How To Make Whole Milk – Raw Milk Buttermilk
Why make buttermilk?
I use it in many recipes that call for soaking grains (more about that below). In these same recipes you could also use Kefir or yogurt, but I found this to be the easiest and the most economical. Also, for those times that I'm not baking as much, it keeps for a longer time in my frig (for months). Nourishing Traditions
And, obviously, homemade is much better than the stuff at the store…
Whole Milk-Raw Milk Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 1 quart whole milk, raw milk is best…NEVER USE ULTRAPASTEURIZED!
- 1/2 cup starter from a previous batch – or get a new starter here.
Instructions
I put this is the same 1/2 gallon ball jars we keep our raw milk in, cover, shake it up good and set it on the counter 12-24 hours – depends on room temps, etc. You can tell by the sour smell when it's ready – it's not an unpleasant sour smell though. NT says it is done when the milk thickens and it curdles slightly. Store it in the refrigerator. THAT'S IT!
Did you make a real food recipe?
I want to see it! Tag @KitchenKop on Instagram and hashtag it #KitchenKopRecipes OR share anything you know I’ll love by tagging @KitchenKop and hashtag #KitchenKop -- see you over there!
Now you've got a good “acid medium” to use in recipes that you start by soaking the night before – this breaks down the phytic acid in the grains in your recipe, so they're more nutritious and easier to digest. I use this in my pancakes, in my homemade bread, etc.
Let me know if you have questions or if you have something to share, please comment below! 
More you might like:
- Read about an embarrassing situation that I shared (only because I thought it might help someone – the things I do for you people!), and also scroll down at that link to get info on GAPS recommended probiotics, which I highly recommend to build up your immune system! (Read why it's a much better option than getting a nasty flu shot this fall, in my humble opinion anyway… good thing I'm not very opinionated huh? Ha!)
- Guinness Beer Recipes for those that go ga ga over Guinness like Kent does (he's going to hate that sentence), and also for those like me that just love it in recipes. (Update: we found out that Guinness has high fructose corn syrup so we have to do some research to find a stout that does not have HFCS!)
- Read more about buttermilk from Sarah
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
…but if it cultures on its own it’s not buttermilk, it’s bonnie clabber. Essentially the same thing that can be used in a lot of the same ways, though, so it’s just semantics.
You shouldn’t culture ANYTHING anywhere near kombucha, though. Kombucha has a really aggressive culture and will eventually overtake anything you culture near it. I keep my kombucha in the far opposite corner from where I culture my room temp dairy ferments and water kefir (and I don’t usually do those at the same time, but I don’t worry about them because I do them in air tight jars). Even then I worry it’s too close. I don’t know if that would cause mold, though.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
You do not need starter to make cultured buttermilk from raw milk. It will culture all on its own. (I am assuming that you have actually made butter from the raw cream and now have true buttermilk.) It will culture in the fridge, it only takes a couple of days and you don’t have to leave it out and risk ruining it.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
I think that mold only grows where mold spores are..right? So, I would consider having your home inspected or try leaving it out in the wine fridge so that it is at a cooler temp and enclosed…
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
YOu have to figure out what type of buttermilk you are trying for here. What I call old fashioned buttermilk is the leftover whey from making butter. Cultured buttermilk (original) is simply soured milk. To reculture it there is a bit of a process but it works everytime and no starter or culture is needed other than raw milk. Check this out: https://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/BUTTERMILK.HTM
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
@ Patsy – or anyone – how do you culture the buttermilk after making butter? I’m used to the twang of the store-bought, and didn’t know what to do with the mild watery liquid left after I made butter. Thanks!
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
Thank you for everyone’s input! It was next to some fermenting kombucha and perhaps I left it out too long.
Is it not possible to make buttermilk without a starter? This was my first crack at it
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
If the dish cloth had any mildew in it or the jar I would say the mold spread
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
Wow I so want to learn to do all this we have changed our diet drasticly since subscribing to you good job
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
If it was left out that long, it is probably more like cream cheese. Try taking off the mold and having a taste of the cheese, then let us know what you think.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
What she has is not buttermilk. Buttermilk, like most ferments need a starter. Store bought buttermilk can be used (not ideal) but if you use that to start your first batch then just save some from each batch. As someone earlier said buttermilk is made from the liquid (milk) left over from making butter. Cultured Buttermilk is taking that leftover and culturing it. Temp is something you really need to watch when fermenting/culturing anything – it can drastically change from season to season.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
aren’t you supposed to use a dash of vinegar to start the milk turning to buttermilk?
