Conference turris::cooks

    I think "3-4 weeks" makes it a "must go" if your refrigerator's temp is
    40F or below.
    
    if it's less than a week beyond the sell date it's ok, 2 weeks is
    probably ok and 3 weeks is hold it one more so you know it's bad and
    must be tossed.  :-)
    
    ed

Next time, try getting the instant powdered buttermilk.  It's usually near the 
instant milk in the market.  It's the greatest.  I can't tell the difference,
even in biscuits.  And it keeps forever in the cupboard. 

>even in biscuits.  And it keeps forever in the cupboard. 
    
    I was keeping my powdered buttermilk in the cupboard, too, until
    someone in this notesfile pointed out that it says "Keep refrigerated
    after opening" on it.  I never noticed any degradation from being in
    the cabinet, but now I keep it in the fridge.
    
    --Sharon
    

    re: When to throw away stuff.
    
    I used to never know how to judge when to toss things out.  My ex
    taught me that to first give it the sniff test and then follow rule #1:
    
    Rule #1: When in doubt, throw it out.  
    
    When that fails go to Rule #2. 
    
    Rule #2: Always follow rule #1
    
    Bruce
    
    

    Thanks.  Never heard of dried buttermilk before.  My mom used to make
    that instant milk when we were kids, I hated it.  But if I'm cooking
    with it, I suppose I'd never know the difference.  Do you add water to
    the powdered buttermilk BEFORE you use it in a recipe?  Silly question
    probably, but I'm not sure since I really never baked with any kind of
    powdered milk product.
    
    

    
    The directions on the powdered buttermilk that I've used said to add
    the appropriate amount of the powder (I don't recall the numbers, it
    may have been two or three tablespoons per cup of fresh buttermilk) to
    your dry ingredients; when the recipe called for adding buttermilk, I'd
    just add the equivalent amount of water and proceed from there.
    
    It was easy to work with, but I still like to buy fresh buttermilk for
    my biscuits, scones and breads.
    
    	/Harry

I bought some buttermilk for a recipe for the first time recently, and 
was surprised at the consistency. It was more like yoghurt than milk. 
Was this OK buttermilk or did I buy old buttermilk by accident?

Doesn't taste too nice on its own, does it?

Sheridan
:^)

    What's wrong with freezing the leftover buttermilk?  Use half of the
    buttermilk in a recipie, put the other half in an appropriate sized
    Tupperware (or similar) container and freeze it.  Am I missing some-
    thing here?
    
    
    Steve
    

HI

Can someone tell me what the difference is between buttermilk and ordinary milk??

I've seen quite a few recipes lately that uses buttermilk which I would like to 
try.  However, I have never seen it in the shops (I'm from New Zealand, BTW). 

Can I substitue milk instead??


Regards
Dianne

Hi

        Yogurt is a substitute for buttermilk.

          1 cup yogurt = 1 cup buttermilk

    There are a number of alternatives...
    
    powdered buttermilk (have a friend mail it from the States :-)
    yogurt
    1 c milk + 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice (I believe that's
        the ratio - to "sour" the milk)
    
    You can't substitute milk *directly* because buttermilk has a higher
    acid quantity which affects things like baking soda.  It most
    conversions I've seen, if you replace buttermilk with regular milk you
    must reduce the baking soda (and sometimes increase the baking powder.)
    Also the taste is different.
    
    As for shelf life - it lasts a long time (3+ weeks) in the frig, but if
    you were thinking of shipping it - don't.
    
    D!

Hi

Thanks for your replies.  I can now make the waffle recipe, note 564.23 amongst
others.

Di

    Also note that 564.23 has explicit directions at the end for using
    regular milk.  I would suspect that you could replace the baking
    soda/cream of tartar combination with baking powder.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure it's just the opposite: reduce baking powder
    and increase baking soda.
    
    In the buttermilk biscuits I made over the weekend, for instance, the
    original recipe which used milk called for a tablespoon of baking
    powder and no baking soda. When I substituted buttermilk, I had to
    reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/4 teaspoon of baking
    soda.
    
    If I remember it, I'll check my copy of Kitchen Science tonight to get
    the reasons and post them here tomorrow.
    
    	/Harry

    >    Actually, I'm pretty sure it's just the opposite: reduce baking
    powder
    >    and increase baking soda.
    [...]
    > When I substituted buttermilk, I had to
        reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/4 teaspoon of
    >baking
        soda.
    
    Exactly.  I was giving the instructions for replacing buttermilk with
    milk, not the other way around.
    
    More buttermilk = more acid = more soda/less powder
    less buttermilk = less acid = less soda/more powder
    
    
    D!