# buttermilk question



## supermom (Feb 24, 2009)

I'm new to making cheese. The only one I've made successfully is Mozzarella. Several recipes say to use buttermilk. Some say cultured buttermilk and others just say buttermilk. Can I go buy a quart of buttermilk at the grocery store or do I need to order cultures? I'm not sure if all buttermilk is the same, so I'm not sure what to buy. 

Thanks,
Monica


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

You can use cultured buttermilk in place of mesophilic cultures.


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## Martathegoat (Sep 20, 2009)

sorry if Im taking over this thread, but my question is to make the butter milk here is how Ive read from http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/BUTTERMILK.HTM, now then now then, when it says take the clabber (which Im good at making lol) do you use the solids or the liquid ) on line 2

MAKING CULTURED BUTTERMILK FROM SCRATCH

1. Allow a cup of filtered fresh raw milk to sit covered at room temperature until it has clabbered (usually several days).
2. Place 1/4 cup of the clabbered milk in a pint mason jar, add a cupof fresh milk (does not have to be raw at this point), cover, shake to mix, allow to sit at room temperature until clabbered.
3. Repeat this transfer of sub-culturing several more times until the milk dependably clabbers in 24 hours. Taste a small amount to confirm that it is tart, thickened, and has no off flavors. It should taste tart not bitter, for instance.
4. To then make a quart of buttermilk with this culture, add 6 ounces of the buttermilk to a quart jar, fill with fresh milk, cover, shake to mix, allow to sit at room temperature until clabbered.
5. Refrigerate.


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

I use the cultured buttermilk from the store and have good results. In fact I prefer it to any other kind of starters. Thanks Bob for the recipe !


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## Ozark Lady (Mar 21, 2010)

I lucked out, I found cultured buttermilk at the grocery for .50 per quart! It was close dated, so I bought 4.

I brought it home, drank a couple, then I decided to experiment, since it was close dated, I wasn't sure how strong the culture would still be. So, I took half a quart of buttermilk, and added half a quart of fresh warm goat milk. I let it set out overnight, and I have buttermilk, I taste tested it, same as when I bought it, but I didn't buy this- I made it. So tonight when I milked, I mixed up 3 quarts of milk and buttermilk to set out overnight. Hopefully by morning, I will have 3 quarts of buttermilk... and on we go! Once I get this culture going strong, and mostly goatmilk, then it is on to cheese making.

This mornings milk, I put in a large covered glass bowl so that the cream will rise and I can skim it, what do ya think, once I skim the cream, would it still make good buttermilk?

I want raw butter, I have a nutrition program that calls for raw veggies, meats (I can't do that) and raw dairy products including butter.

I am going to experiment: Sour cream is cream with buttermilk culture... what if you just used Knox gelatin to thicken some buttermilk? I use knox to thicken yogurt, it works great for that.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

If you are on a raw foods diet you do not want to include the parts of dead cows.
Gelatin is the collagen from skin and connective tissue and even organs from masses of tissue collected and turned to slurry. It may even be imported from countries with no regulations on how this slurry is treated or what condition the animal is in before butchering. Do you really want that in your beautiful clean healthy milk?


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## Ozark Lady (Mar 21, 2010)

I am not on any diet. I read about a nutrition program, and you test your type to give you guides for maximizing energy etc. And for my type I need lots of raw foods, and I was surprised that they mentioned raw dairy products. Since, I have no health issues, just would like to keep it that way, and have more energy, I thought I would look at the nutrition program, I should at least eat as good as my animals, right?

I am not vegan so a dead cow, just means steaks to me... but I do prefer to know they are healthy cows butchered for meat, and not glue factory rejects! In the earlier post I left out one critical word..raw.. as in raw meat, I can't do raw meat. This nutrition program suggests raw meats and fish, or never more than slightly cooked at low temps. I can't handle sushi or steak tartare! I can't even do rare on meats or fish. I want them cooked!

Okay, so what alternative thickening agent would you recommend that will thicken milk?


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## Ozark Lady (Mar 21, 2010)

I found out what to use, in another post on here, I learned you can add powdered milk, or just use a different yogurt culture that is naturally thicker! Cool!


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