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I saw Mitra's reply downthread, but adding my 2c as an Indian: Buttermilk is commonly drunk with meals in India (both North and South, although lassi is very p
by vram22 8y ago
I saw Mitra's reply downthread, but adding my 2c as an Indian:
Buttermilk is commonly drunk with meals in India (both North and South, although lassi is very popular in the North too), and also separately as a refresher, more so in summer, often lightly spiced with cumin, hing (asafoetida), etc. and sometimes with a few green chillies in it (for the brave - heh:), and is considered a soothing drink, and also healthy and wholesome. In fact I remember a childhood friend of mine saying that (as we both drank a glass each of buttermilk at lunch at his house), and it stuck in my memory. And it is really that - soothing.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 8y agoIs the buttermilk made from the leftovers of churning butter or is it milk that they grow cultures in?
- vram22 8y agoInteresting question. Answer: The former. However, there is another product loosely called buttermilk by some, here. It is just curd (Indian term for yoghurt) diluted with water and maybe stirred or whisked a bit to mix up the water well with the curd. If you can't get the former, you can easily make this with curd you have at home. The real buttermilk is usually salted slightly. The one made from curd can be had either salty or sweet by adding sugar.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 8y agoIt would be fun to taste. The buttermilk I have tried in USA is bitter and tastes acidic.
- vram22 8y agoInteresting. Could be because it is somewhat stale, maybe. (Was it bought from stores, what you tried?) Same happens in India. Fresh home-made buttermilk tastes good, from just after being made up to say 24 hours or so. After that it does get more acidic, particularly in warmer weather or if not kept in the fridge, although I might call it sour instead. Not found it tasting bitter though, as I remember. Could be you had bad luck and it was quite old stock.
- apatters 8y agoA quick cooking hack when you're out of buttermilk at home is to add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk. So I always assumed the sourness/acidity was the defining feature of buttermilk. It would be interesting if there were types of buttermilk (and recipes requiring them) where this was not the case.
- vram22 8y agoInteresting, must try that out sometime. In India paneer (a sort of Indian cottage cheese) is made that way, by putting lemon juice in hot milk, which makes it curdle. Then the curds are put into a cloth and hung up for a few hours to drain off the whey. What's left is paneer, which can be eaten raw, or used in dishes like palak paneer (spinach with paneer), mutter paneer (green peas with paneer), some Indian sweets, etc.
- sumedh 8y agoYou might get this in some Indian stores. http://www.amul.com/products/amul-pouchbuttermilk-info.php http://www.amul.com/products/amul-pouchbuttermilk-info.php or try this https://www.amazon.com/Amul-Masti-Spiced-Buttermilk-1Liter/dp/B00TX90RXO https://www.amazon.com/Amul-Masti-Spiced-Buttermilk-1Liter/d...
- selimthegrim 8y agoI wasn’t aware hing and lightly spiced could be used in the same sentence.
- vram22 8y agoHa ha, good point :) Yes, hing is a very strong spice. But it can be a light spice, if you use little enough. Normally just a tiny pinch of it is used. Also, in India, the packaged variety you get from shops is usually mixed with some filler material which makes it less strong. Not sure what, need to check. In a similar manner, for example, some mustard powder out here is mixed with some whole wheat flour (atta) and turmeric, for the same reason. E.g. Weifield's Mustard Powder, a common brand.
- selimthegrim 8y agoYes my impression is it’s atta
- jkaplowitz 8y agoMost commonly. I'm in North America and that's also true for the hing here. Though I have found other fillers, which is good for people who need to avoid gluten (atta has gluten).