Buttermilk, traditionally, was the liquid left over after butter was churned from cream. These days it is commonly made commercially; a bacterial culture being added to skimmed or whole milk.
Buttermilk has a slightly sour taste and the lactic acid in combination with baking soda or baking powder helps pancakes and scones rise and helps make cakes, muffins and soda breads moist and tender.
Buttermilk is also used as a marinade in southern fried chicken, tenderising the meat. It makes tangy dressings, smoothies, lassi and icecreams.
Peter Gordon explains how to use buttermilk and also answers a question about using buttermilk versus yoghurt in cooking.
Can’t find buttermilk? You can make it at home with 1 cup milk and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice or white wine vinegar. Combine and leave for five minutes. Or you can use equal quantities of Greek yoghurt and milk.
These recipes show how to use it.
Make pancakes
Fluffy and light ... that's what you want in a stack of pancakes. Thanks, buttermilk!
Make fritters or batter
Add a little tang and lightness to these wickedly good fritter and doughnut batters.
Bake with it
Flavour aside, buttermilk helps gives cakes a fine crumb, helps rising and moistness.
Make a tangy dressing
Buttermilk dressings are often lower in calories (especially when the buttermilk has been made with skimmed milk) and their tangy taste is great with green, potato and pasta salads. Try this yoghurt and buttermilk dressing from Nadia Lim.
Use it to make tender fried chicken
Southern style chicken and pork is marinated in buttermilk for 24 hours before coating and cooking. The marinade helps keep the meat moist, helps the crumb to stick and it adds to the flavour too.