Buttermilk

For other uses, see Buttermilk (disambiguation)

Buttermilk (right) compared to fresh milk (left). Notice the thickness from the trails left behind on the glass.

Buttermilk, low fat

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	169 kJ (40 kcal)
Carbohydrates	4.8 g
Fat	0.9 g
Protein	3.3 g
Calcium	116 mg (12%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates (e.g., Middle East, Pakistan, India, and the Southern United States) where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly.^[1] It is also popular in Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, despite the colder climates.

Buttermilk can also refer to a fermented dairy product produced from cow's milk, with a characteristically sour taste caused by lactic acid bacteria. This variant is made in one of two ways:cultured buttermilk is made by adding lactic acid bacteria (Streptococcus lactis) to milk; Bulgarian buttermilk is created with a different strain of bacteria called Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which creates more tartness.

Whether traditional or cultured, the tartness of buttermilk is due to acid in the milk. The increased acidity is primarily due to lactic acid, a byproduct naturally produced by lactic acid bacteria while fermenting lactose, the primary sugar in milk. As the bacteria produces lactic acid, the pH of the milk decreases and casein, the primary milk protein, precipitates, causing the curdling or clabbering of milk. This process makes buttermilk thicker than plain milk. While both traditional and cultured buttermilk contain lactic acid, traditional buttermilk tends to be less viscous, whereas cultured buttermilk is more viscous.^[2]

Traditional buttermilk

Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left over from churning butter from cream. Traditionally, before cream could be skimmed from whole milk, it was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate. During this time, naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria in the milk fermented it. This facilitates the butter churning process, since fat from cream with a lower pH coalesces more readily than that of fresh cream. The acidic environment also helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing, increasing shelf-life.^[3] However, in establishments that used cream separators, the cream was hardly acidic at all.

In the Indian subcontinent, buttermilk is taken to be the liquid left over after extracting butter from churned yogurt (dahi). Today, this is called traditional buttermilk. Traditional buttermilk is still common in many Indo-Pakistani households but rarely found in western countries.^[2] In Southern India and most areas of the Punjab, buttermilk with added water, sugar and/or salt, asafoetida, and curry leaves is given at stalls in festival times.

Cultured buttermilk

Commercially available cultured buttermilk is milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized (if 1% or 2% fat), and then inoculated with a culture of lactic acid bacteria to simulate the naturally occurring bacteria in the old-fashioned product. Some dairies add colored flecks of butter to cultured buttermilk to simulate residual flecks of butter that can be left over from the churning process of traditional buttermilk.^[2]

Condensed buttermilk and Dried buttermilk have increased in importance in the food industry.^[4] Buttermilk solids are used in ice cream manufacture.^[5] Adding specific strains of bacteria to pasteurized milk allows more consistent production.

In the early 1900s, cultured buttermilk was labeled artificial buttermilk, to differentiate it from traditional buttermilk, which was known as natural or ordinary buttermilk.^[6]

Acidified buttermilk is a related product made by adding a food-grade acid (such as lemon juice) to milk.^[7]

See also

• Milk
• Fermented milk products
• Whey, the liquid left over after producing cheese
• Dhallë,a type of buttermilk from Albania
• Filmjölk, a type of buttermilk from Sweden
• Kefir, a fermented milk drink from the Caucasus
• Lassi, a South Asian yogurt drink
• Ghol, a South Asian buttermilk drink
• Mattha, a South Asian buttermilk drink
• Ayran, an Anatolian yogurt drink
• Clabber, a Southern United States soured milk drink
• Soda bread, a type of bread popular in Ireland that uses buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda as the rising agent

References

1. ^ Got Buttermilk? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26food-t-000.html By CHRISTINE MUHLKE Published: April 22, 2009
2. ^ ^{a b c} Fankhause, David B. (2007-06-14). "MAKING BUTTERMILK". University of Cincinnati Clermont College. http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/BUTTERMILK.HTM. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
3. ^ Douma (Ed.), Michael (2007-06-14). "Ripening to Ferment Milk Sugars to Lactic Acid". Webexhibits. http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/culturing.html. Retrieved 2008-12-31. 
4. ^ Hunziker, O F (January 1, 1923). "Utilization of Buttermilk in the form of Condensed and Dried Buttermilk" (PDF). Journal of Dairy Science (American Dairy Science Association) 6 (1): 1–12. doi:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(23)94057-9. http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0022-0302/PIIS0022030223940579.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
5. ^ "Dry buttermilk and nonfat dry milk price relationship". U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. 1991-08. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3802/is_v431/ai_11910994. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
6. ^ Marshall, Charles Edward (ed.) (1912) [1911] (PDF). Microbiology: A Text-book of Microörganisms, General and Applied. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: P. Blakiston's Son & Co.. pp. 371. http://books.google.com/?id=7l3KZL4ygqUC&printsec=toc&dq=microbiology+buttermilk#PPA371,M1. Retrieved 2007-08-21. 
7. ^ "TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS: CHAPTER I, PART 131 MILK AND CREAM". Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR). 2007-04-01. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2010/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr131.3.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 

External links

• Making cultured buttermilk