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
true butter milk is not sour!!!! cultured…. cultured butter milk is sour and it is still made from the left overs of making butter!! not leaving whole milk to sour in the sun. that’s the start of cottage cheese.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
maybe try it in an airtight container
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
The milk was left out too long and the mold could be anything in the air in her kitchen. I never let milk go more than 36 hours for buttermilk. In summer heat in a warm spot the milk should turn to buttermilk in under 8 hours. “a few days later” is the error here in my own experienced opinion.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
How many days is a “few”? My buttermilk cultures in 24 to 36 hours…not even 2 days. Leaving raw milk out for longer than that, it becomes clabbered. I usually make buttermilk from the liquid left over from making butter..I add some buttermilk from a previous batch to it and let it sit for a day and it’s delicious.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
Our refridgerator broke so we got some buttermilk without even trying. It is wonderful when I bake.
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
I had the same thing happen with my raw milk kefir lately. It never used to happen but now that it’s so hot, it gets mold before it cultures. I may have to stop making it until the heat dies down OR I’ve been thinking about putting the jar over a AC vent….
%kelly the kitchen kop% via Facebook says
My thought is there was something else in the kitchen, possibly another fermentation, that contaminated it.
Stephanie says
Hi Kelly,
I left out my raw milk in a glass jar covered with a dish cloth and a few days later the cream was on top but so were a few spots of mold. I did this in two different jars and they both had mold. Where do I go wrong?
KitchenKop says
Stephanie,
I just posted this on FB to see if we can get you some answers: https://www.facebook.com/KellytheKitchenKop/posts/340809445997701
Kelly
Kinzi says
Hi,
I have a question about possibly making buttermilk without a starter. If I am making cultured raw butter from raw cream, can I then use the remaining buttermilk as a starter? I know that buttermilk from sweet cream would not do the trick. I am planning on culturing the raw cream by simply leaving it out at room temperature for several hours. Will the buttermilk from this work as a starter in whole raw milk?
KitchenKop says
Hi Kinzi, I have no idea, so I’ll go throw it up on FB, check over there in an hour or so and hopefully we’ll know more. 🙂
Kelly
lisa says
I received some fresh raw milk and some fresh raw buttermilk recently, reviewed your method of making more buttermilk and gave it a whirl. But, when i checked it after 12 hours, and it seemed ready according to smell, it was not smooth. I shook it and placed it in the fridge. still not smooth. What may be the problem?
Thanks.
Lisa
KitchenKop says
Did it thicken a little? Mine isn’t really “smooth”, but it thickens up a bit.
“NT says it is done when the milk thickens and it curdles slightly.”
Hope that helps!
Emerald_Mara85 says
whoops forgot something else…
sour cream needs active cultured buttermilk…
I’m not so sure if pasteurized has enough active cultures…
Julie @ Culturesforhealth.com says
To make sour cream or creme fraiche, you’ll need to use a starter culture with the pasteurized milk.
In terms of milk, whole milk will generally make for very runny sour cream. If at all possible, use whipping cream instead of milk for the best results.
In terms of a starter culture, there are a couple of options:
Option 1: Use buttermilk or some sort of mild-flavored yogurt as the starter culture. Add a couple of tablespoons of buttermilk or yogurt per pint of cream. Buttermilk from the store or cultured buttermilk you make from a buttermilk starter both work. Piima which is a traditional variety of yogurt also works well for this purpose.
Option 2: Use a “direct-set” sour cream or creme fraiche starter culture. This is an easy option as the powdered culture sits in the freezer until you are ready to make sour cream. There’s no need to have buttermilk on hand with this method. “Direct-set” refers to a one-time use culture (generally you’ll get a number of doses per packet so you can make multiple batches).
Option 3: Use an aromatic mesophilic cheese culture as the starter. Something like Flora Danica or Mesophilic Aromatic Type B both make wonderful sour cream (this is not a common option but I mention it in case you have cheese making supplies around already).
