Using Buttermilk

• March 11, 2015  |
• by Kirstin Uhrenholdt

I love buttermilk! In Denmark we make a dessert soup called “kold skald.” We add lemon rind, vanilla and sugar to ice cold buttermilk, then float a few “kammerjunker” (butter cookies) on top to eat during hot summer days while sitting in the grass under the plum trees.

Buttermilk is very low in fat, only 1-2%. Once upon a time when butter was churned from cream, the remaining “milk” was called buttermilk. Now the process is a little different, but the end result is the same, a low fat dairy product with all the tangy goodness of sour cream or yoghurt.

Add it to mashed potatoes as a low fat alternative to butter or sour cream. Often breads, biscuits and cakes have buttermilk in the recipe. To make a quick substitution, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup of milk and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes.