Buttermilk

[MGZ]

An interesting NY Times article on the resurgence of old school buttermilk. I enjoyed it and (of course) now want to go out and find some to play with.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/din...

So, along those lines, assuming I get some, I'm wondering if others have noticed the difference in their different uses. Ideas? Experiences? Etc.

[paulj]

Looks like this 'real buttermilk' is cultured just like the modern stuff. It's just that the process of removing the butterfat is done 'in house' by butter making, as opposed to starting with skim milk (whose cream probably was used to make butter).

[MGZ]

If what you mean is that some (many? most?) "[m]odern farmers add specific cultures to freshly churned buttermilk," as opposed to those who might take their chances with wild cultures, that seems to be the case. Nevertheless, the products appear to be significantly different in all other ways.

As noted, "commercial buttermilk isn’t really buttermilk. It is made from regular low-fat or skim milk, usually low-grade rejects from cheese and butter companies. The milk is inoculated with cultures to make it acidic, and thickened with additives like locust bean gum and carrageenan. The result is a flattened facsimile of the real thing, as a ring tone is to a song."

The need to add thickeners implies that the milk used by "industrial" buttermilk producers is somehow thinner than those used by the farmers considered in the article. Moreover, it appears that the natural diacetyl is not present in the former. Finally, I had the impression that there was a higher fat content in "real buttermilk."

At bottom, though, don't you want to taste it and see for yourself?

[Caitlin McGrath]

I would like to try the "real" or "traditional" sort, if it is or becomes available in my area. However, the commercial cultured buttermilks I can buy don't contain thickeners; their ingredients are milk, cultures, and salt. And they're from local dairies that use their own milk, not low-grade rejects. In other words, the article is going for heightened contrast by exaggerating the case with a sweeping generality.

One brand of buttermilk I often buy, here in the Bay Area: http://cloverstornetta.com/products/n...

[paulj]

Trader Joes just lists 'cultured reduced fat milk, salt'. No thickeners.

Dairygold lists 'Lowfat Milk, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Live Active Cultures'
http://www.shopwell.com/darigold-butt...

[fame da lupo]

Agreed, this article piqued my curiosity -- anyone familiar with "real buttermilk" makers out here in California?

[Pettirosso]

The question is how do we source the real buttermilk featured in the article here in the Bay Area. I have a mighty hankering for the real thing. Who wants to start a small artisan butter/buttermilk business with me?
Seriously, I cannot believe we do not have this deliciousness here. We should be ashamed. : ) *Foodie badge tarnished*

[HillJ]

For you, where is here?

[Pettirosso]

Thanks for asking me to clarify. I edited.

[HillJ]

http://www.organicvalley.coop/product...
Do you have access to Organic Valley. If so, their buttermilk is very good.

[HillJ]

Not all buttermilk IS created equal and the NYT article simply illustrates why.

I use buttermilk in a host of recipes but which recipe gets the freshest the farm can provide matters. A recipe like this one for wings, def. buy the real deal.

http://www.chow.com/videos/show/the-e...