KitchenKop says
Emerald, now you know why I didn’t answer you ’til now, I ended up calling in the ‘big guns’ for help with your questions. Isn’t Julie the best? Thanks Julie!!!!!!!
Kel
Emerald_Mara85 says
Hello,
I was looking to making sour cream (creame fraiche) but it needed buttermilk…
Okay, since I can’t get raw milk or buttermilk, so I’m going for whole milk.
My question is…
If this whole milk is pasteurized (not ultra) can it still work?
KitchenKop says
Lost all my comments today in a bad website glitch, here’s a question from Heidi:
Thanks! I get my milk from the farmer just up the road, so it’s fresh! If it ages too much after it’s been cultured, will the same thing happen? How long will my buttermilk be good to use?
I know you can use buttermilk even after it’s been in the frig for a few months (smell it, you’ll know), but I don’t know about your other question. Maybe Julie does???
Becka says
Kelly,
Thanks! I am just learning about the concept of soaking grains as I’ve been reading different blogs (including yours) about raw milk, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, etc. It’s a very interesting concept. I’ve added it to my list of “things to try.” ?
Thanks for your answers about the buttermilk. I’ve been reading that there is a difference between “cultured buttermilk” and “old-fashioned buttermilk.” I think I have the old-fashioned kind. I’m just not sure if it needs any further preperation before using. I’ll be on the look out for that post.
Becka
KitchenKop says
Becka, I need to change my answer. The person who I asked about this just emailed and said she was only half-right (after she checked with someone else), and you CAN use that buttermilk for soaking (leftover from making butter) only if the cream was partially soured first. This makes more sense to me now because there has to be some acidity for soaking grains. This will all be more clear in the upcoming guest post – sorry for the confusion!
Kelly
Becka says
I just got my first “official” order of raw milk. I’ve already made butter out of the cream, but what I’m wondering is, with the buttermilk I poured off of the butter, is it NOT really buttermilk yet? I just put it right back in the fridge after pouring it off the butter. I was hoping to make pancakes with it today. I’ve never heard of letting it sit out, or adding starter.
So can I not use it in recipes yet? :/
KitchenKop says
Becka,
Sorry for the delay in replying but I don’t make butter so haven’t looked into this much, and I tried to refresh my memory by checking Nourishing Traditions and couldn’t find the answers there. The short answer is YES, you can use that buttermilk for soaking. The long answer is: a friend has offered to write a guest post soon on this topic for me! Keep an eye out for it. 🙂
Kelly
KitchenKop says
Debbie, I make my buttermilk with a starter and don’t do it like this so I’m not much help. Maybe someone else here will jump in, OR you could try asking on the Nourishing Traditions Yahoo Group (google it) – they would know for sure.
Kelly
Debbie says
I meant to say LEAVE it in the fridge, not live!!! : )
Debbie says
We bought raw milk on Friday and left it out til Sunday night at 8:00 because it never smelled like buttermilk. It smells sour but not tangy. We just did what my husband said his mama used to do. Unfortunately, she has passed away and we can’t ask her…but the buttermilk doesn’t smell or taste like we think it should. We got some butter off of it. The milk has clabbered and thickened, it just doesn’t taste or smell right. Should we take it back out of the fridge and let it set some more or just live it in the fridge and forget about it? We didn’t use a starter because my husband’s mama never did and he was just doing it like her. Thanks for your help!
Jeannine says
Any baking recipe you have that uses sour milk would be FABULOUS with this sour cream. Irish soda bread, nut bread, etc. And of course, sour cream coffee cake would be divine!
Or strain it through cheesecloth and you’ve got creme fraiche. Ummmmmm.
KitchenKop says
Kari,
I’ll bet it wasn’t fresh cream on Tuesday…
Shaking it won’t make it turn sour.
It won’t hurt you at all, it’s good for you (did you see the new-ish post all about that?), but not the taste you want in your coffee!
Kelly
Kari says
Okay, have a question! I got some RAW cream on Tuesday. I went to get it today, and it smells like buttermilk and tastes sour??? Is it because I was shaking it before pouring it out? (sorry-used to conventional ultra-pasteurized) Is it more like buttermilk now? I’m bummed, because I LOVE it in my coffee. I was surprised it would turn so quick, but again, thought maybe its something I’ve done. Thanks for any insight.
