Buttermilk

For other uses, see Buttermilk (disambiguation).

Buttermilk

Milk (left) compared with fermented buttermilk (right) that is thicker and leaves a visible residue on the glass.
Course	Beverage
Serving temperature	Chilled
Main ingredients	Cream
Food energy (per 100 g (ml) serving)	62  kcal (260  kJ)
Cookbook: Buttermilk   Media: Buttermilk

Buttermilk is a dairy drink made by adding lactic acid bacteria to milk to produce a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was made from the nearly fat-free milk remaining after churning butter from cream, which was cultured with natural bacteria prior to and during churning, giving a slight sour taste to the buttermilk. However, with the ubiquity of refrigeration in industrialized countries, butter in those areas is typically made from uncultured or "sweet" cream. ^[1] Therefore, most modern buttermilk is specifically produced by inoculating fresh, pasteurized milk, and is available in different levels of fat content. ^[2]

Buttermilk is consumed as a beverage and used in cooking. Drinking buttermilk remains common in warmer climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly, as the fermentation prevents further spoilage. In making soda bread, the acid in fermented buttermilk reacts with the leavening agent, sodium bicarbonate, to produce carbon dioxide. Buttermilk is used in marination, especially for chicken and pork.

Traditional buttermilk

Buttermilk originated before the advent of refrigeration and homogenization, when fresh raw milk was left to stand for a period of time to allow the cream to separate to the top. During the separation period, naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria in the milk ferments it, which facilitates the butter churning process, because fat from cream with a lower pH coalesces more readily than that of fresh cream. As this acidic environment also helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing, shelf life is increased. ^[3] This traditional method is susceptible to spoilage during in the fermenting and churning processes, particularly under poor hygiene standards and if it is not kept cool. Refrigeration and the use of fresh milk in near-aseptically clean dairies largely eliminated these problems.

Traditional buttermilk is still common in many households across South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe, including the Balkans, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Poland, but is seldom found in other Western countries. In Arab culture, buttermilk is commonly sold ice cold with other dairy products. It is consumed during Ramadan for iftar and suhur . It is a common drink in many Indian and Nepalese homes, and may be served with roasted maize. ^[4]

Cultured buttermilk

Commercially available cultured buttermilk is produced in the same way as yogurt, where fresh milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized, is then inoculated with a culture of Lactococcus lactis , Lactobacillus bulgaricus , or Streptococcus lactis that produces the lactic acid that sours and thickens the milk, plus Leuconostoc citrovorum to enhance the buttery quality, so as to simulate the naturally occurring bacteria in the traditional product. ^{[4] [5]} The lactic acid is the product of the bacteria fermenting lactose, the primary sugar in milk. As the bacteria produce lactic acid, the pH of the milk decreases and casein, the primary milk protein, precipitates, causing the curdling or clabbering of milk, making cultured buttermilk thicker than plain milk. ^[6] While both traditional and cultured buttermilk contain lactic acid, traditional buttermilk is thinner than cultured buttermilk. ^[4]

United States

Cultured buttermilk was first commercially introduced in the United States in the 1920s. It was initially consumed among immigrants. It reached peak annual sales of 517,000,000 kg (1.14×10⁹ lb) in 1960. Consumption of buttermilk has declined since then, and annual sales in 2012 reached less than half that number. ^[7] However, condensed buttermilk and dried buttermilk remain common in the food industry. ^[8] Liquid buttermilk is used primarily in the commercial preparation of baked goods and cheese. ^[9] Buttermilk solids are used in ice cream manufacturing, ^[10] as well as being added to pancake mixes to make buttermilk pancakes. Home cooks can use powdered buttermilk to give baked goods a higher rise, add tang to dips, marinades, and rubs without thinning them out, and as a topping for fruits and vegetables. ^[11]

Nutrition

Whole buttermilk

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	62 kcal (260 kJ)
Carbohydrates	4.9 g
Sugars	4.9 g
Fat	3.3 g
Protein	3.2 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Thiamine (B1) 4% 0.047 mg Riboflavin (B2) 13% 0.172 mg Niacin (B3) 1% 0.09 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 8% 0.38 mg Vitamin B6 2% 0.036 mg Folate (B9) 1% 5 μg Vitamin B12 19% 0.46 μg Vitamin C 0% 0 mg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 9% 115 mg Iron 0% 0.03 mg Magnesium 2% 10 mg Manganese 0% 0.004 mg Phosphorus 7% 85 mg Potassium 5% 135 mg Sodium 5% 105 mg Zinc 3% 0.38 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	88 g
Link to Full Report from USDA Database
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [12] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies [13]

Traditional buttermilk has only trace levels of fat — less than 0.5 percent. Modern commercially produced buttermilk made with whole milk is 88% water, 3% protein, 3% fat, and 5% carbohydrates (see table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz) (100 ml), whole buttermilk provides 62 calories of food energy, and is a moderate source of vitamin B₁₂ (19% DV) and riboflavin (13% DV, table).

