I have started to believe there are several dehydrated items that are now essential for my everyday pantry supply. Buttermilk powder is one of those things. I have a favorite bran muffin recipe that calls for buttermilk, but I found once I made the recipe the remainder of the buttermilk carton remained unused until it soured in my refrigerator. This happened multiple times. I love that with buttermilk powder I can mix up just the amount of buttermilk that I need. If you hesitate to open a #10 can, just store the unused powder in a large mason jar sealed with a vacuum sealer. (See my earlier post on vacuum sealing powdered foods for the method so you don’t clog your machine.) There is no more waste, and I don’t have to run to the store for an ingredient that I don’t typically stock. You can use buttermilk in place of the water called for in box cake mix recipes to add richness to the final product, too.
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Another, similar product is “Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend” (http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html). I found it at my local Walmart Market. I’ve only used it so far in a buttermilk cornbread recipe, but it turns out well in that. You use it with milk instead of water: 4 tablespoons per cup, adding it to your dry ingredients. It’s got about a four year shelf unopened according to the date on the bottom of the carton, and according to the web site, three years in the ‘fridge after you open it. I haven’t tried it with dried milk to see how it works.
Buttermilk powder? Brilliant. There’s an easy way to make buttermilk, too — just mix mix 1 T. of lemon juice with 1 cup of milk, voila! http://tinyurl.com/dxzx7n
I love buttermilk powder and we use it regularly. One thing to be aware of is that is gives the flavor of buttemilk, but it does not have the leavening qualities of fresh buttermilk. If the recipe you are making calls primarily for buttermilk to leaven it (a cake or a bread), the cake or bread will be very short, so you will need to make some adjustments to the recipe to compensate.