Can You Freeze Buttermilk?

[nicko]

Can you freeze buttermilk? We always buy buttermilk for a recipe but then there is left over that is not needed. I hate throwing it out but wondered if anyone has had good experience with freezing it. Did a search in the forums but I did not see any discussions in the results. THanks

 

[phatch]

Yes, it will likely separate but you can shake it back together.

https://www.wikihow.com/Freeze-Buttermilk has some good tips.

I've used powdered buttermilk before and it's a decent ingredient, but lesser than the cultured style.

You can also quick clabber milk with lemon juice or vinegar as a substitute, but it too is a lesser ingredient. Most of the "instant" methods recommend removing 1 T from a cup of milk and adding 1 T of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. I have better results with 2 T -- that gives me about the same rise as buttermilk will without being off in taste. And I use cider vinegar most often, followed by lemon juice.

 

[brianshaw]

I dislike two things: that buttermilk isn’t sold in pint containers and wasting what I buy.

Leftovers are frozen in 1/2 cup portions... quite successfully. I’ve also used dried buttermilk interchangeably.

 

[Tracy C]

If you use plain yogurt it works just as well thinning with some milk or half & half. But yeah freeze buttermilk and shake well.

 

[phatch]

Milk is not an uniform liquid. It is a colloidal suspension of fats, sugars and proteins in water, but it doesn't settle. Though unhomogenized form, the cream will float out on top over time, the rest of milk doesn't settle. Freezing moves the particulate aside so the frozen form separates somewhat from the water.

 

[nicko]

Thanks I threw it in the freezer I will see how it turns out when I use it next time. I appreciate the help everyone.