Jeannine says
I’m cross posting this from the water kefir thread.
This website has an exhaustive list of people around the world who have kefir grains (milk or water) that they are willing to give away or share-for-the-price-of-postage.
https://www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php
Sorry, I don’t know how to put this in as a hot link.
Kelly says
Ruth, sorry but I don’t know what you’re asking me. To make fresh buttermilk, just follow the instructions in the post above. Sorry I’m not understanding, try asking again and I’ll try again to answer you. 🙂
Kelly
Ruth Cornelson says
I have 2 gal. of milk right from the cow. How do I make fresh buttermilk? How do I know when my milk is right too start too work, to make my buttermilk?
Katie says
My “making butter” method is posted, just for you guys! Since my site is all about baby steps, butter from raw cream is about a year out for most of my readers, so it’s not a regular post. It’s a page you can link to at https://kitchenstewardship.wordpress.com/recipes/homemade-butter/. Enjoy! The butter is delish!
Katie
Annette says
Ok, I got it posted. 🙂 Off to bed.
Annette
Annette says
The crashing stopped for a second.
Rebecca, I never thought of skimming the milk I use for buttermilk – that would give me some cream to make butter with! Great idea since we generally butter the things I bake with buttermilk anyway so it would all wash out in the bite.
You do need to keep them all separate. I’m having some culture funk right now but I have a small kitchen and a LOT of fermentation. The marmalade, 3 dairy cultures, apple cider vinegar and starting sauerkraut today hopefully. I keep them on separate shelves but it’s hard to remember to pair them (the seeds and the eating stuff). I need to come up with a color coded system or something.
When I do my post I can tell you how much of what I use to seed, etc but that doesn’t mean that the way Leeners does it is wrong – it may be their cultures are stronger so they can go longer. I just know I’m done experimenting with my cultures since I don’t want to chance losing them again. If I was just buying store bought buttermilk and using that culture it would be different.
As for freezing you certainly can do that and it’s a great idea. I do it with cheese culture and don’t know why I never thought of that before. The cheese culture is good in the freezer for 6 months that way and then you should re-seed it. If I had done that the first time I wouldn’t have had to purchase new culture!
https://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kefir_making/ is a kefir making group and website that will answer any question you have about kefir – and then some. It is filled with folks who share their live grains so you can email the right thread and find someone in your area who will donate you grains.
Now, hopefully I’ll post more tonight once I get the dinos in bed…
Annette
Annette says
I can post my dairy cultures to my blog hopefully tonight, I’ve been meaning to do that anyway. I think maybe you have a super strong strain of culture that doesn’t require re-seeding each week whereas mine is more delicate. The flavor is very delicate too so I’ll keep nurturing it along.
I’ll be back on late tonight West Coast time since it sounds like a meat eating dinosaur got into my house – I can hear him crashing furniture upstairs as we speak. It might just be my kids but you never can tell…
xo,
Annette
Annette
Rebecca K says
OH, and what about keeping these cultures separate from each other? How far separate? Different shelves in the fridge and counters in the kitchen?
Rebecca K says
Thank you all so much for all your comments and helpful hints! But of course, that just spurs more questions! 🙂
Annette, so for a seed I heat a portion of milk (1 cup? 2? how much?) to perhaps 140 degrees like Karen above recommends, cool it, and add my culture, then mix it into the rest of my milk for incubating? (In my case I make a 1/2 gal at a time)? Is that correct? Then when the yogurt is done incubating I take a little off the top again to keep for seed for next time. I was just advised to store that seed or starter in the freezer in ice cube trays then use 1 ice cube / quart of milk…do you do this or have you heard of this?
I get cultures from Lehman’s which state they need to be renewed every month. Using the methods above do you think a culture can be kept indefinitely? What about for my kefir culture, which for all intents and purposes looked just like yogurt culture to me when I started it last night? Can that be continually used as well?
I will ask some questions about how the cream is skimmed…it seems superior to my husband and I to use skimmed raw farm fresh milk for buttermilk and yogurt than to use store milk…??? Any comments?
