Washington Post article on buttermilk

[Mike Nolan]

The Voraciously food column on the Washington Post had an interesting column recently on buttermilk vs clabbered milk (milk with vinegar.)

I don't know if this link will work, but here it is:
WAPO article

The Stella Parks article on the same subject might be more accessible:
Stella Parks Article

Interestingly enough, her test had kefir beating cultured buttermilk. She didn't test 'real' buttermilk, though, as it is nearly impossible to buy.

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[aaronatthedoublef]

Interesting. Powdered buttermilk is my one standard ingredient I cannot find now. I use Saco and have not seen it or any other variety around. I'll probably have to switch to the liquid stuff. Powdered is more convenient and cost effective.

But, Ms. Parks said she reconstituted it which is not what Saco calls for. Saco says to add the powder to the dried ingredients and then add the liquid to the dry.

It does give me nice, fluffy pancakes and high rise scones. It works well in my English muffins too. But I am not sure how they will compare to buttermilk since I have not done her testing. But now is the time to test.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for posting the Stella Parks link, Mike.

As I was reading, I saw her link to fat percentage in milk and how often any fat percentage will do:

https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/01/is-it-okay-to-bake-with-skim-milk.html

My biggest issue has been being able to get buttermilk at the local grocery store, which had switched to overpriced 1-quart bottle, but the pandemic appears to have brought back the two-quart jugs. I hope the store continue to stock it.

[Joan Simpson]

Enjoyed the reading.

[BakerAunt]

I was able to read the Washington Post article with no trouble. I also read through the comments. The issue of dried buttermilk powder was addressed in one of them. The author said that even when she mixed the dry buttermilk powder into the other dry ingredients rather than reconstituting, the pancakes were still flatter.

I like substituting buttermilk for most of the water in my bread recipes, following a tip from S. Wirth, who commented on its "keeping" qualities. It's also a good way to get additional calcium.

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