Make It Yourself - Buttermilk

Several of the recipes I use regularly call for buttermilk. Usually instead of buttermilk, I would add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk and let it sit for a few minutes. But I found this easy way to make your own buttermilk.

You will need:
1 quart mason jar
1 quart whole milk (raw, pasteurized, or homogenized milk is fine but not "ultra- pasteurized")
2 tablespoons of buttermilk starter (store bought buttermilk or a previously made batch of buttermilk)

Place the 2 tablespoons of buttermilk into a 1 quart mason jar. Fill the jar up with whole milk. Screw on a tight fitting lid and shake it well. Place the jar into a dark kitchen cupboard and leave it there for 12- 20 hours. After 12-20 hours, shake the jar and place it into the fridge. After it has cooled in the fridge, make some buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk fried chicken! Mmmmm...good!

I find that homemade buttermilk is thicker then store bought. It is often more like yogurt. At times, I even thin it down with milk a little when making a recipe. Need some recipe ideas? Here is a few...

Waffles

Since we were married, almost every Wednesday has been Waffle Wednesday at our house! After over six years, we have still not tired of this recipe!

2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups flour (I use half whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 T butter, melted

Heat waffle iron. Beat eggs, beat in remaining ingredients until just combined in smooth batter. Pour batter into center of hot waffle iron. Bake 3-5 minutes. Remove waffle carefully.

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

1 young chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornflake crumbs
1/2 thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Dip chicken in buttermilk, then in crumbs. Place in greased dish, skin side down. Sprinkle seasonings over chicken. (May vary depending on your taste.) Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, depending on the tenderness of chicken. Remove foil, turn pieces of chicken over, and bake, uncovered, 20 minutes longer.