Thanks! Rebecca
Kelly says
Rebecca,
Not only do I have smart friends, but they’re also fast at replying to email! These 2 friends have a lot of experience with traditional cooking and they also started our local WAP chapter in GR, so they know what they’re talking about – here’s their answers to your questions:
Kelly,
I don’t know anything about the fat ratio in milk. Maybe ask Karen.
About the scalding, Sally actually recommends doing that, too, but Ron Schmid disagrees. I make what I consider perfectly fine cultured milk products w/o scalding, using totally raw milk. I guess it’s a preference, but why heat the milk if you don’t have to?
Hope this helps a bit.
Kathy
Hi Kelly,
It depends. If you mechanically separate the cream from the milk you get virtually all of the cream so the milk is skimmed milk whether it’s raw or pasteurized. If you have cows with a lot of cream in their milk, and you remove only some of that for other purposes (by hand), you could easily still have a whole milk left.
You can make yogurt from unheated or heated milk. The heat kills any competing bacteria, even the good ones, to make room for the bacteria you are choosing. I have found that I never need to heat the milk for buttermilk–it appears to be a very strong culture. If I don’t heat the milk for yogurt it remains quite soupy about half the time–maybe not as prolific a culture. I find that I only need to go to about 140 to make it work consistently, though, not the 180 you usually read about.
Hope this helps!
Karen
Be sure to read the note from Annette above, though, for how she only heats PART of her raw milk when making yogurt. If I was making it weekly in order to eat it plain (or with fruit or whatever), I’d look into doing it this way so that you have a good consistency, but you’re not killing all the beneficial bacteria in the raw milk.
Kelly
Kelly says
Annette,
I know, isn’t it so fun?! 🙂 I can’t wait to find out if your “spin” on my granola recipe brings it out of the “astroturf” category. Be sure to comment there with your results!
Do you have a post at your site with your exact yogurt recipe? I think some of my readers would like to see it, although I am terrible about keeping up on things myself, so if that’s necessary (to keep it from going bad), then I’ll stick to my raw milk yogurt. I don’t heat it at all, and therefore it’s very runny/clumpy, but I use it in recipes or to make cream cheese.
Annette says
Katie,
You’re so sweet – I can’t wait to see the post! We have extra milk this week since my 5 year old is finally getting to see his snowbird granny so maybe we’ll put butter on our list of experiments for next week. We just made fruit leather, ice cream & cajeta today so I’m experimented out! And I plan to make Kelly’s soaked granola with a spin next week – I have an idea up my sleeve that hopefully will turn out…I love playing off everyone’s recipes. It’s like NT opened up a whole new world for me! Kelly, you really should call this “Kelly’s Kitchen” because I feel like we are all just sitting down sipping lattes and visiting at your house. 🙂
Annette
Annette says
Hi Rebecca,
I make yogurt with raw milk (and cultured buttermilk and kefir) but before I make a culture I make a “seed” with scalded milk. I take that seed and use it to make yogurt in raw milk. Each week I take my seed and propogate a small amount of scalded milk. So each time I make my “eating” yogurt or buttermilk with raw milk but make the “seed” or “mother” with scalded milk. Does that makes sense? That way I get all the benefits of the raw milk and the benefits of the probiotics in the culture. If you don’t re-seed each week the culture will eventually weaken, which happened to my last batch and I had to buy them new again. 🙁
Annette
Kelly says
Hi Rebecca,
Yes, that is right that you can use kefir in place of yogurt or buttermilk in recipes for soaking. I actually may try that, thanks for the reminder about another good alternative.
Sorry, but I don’t know the answers to your other 2 questions. I’ll try asking a couple knowledgeable people I know and get back to you – it pays to have smart friends!
Kelly
Katie says
Annette,
I’m honored that you’re looking for tips from me! It’s actually so easy I’m embarrassed to say it. I’ll make a post at my site after Friday — I feel like including some photos anyway. You only get about 1/3 cup butter and 2/3 cups buttermilk from a cup of cream. I’m really curious as to whether I can freeze the cream and just make a big batch all at once, so I’ll be testing that soon. You can, of course, freeze the butter and buttermilk. The buttermilk worked fine in place of milk for waffles, too.
