![]() Milk (left) compared to buttermilk (right). Buttermilk is thicker and leaves a more visible residue on the glass. | |
Course | Beverage |
---|---|
Serving temperature | Chilled |
Main ingredients | Milk |
40 (100 grams) kcal | |
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 169 kJ (40 kcal) | ||||||||||
4.8 g | |||||||||||
0.9 g | |||||||||||
3.3 g | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2] |
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in Western countries is cultured separately. It is common in warm climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly.[3]
Buttermilk can be drunk straight, and it can also be used in cooking. In making soda bread, the acid in buttermilk reacts with the raising agent, sodium bicarbonate, to produce carbon dioxide which acts as the leavening agent. Buttermilk is also used in marination, especially of chicken and pork.