Buttermilk

Buttermilk
Milk (left) compared to buttermilk (right). Buttermilk is thicker and leaves a more visible residue on the glass.
CourseBeverage
Serving temperatureChilled
Main ingredientsMilk
Food energy
(per serving)
40 (100 grams) kcal
Buttermilk
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy169 kJ (40 kcal)
4.8 g
0.9 g
3.3 g
Vitamins and minerals
MineralsQuantity
%DV
Calcium
9%
116 mg
Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2]

Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in Western countries is cultured separately. It is common in warm climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly.[3]

Buttermilk can be drunk straight, and it can also be used in cooking. In making soda bread, the acid in buttermilk reacts with the raising agent, sodium bicarbonate, to produce carbon dioxide which acts as the leavening agent. Buttermilk is also used in marination, especially of chicken and pork.

  1. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  3. ^ Muhlke, Christine (April 22, 2009). "Got Buttermilk?". New York Times.