Katie
Rebecca K says
Kelly (and all posting comments),
I was speaking with the woman from the farm where we get our raw milk today. I was hoping to get some buttermilk cultures from her. She suggested that she regularly uses kefir culture and then uses the resulting kefir in anything for soaking etc. She recommended that I use 1 ounce / quart of milk. She also mentioned that she freezes the kefir (and my yogurt) in ice cube trays, resulting in a 1 ounce block which she then continues to use to make her kefir. She thinks that kefir has a better flavor than buttermilk.
Also, I am able to get “skimmed” raw milk free from her after she makes her butter. We are only able to afford to buy 2 gal of raw milk a week, so we use store whole milk for yogurt and cooking and drink the raw milk. I was told by a previous raw milk farmer that skimmed raw milk is the same “fat ratio” as the “whole milk” in the store…my current farmer disagrees….do you know anything about this?
Also, I too was told to “scald” my raw milk and then make yogurt (buttermilk etc) out of it so you kill the bacteria in the milk to introduce your culture.
Help! I get so confused when I hear conflicting stories! Any advice you can offer I would appreciate.
Annette says
Hi Katie,
I’d love to see a post on how you make butter! Or how much butter you get from how much milk. It’s so hard to find local pastured raw butter and crazy how expensive it is to have it flown in!
Annette
Katie says
Thank you, Annette! Kelly, I need to get NT out from the library again…and put it on my wish list! I’m a relative newbie to all of this, having just read NT in December. But we’re getting raw milk, and I can’t help but make yummy butter with about a cup of cream from each gallon. I made biscuits tonight with the “buttermilk”, and they turned out fine. It did use a lot less liquid than usual and I added a little bit of flour, but they were yummy. Maybe I’ll go over and link to your biscuits post of this week with my experiment… 🙂
Katie
Kelly says
Katie,
Do you have the Nourishing Traditions cookbook? Annette explained it well, but there’s more info in NT, too.
Kelly
Annette says
Hi Katie,
Kelly may have an answer too but the “cultured” buttermilk is just that – cultured with probiotics like whey, kefir, and yogurt are. What you have doesn’t have the same probiotic benefits. You can certainly use it in baking though since heat will destroy the probiotics anyway. It is much runnier then cultured buttermilk and does not contain the butterfat content (since cultured buttermilk from raw milk is whole milk and you took the fat out when you made the butter.) So you will need to compensate by adding more butter/fat and possibly a little more flour to your recipe.
I got a wonderful buttermilk culture from https://stores.ebay.com/Nicks-Natural-Nook_Organic-Milk-Kefir-Grains_W0QQfsubZ18640103QQfrsrcZ1 that I just got cocky about (didn’t reculture it for 2 weeks) and it died so I just had to order another one. It’s worth it – so sweet and yummy tasting, almost as thick as my cultured yogurt! I miss it and it’s only been 1 day. 🙁
So, if you buy one be sure and nurture it. If you do it will last indefinitely.
Annette
Katie says
Kelly,
I can’t find anyone talking about the difference between “cultured” buttermilk (what you describe) and the buttermilk that actually comes from making butter (which I’m drowning in). I’m not sure how to use the latter — do you know? Can I use them interchangeably?
Thank you!!!
Katie
Kelly says
Annette,
I’m thinking what your kids will start to look more like (instead of tasty) is HEALTHY! 🙂 (BTW, my husband loves that book, but I haven’t read it yet.)
For the buttermilk, yes, you keep using 1/2 c. buttermilk from a previous batch as a starter in the next batch. You can do that indefinitely with buttermilk, but with kefir it will eventually lose it’s oomph and you have to re-start it.
You keep up 3 blogs? Yikes! That’s a lot of work! The pic of your son on the trike cracked me up. 🙂
Kelly
Annette says
Oh yes, back to the buttermilk question. So you just make buttermilk indefinitely from the previous batch made with raw milk and it works each time? I’m afraid to skip the “seed” step and then have to order more culture. I have some freeze dried culture packets inthe freezer from a cheesemaking place but it doesn’t taste as amazing as what I got from Nick’s and it’s too chunky for my liking. And boy are we going through the buttermilk lately. Lots of new babies so I’m cooking for everyone. And of course you can’t make muffins or dumplings or bread or scones without buttermilk.
