November
19
Better Instant Buttermilk (“Bettermilk”)
If you peruse the Internet, you’ll find tons of tips (the same tip, actually, repeated over and over) on how to make your own buttermilk: One cup of milk + one tablespoon of vinegar, stir and let sit for five minutes, then Voila! Instant buttermilk! Quick, easy, painless..I know. BUT (and there’s usually a BUT), I have a tip that will make this tip even better. You see, I’ve always been one for making my own buttermilk ranch dressing from a mix (the bottled kind just doesn’t cut it for me). I could tell the difference between real buttermilk and “instant” buttermilk in the dressing; the end product just didn’t have the same “zip” as it did when there was real buttermilk in it, and it wasn’t as thick. I could also tell the difference when I made coleslaw dressing with “instant” buttermilk – the end product was just missing something.
I don’t know what it is about buttermilk…. I’d gag if I tried to drink it straight, but in recipes, it’s OMG GOOD! I knew that I could somehow get closer to the OMG GOOD of actual buttermilk, but how? I finally decided that the main difference between real buttermilk and the “instant” made with milk and vinegar was the thickness. So, I made one, teeny-tiny little change – I replaced the milk with everyone’s favorite coffee creamer, half-n-half. I made my dressing as usual, and the result (drum roll, please) – I couldn’t tell the difference. It was one of those, “Eureka!” moments that every cook has; one cup of half-n-half and one tablespoon of vinegar is as close to buttermilk as I was ever going to get without hopping in my truck and running to the store to buy it off of the shelf!
Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against buying buttermilk in the store…WHEN I REMEMBER TO BUY IT. It isn’t a staple that I use enough to justify having it in the refrigerator at all times, but I DO always have half-n-half. So, if I know that I’m going to need it, then I can plan on buying it. But if I decide at the eleventh hour to take homemade coleslaw to a cookout the following day, then it’s always at my disposal, in the form of coffee creamer and vinegar.
Bettermilk:
1 cup half-n-half
1 TBSP white vinegar
Mix and let stand for five minutes before using.
Enjoy!
