Homemade Buttermilk

How to Make Homemade Buttermilk

Today will be short in preparation for tomorrow's post ... ranch dressing.  I use homemade buttermilk in my ranch dressing so I decided I might as well share this step first.  I do not recall if I have ever purchased buttermilk but I have ended up using my homemade buttermilk quite often for a Saturday morning favorite around here, biscuits and gravy, and homemade ranch dressing.

If you would do a simple Internet search for homemade buttermilk, you would find some variation of this buttermilk recipe over and over again.

Homemade Buttermilk

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (my preference) or vinegar 

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon of milk

Start with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or vinegar, we just need the acidity) in a measuring cup.  I find it easiest to use my 2 cup (pint) measuring cup.  Then add your milk to make a total of 1 cup. Let sit for about 5 minutes and you will notice the milk has started to curdle. Give it a quick stir and your done.

Please make note - if you are going to use this in a recipe, start by making your homemade buttermilk first and don't wait until you get to the step in the recipe where you need to add the buttermilk ... those 5 minutes waiting for your milk to curdle can be an extreme nuisance when you have 5 hungry-hungry-hippos waiting for breakfast!

As for the lemon juice, I keep a bottle of lemon juice on hand at all times ... it's cheaper and more convenient for me.  If you'd want to take this a step further, use fresh lemons OR grow your own lemon tree even!  The most common conversion is 1 lemon equals 3 tablespoons of juice.

Additional Cost: minimal to none ... remember it's all about using what you have on hand
Savings: approximately $2-$4 depending on quantity and brand
Environmentally Friendly: always saves on packaging waste when you eliminate a grocery list item

Today's question: How often do you use ranch dressing?