leftover perishable ingredients

[RaleighRocker]

so i am left with extra buttermilk from making corn bread, in fact i just made some extra loaves. I do not like the taste of buttermilk alone. What else can I do with it other than throw it away. Please note I am without a foodprocessor or blender.

[Will Owen]

1. Make some more cornbread.

2. Make up some coleslaw dressing with equal parts buttermilk and good mayonnaise, a good dash of wine vinegar, a little salt and some sweet pickle relish. This is also really good for making macaroni salad.

3. Use it to marinate chicken before frying. Then have your fried chicken with some cornbread and coleslaw!

I do sympathize. Back in Nashville I could always find buttermilk in 1-pint containers, but out here in the land of palm trees you're stuck with a quart...and I'm speaking as someone who LIKES to drink buttermilk!

[serious]

You may freeze buttermilk. It will be fine for cooking but not drinking. I think it will hold in the freezer for a month or so, shake it well before using.

[DanaB]

Buttermilk lasts a while in the fridge -- at least a week to ten days, if not longer.

If I were you, I'd make ranch dressing, because I love me some ranch dressing. It's my favorite thing to do with buttermilk.

That, or buttermilk pancakes.

[Aimee]

Ranch dressing sounds great - how do you make yours?

[DanaB]

I don't have a formal recipe that I follow, but the tips in this thread provide a pretty useful guide:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/310272

[Sharuf]

My standard sauce/gravy base is 1c buttermilk with 1T cornstarch. Stir that into your pan drippings for a nice gravy, or into sauteed mushrooms or onions for a sauce.

I go through a lot of buttermilk.

[Glencora]

With sauteed mushrooms or onions. Yes! I'll do that today. I have leftover buttermilk from the persimmon pudding I made for Thanksgiving. I ususally use leftover buttermilk for a blue cheese salad dressing, but I don't really need salad dressing. Thanks.

[Louise]

Pancakes.

[Andiereid]

I use it in mashed potatoes instead of cream. It gives them a nice, tangy flavor.

[RaleighRocker]

thanks everyone. I think I'm going to do the ranch dressing. I've never been a ranch fiend like a lot of people I know, but homeade ranch is certain to be good!

side note:
when i was growing up in the mountains of NC, buttermilk was an option in the lunch room at school along with regular & chocolate milk.

[Andiereid]

Really! How interesting! I had some family members growing up who drank it, but I'm not sure anyone does anymore. I just noticed your name - I'm in Wilmington. Hey, over there in Raleigh!

[rcallner]

Buttermilk makes a really nice marinade to prep fowl or fish. You're probably sick of fowl (though it's a great soak for chicken prior to oven frying or such), so perhaps try this: Soak a couple of white fish filets, I'm in the Pacific NW so I like snapper, but tilapia or something white and firm would do. Season the buttermilk with a savory mix of some sort. After at least a 10 min soak (longer is fine), coat the filets in mashed potato flakes (not buds). Trust me, this is good. Then saute carefully, not disturbing 'til browned on the first side, in olive oil or other oil, and you have tender/flaky tasty fish.

[rockycat]

Any number of chocolate cake recipes. Or biscuits.

But for future reference, you can buy Saco (sp?) powdered buttermilk and store it in the fridge. It stays usable for a long time. You add the powder along with the dry ingredients and the correct amount of water where the recipe tells you to add the buttermilk. Harris Teeter has it in the baking aisle up on the top shelf, usually.