk! Thank you.
samm iamm says
Why cant you just buy the bacteria and add it to the regulat milk????
Rebecca says
You probably could, but it’s far less expensive this way and it’s far more convenient.
Marc Brewster says
I have been trying to make this home made butter milk for a while now. I have tried all different recipes and all of them turn out the same way, runny like water. Smells like butter milk but has no thickness to it at all. I use Knudsen Cultured butter milk from the store and whole milk from the store, measure exactly like the recipes call for and I let it sit out for 24hrs only to find out it is runny like water, does not thicken up at all so what am I doing wrong?
Rebecca says
Hi Marc- Is your milk ultra pasteurized? What is your room temperature? If it’s not thickening I assume that it’s either been ultra pasteurized (which breaks the fat globules down) or your room temperature is fairly cold. You can still use it if it has a good smell… If you’re looking for the thickened end product you probably want to switch out your milk.
Jen says
i was introduced to cultured buttermilk by a lady staying in the same campground as us. Noticed she always had a jar of milk on her table, got chatting to her and she told us that she makes it wherever she goes, even camping, generously shared some with me, been happily culturing ever since. It really is as simple as pour ,shake, wait 24 hours….
tarina laxton says
I am so glad that I found this, I love to cook with buttermilk. I made my first jar of Buttermilk. Thank you for posting and sharing.
luna says
I recently was away from home to attend a wedding. Knowing my homemade buttermilk (thanks) would not last until I returned I froze it into cubes using icedcube tray. Now I just add 4 ounces of cubes to pastuerized (not homogenized ) milk and it works like a charm.