# Buttermilk Syrup Baking Soda & Cooktime Question



## Michelle Carver (Mar 5, 2019)

In Southern Living Magazine there is a buttermilk syrup glaze for a cake:

1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

The instructions are 2 sentences long, bring first 5 ingredients to a boil, take off heat, add vanilla. 

I won’t be using the cornstarch again after my research, my questions are with (1) cook times and (2) baking soda.

This turned out good but grainy. I read about 10-15 buttermilk syrup recipes (since this is basically that) from cooking blogs, ALL the comments, and watched every single YouTube video and everybody has a different technique, nobody explains the science behind (1/2 put baking soda in with vanilla after the heat) and some even tell you work arounds for problems with their recipe they didn’t resolve prior to posting. 

A bunch of the recipes said to boil the syrup for as long as 7 minutes, some said 3, some came out like caramel, some only had a white foam and called that buttermilk syrup. 

Not many included cooking temperatures, those didn’t match either, but user comments threw in enough tips for me to know there’s more you need to know when cooking sugar and temperature matters.

Many thanks!


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## dueh (Mar 4, 2015)

Michelle Carver said:


> In Southern Living Magazine there is a buttermilk syrup glaze for a cake:
> 
> 1/4 c buttermilk
> 1/2 c sugar
> ...


you cited direction as bring first 5 ingredient to a boil and then add vanilla, but only list 5 ingredients including the vanilla. Maybe some other part is missing? Butter perhaps?

as far as grainy goes... possible crystallization of the sugar? did you sift the soda prior to adding, if you added after the syrup was cooked?


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## Michelle Carver (Mar 5, 2019)

My mistake, yes butter. I’ve never sifted baking soda in this small of amount.

And the baking soda was in with the first 5 ingredients brought to boil. The vanilla was added off the heat.


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

My best guess answers to your questions, accuracy not guaranteed:

*1. Why is your syrup grainy?*

Buttermilk is high protein, low-fat (usually, unless you look for a higher-fat version), and acidic, so it curdled slightly when you applied heat to it. Heating an acidified dairy product works great for making fresh cheese, but not so great for making a smooth creamy syrup.

*2. Why do these recipes include baking soda, and what technique for adding the baking soda is best?*

Baking soda is alkaline (an alkali? not sure on the exact phrasing), so it raises the pH of your buttermilk. Raising the pH of your buttermilk does two things: 1. Helps protect your syrup against curdling. 2. Promotes browning of lactose and lysine (aka the Maillard reaction) if you're cooking your syrup longer in order to achieve more of a caramel sauce-esque result. Cajeta is a great example of how all this works. I would add the baking soda in the beginning.

*2. Why do these recipes list such a variation in cooking times, and what amount of cooking time is best?
*
_Reasons to cook only for a very short time: _You just want to dissolve the sugar and don't want to expose your syrup to unnecessary heat that could help it curdle.

_Reasons to cook for a longer time:_ 1. You want to control the viscosity of your syrup via reduction (this would fall in the 1 to 7 minute range). 2. You want to get some toasty/caramel notes by cooking for long enough to get some browning on your syrup (I imagine this would take longer than 7 minutes).

If you want to play it super safe you could go for the very short time option, keep your syrup at a steaming but not simmering temperature, use the quantity of sugar to control viscosity, and toast your sugar ahead if you need to control sweetness.

Or, you could add fat to the recipe (whole fat buttermilk plus an addition of cream or butter), increase the baking soda (slightly? maybe? to me this would depend on taste and instinct), and just cook it until the viscosity looks right. Using butter will help give you a thicker end result as well - this is the route I would take.


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

Additional thoughts based on your reply to @dueh and reading your initial post again..

1. Cooking temps listed in the recipes you're reading are related to controlling the viscosity of your syrup via reduction... With heat you can achieve a more concentrated sugar solution than you can at room temperature. The temperature tells you how concentrated your solution is and therefore what the texture of your syrup will be once it's cooled. It's like a code... the author of the recipe is using the temperature to explain the texture to you in an easy to understand and quantifiable way.

2. Add the butter in at the beginning for the same reason you add the baking soda in at the beginning.


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## Michelle Carver (Mar 5, 2019)

azenjoys said:


> Additional thoughts based on your reply to @dueh and reading your initial post again..
> 
> 1. Cooking temps listed in the recipes you're reading are related to controlling the viscosity of your syrup via reduction... With heat you can achieve a more concentrated sugar solution than you can at room temperature. The temperature tells you how concentrated your solution is and therefore what the texture of your syrup will be once it's cooled. It's like a code... the author of the recipe is using the temperature to explain the texture to you in an easy to understand and quantifiable way.
> 
> 2. Add the butter in at the beginning for the same reason you add the baking soda in at the beginning.


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## Michelle Carver (Mar 5, 2019)

Thank you so much for the information! I do use full fat buttermilk and butter and will add the baking soda before cooking the syryp. 

One last question, bring to a boil on what temperature for nice caramely non-gritty syrup? The recipes varied on that point as well.


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## azenjoys (Jun 28, 2017)

For your question... I'm not sure, I've never made a syrup like this before and texture is also effected by fat content, acidity etc. so it's hard to say.

When I'm making something new, my typical approach is similar to yours... I read as much as I can to understand the underlying principles of the dish I'm hoping to make and just give it a go. One thing I find helpful is to do an image search for the recipe rather than a regular search, because it's easier for me to choose one that matches what I imagine/want for the dish.

If you post a link to a recipe that looks like what you want to make I'm happy to take a look at it and make any suggestions I think might help.


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