Currently I'm obsessed with Southern cooking. If dinner doesn't seem Southern enough, I'll just put it in an iron skillet, and if the opportunity arises, add some buttermilk.
I've gone years without buying any buttermilk--now I'm going through a half gallon every week. When I open the fridge I see it and think, "Oh, I'd better make some biscuits or cornbread." And then I do it.
Buttermilk does make so many things taste fresh and bright. (hello chocolate scones) Have you tried making your own? It's so easy, and the results so satisfying. (and I'm a northerner)
ReplyDeleteI've been baking buttermilk biscuits lately that my family loves:)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother says the secret to her baking is always use buttermilk in baking. I always did the same (I make a great birthday cake which relies on buttermilk!) until my son exhibited a dairy allergy. Alas. But now 'my' secret ingredient is coconut milk!
ReplyDeleteAnd that iron skillet is essential!
I've never bought buttermilk, as I don't drink it. Always just added vinegar or lemon juice to fresh milk for baking...
ReplyDeleteI always use buttermilk and my cart just doesn't feel 'Southern' enough if I don't place it in there while grocery shopping - glad to know someone else thinks this way!
ReplyDeleteI love Southern cooking! We eat biscuits and cornbread a lot around here. . . and greens. . .and soon I'm going to post on the gumbo I made. Your fixation cracks me up, though.
ReplyDeleteI always keep buttermilk powder in the back of my fridge. But the other useful thing is to just thin yogurt with a little milk as a substitute for buttermilk.
Me, too. I don't like drinking buttermilk, but I bake with it all the time!
ReplyDeleteLook on the Williams-Sonoma website for their buttermilk pancake recipe. It's the best one we've ever used, and our go-to weekend staple! And, last night I made "faux" fried chicken with buttermilk, then dredging it in flour and crushed-up cornflakes.
ReplyDeleteAlways buttermilk! In muffins, biscuits, pancakes, dessert cakes. I am always disappointed with a recipe that doesn't use it in baked goodies. So I skip them.
ReplyDeleteThinking of some of my favorite southern food: Black-eyed peas with collard and turnip greens with a wee bit of bacon : )
ReplyDeleteUmmmm.
Thinking of some of my favorite southern food: Black-eyed peas with collard and turnip greens with a wee bit of bacon : )
ReplyDeleteUmmmm.
Maria Ricci
Have you tried Buttermilk Pralines or old-fashioned Buttermilk Pie? Both are great ways to enjoy buttermilk...
ReplyDeleteButtermilk makes everything more tender... muffins, bread, cake, dumplings. If it calls for milk, use buttermilk.
ReplyDeleteButtermilk is great! Makes baked goods so much better. I always have some in my fridge. My dad used to take a quart jar and fill it up with pieces of my mom's cornbread and then pour buttermilk over it all and eat it with a fork. I will not be going that far.
ReplyDeleteThose look yummy! As a Southern homemaker, I use lots of buttermilk. I remember my granddaddy drinking buttermilk with his dinner. I have been making the buttermilk with the powdered buttermilk. I'd love to see what you've been making if you have time.
ReplyDeleteTo make more buttermilk: Add 1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk to a quart jar, fill with milk, set in a warm place in your kitchen until it cultures (18-24 hours). Easy.
ReplyDeleteWhile you're at it, be sure to make a buttermilk pie. I just made my first a couple of weeks ago, and am now head-over-heels in love with them.
ReplyDeleteLOL Cute post.
ReplyDeleteOK, that's it. Making buttermilk biscuits today! Yum!
ReplyDeleteI have carried a fondness for buttermilk for quite some time...ever since the time my future husband once asked me to go get some buttermilk from the freezer at the restaurant we worked at. There was a bouquet of flowers awaiting me nearby. I'm learning to love southern cooking too...wondering why I haven't taken the time to learn some of it before!?
ReplyDeleteA favourite in our house is Laurie Colwen's chocolate buttermilk cake from her book More Home Cooking. Yum! Worth hunting down some buttermilk for (we're in the UK so only available in big stores).
ReplyDeleteI'm a northerner, but all of my favorite cookbooks are by southerners. Southern cooking is absolutely the best, in my book, and buttermilk is the secret ingredient that just makes it shine. So your post made me very happy.
ReplyDeletebut you must make sure it is the full fat version. lowfat buttermilk is a sad thing. i'm glad to learn the tip from the commenter who said you could make more buttermilk with some milk added and a little counter time.
ReplyDeleteLove this! When I go through the checkout line at Trader Joe's, I always get the odd look for buying so much buttermilk. Biscuits, pancakes, chicken fingers, and on and on and on. :)
ReplyDelete