Buttermilk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Buttermilk

Milk (left) compared to buttermilk (right). Buttermilk is thicker and leaves a more visible residue on the glass.
Course	Beverage
Serving temperature	Chilled
Main ingredients	Milk

Buttermilk is a special kind of fermented dairy drink. This means it's milk that has been changed by helpful tiny living things called bacteria. Traditionally, buttermilk was the liquid left after making butter from cream. Today, most buttermilk is made by adding these helpful bacteria to regular milk. It's very common in warm places where fresh milk can spoil quickly without a fridge.

You can drink buttermilk by itself. It's also a great ingredient for cooking. For example, in soda bread, the sourness of buttermilk mixes with baking soda. This makes bubbles of carbon dioxide gas, which helps the bread rise and become fluffy. Buttermilk is also used to marinate foods like chicken and pork. The special acid in buttermilk makes the meat tender and juicy. It also helps the meat soak up more flavors.

How Buttermilk is Made

There are a few ways buttermilk is made. The oldest way is called traditional buttermilk. Another common way is called cultured buttermilk. There is also a quick way to make acidified buttermilk at home.

Traditional Buttermilk

Long ago, traditional buttermilk was the liquid left over after churning butter. This butter was made from cream that had naturally become a little sour. Before fridges, milk was left out for a while. This allowed the cream to separate from the milk. During this time, natural bacteria in the milk made it slightly sour.

This sourness helped the butter-making process. The fat in sour cream sticks together more easily. The sour environment also stopped bad germs from growing. This helped the buttermilk last longer. Traditional buttermilk is still popular in many homes in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Arab countries. It is often served cold, especially during special times like Ramadan.

Cultured Buttermilk

Cultured buttermilk is the type you usually find in stores today. It was first sold in the United States in the 1920s. To make it, milk is first pasteurized (heated to kill bad germs). Then it is homogenized (mixed so the cream doesn't separate). After that, good bacteria are added to the milk. These bacteria are similar to the ones found naturally in old-fashioned buttermilk.

The sour taste of cultured buttermilk comes from lactic acid. This acid is made by the bacteria as they eat the sugar in milk called lactose. When the bacteria make lactic acid, the milk becomes more acidic. This causes the main milk protein, casein, to clump together. This clumping is what makes the milk curdle and become thicker than regular milk. Both traditional and cultured buttermilk have lactic acid. However, traditional buttermilk is usually thinner, while cultured buttermilk is thicker.

Even though its popularity as a drink has changed, buttermilk is still very important in the food industry. Liquid buttermilk is often used to make baked goods and cheese. Dried buttermilk powder is used in things like ice cream and pancake mixes. This is how you get delicious buttermilk pancakes!

Acidified Buttermilk

You can make a quick substitute for buttermilk at home. This is called acidified buttermilk. You just add a food-safe acid, like vinegar or lemon juice, to regular milk. For example, you can mix one tablespoon of acid with one cup of milk. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it thickens a little. You can use any type of milk, but whole milk is often best for baking.

Buttermilk Nutrition

Buttermilk from the store is quite similar to regular milk in terms of energy and fat. For example, one cup of whole milk has about 157 calories and 8.9 grams of fat. One cup of whole buttermilk has about 152 calories and 8.1 grams of fat. You can also find low-fat buttermilk. Buttermilk also contains important vitamins, potassium, calcium, and a little phosphorus.