Annette says
I have young kids who dearly love their breakfast cereal but much easier to control then teenagers. Now we are starting into the school lunchbox comparisons with other kids who get ding dongs and juice boxes. I’m hoping I can indoctrinate them well mwa ha ha.
I am in Seattle where we have year round farmers markets but I just bought the book 4 season harvest so next winter I’m hoping to grow my own greens in covered raised beds. If he can do it in Maine I can do it in Seattle. Of course, the grass has to come out first.
Yes, I’m hoping my blog doesn’t start to read like Shackleton’s diary…Day 74 – ate the last of the cereal and crackers…running out of energy…kids are starting to look tasty…
Kelly says
I have a lot of flops too, but yet over the years I think I’m becoming a much better cook because of it.
COOL about your commitment to only shop from farmers!! Just curious, do you have any teenagers? (Mine already complains, I can’t imagine what the “poor boy” would do if we had NOTHING in our pantry!) And where do you live?
Annette says
They still make the batch with raw milk but they make a sterlized “seed” which they keep separate so that it stays strong. If you’ve been making yours for awhile with no seed then it should be fine. It’s really a pain making a separate seed then waiting for that to set up then making the buttermilk. We are going through so much of it soaking the grains before I make anything that I can’t seem to stay on top of keeping enough in the house!
We are new converts to raw milk as of the first of the year and my Nourishing Traditions book just came in the mail today so it will be helpful to have some recipes to go along with the doctrine. It’s hard trying to figure out how to feed my family! Plus I pledged as of 1/1 to only shop from farmers so our pantry is clearing out fast. Feeling like I’ve had a lot of flops to successes in the kitchen lately…
Kelly says
Annette, I’d never heard this stuff. I wonder how I would know if it “overcomes” the culture? Would it just not thicken up much???
I don’t want to sterilize, I love the enzymes in there and all the other goodies in raw milk. I’ll have to look into this more.
Thanks!
Kelly
Annette says
Hi Kelly,
Love the blog! I have been making buttermilk from culture I bought from Nick’s Natre Nook I think it was called and they said to sterlize your raw milk as a seed starter and use that to make buttermilk with raw milk. They said if you didn’t do that eventually the raw milk would “overcome” the culture. Just curious if that has happened to you yet becuase it’s an added step to sterilize and maintain a seed starter in addition to making the buttermilk and one more jar to keep separate from my other dairy projects (sour cream, kefir, yogurt). They cross culture if you have them close to each other.
Thanks for the post!
Martha says
Thank you, Kelly. I went and looked at the buttermilk in my fridge after reading that article. Wow! I constantly read lables, but hadn’t read the buttermilk carton for some reason. It isn’t as bad as the posted one, but still has some weird stuff in it. I am really looking forward to getting my raw goat’s milk again, so I can sour it instead of buying buttermilk for soaking my pancake mix overnight. The farmer we were getting our cow milk from sold his small herd, so that is no longer an option. 🙁
Kelly says
Martha, I just saw this post soon after the comment above – you may want to rethink using commercial buttermilk…check out the label in this post.
https://www.foodrenegade.com/2009/01/26/how-to-make-buttermilk/
Kelly
Kelly says
Martha,
I think you can (if someone knows differently let me know), but it’s just not as good as raw. But then you can use starter from that batch for the next, and the next, and soon it will be mostly raw anyway.
Kelly
Martha says
Can I use store bought buttermilk as the starter?
Kelly says
Erin, I’ve got some right here in my frig for you…planning a trip to Michigan anytime soon? 🙂
Erin says
ok, i REALLY want to get my hot li’l hands on some Buttermilk starter, but in the NT book, the source listed only has a phone number! WHAT??!!! no email? No website. How ridiculously low tech!
How ridiculous that I can’t seem to pick up a phone & call! 😉
Just venting!
Any So Cal Bloggies aware of another way to get some? Care to share?
Elain Collins says
we are trying to make buttermilk from fresh raw milk but after 3 days the butter still hasn’t come together. Just has a little sour smell and taste. What should we do to hasten the clabbering, if anything?
KitchenKop says
Elain, I haven’t made buttermilk in a while, so I posted this on Facebook just now to see if they have any advice for you!
facebook.com/kellythekitchenkop
Kelly
KitchenKop says
Erin, try here:
https://amzn.to/1AajvdO
Kelly