Nutritional values per 100 ml (3.5 imp fl oz; 3.4 US fl oz)	Whole buttermilk [14]	Low-fat buttermilk [15]	Skimmed milk [16]	Whole milk [17]
Food energy	62 calories (260 J)	43 calories (180 J)	35 calories (150 J)	61 calories (260 J)
% Total fat	3.3	1.1	0.2	3.2
% Protein	3.2	3.5	3.4	3.3
% Sugars	4.9	4.8	4.9	4.6

Acidified buttermilk

Acidified buttermilk or acidulated buttermilk ^[18] is a substitute made by adding a food-grade acid, such as distilled white vinegar or lemon juice, to milk, using 15 millilitres (0.53 imperial fluid ounces; 0.51 US fluid ounces) of acid with 200 to 250 ml (7.0 to 8.8 imp fl oz; 6.8 to 8.5 US fl oz) of milk and letting it stand for about 10 minutes until it curdles. Any level of fat content for the milk ingredient may be used, but whole milk is usually used for baking. ^[19]

See also

• List of dairy products
• Butterfat, the fatty portion from which butter is made
• Creole cream cheese, traditional Louisiana cream cheese made from buttermilk
• Curd, a dairy product obtained by coagulating milk
• Soured milk, denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk

References

1. The Food Programme, "Butter is Back", BBC Radio 4
2. Muhlke, Christine (April 22, 2009). "Got Buttermilk?". New York Times.
3. Douma (Ed.), Michael (June 14, 2007). "Ripening to Ferment Milk Sugars to Lactic Acid". Webexhibits. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
4. Fankhause, David B. (June 14, 2007). "Making Buttermilk". University of Cincinnati Clermont College. Archived from the original on August 28, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
5. Burggraaf W (3 January 2017). "Buttermilk". Safe Food Factory. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
6. "Buttermilk". BBC Good Food. Retrieved 16 March 2024. This commercial product can be thought of as a gentler, thinner yogurt, with any buttery flavour likely added.
7. Anderson, L.V. (2012). "All Churned Around: How buttermilk lost its butter". Slate. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
8. Hunziker, O F (January 1, 1923). "Utilization of Buttermilk in the form of Condensed and Dried Buttermilk" (PDF). Journal of Dairy Science. 6 (1). American Dairy Science Association: 1–12. doi: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(23)94057-9 . Retrieved 2010-10-26.
9. Sodini, I.; Morin, P.; Olabi, A.; Jiménez-Flores, R. (February 2006). "Compositional and Functional Properties of Buttermilk: A Comparison Between Sweet, Sour, and Whey Buttermilk" (PDF). Journal of Dairy Science. 89 (2). American Dairy Science Association: 525–536. doi: 10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(06)72115-4 . PMID   16428621 . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
10. "Dry buttermilk and nonfat dry milk price relationship". U.S. Dept. of Agriculture – Economic Research Service. August 1991. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
11. "Buttermilk Powder Is a Superhero Ingredient of Summer". Kitchn. Archived from the original on 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
12. 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.
13. "TABLE 4-7 Comparison of Potassium Adequate Intakes Established in This Report to Potassium Adequate Intakes Established in the 2005 DRI Report". p. 120. In: Stallings, Virginia A.; Harrison, Meghan; Oria, Maria, eds. (2019). "Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. pp. 101–124. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN   978-0-309-48834-1. PMID   30844154. NCBI   NBK545428.
14. "Whole buttermilk". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
15. "Low-fat buttermilk". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
16. "Skim milk". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
17. "Whole milk". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
18. Collins English Dictionary. Harper Collins. 1991. p. 12. ISBN   0-00-433286-5.
19. "Title 21 – Food and Drugs: Chapter I, Part 131 Milk and Cream" (PDF). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR). April 1, 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-26.