DIY vs buy
20121115-229182-DIY-buttermilk-recipe.jpg

[Photograph: Molly Sheridan]

Note: You can make larger (or smaller) volumes as needed. I use a ratio of one tablespoon starter for every cup milk with reliable results. Unless your culture was not designed to be perpetuated (some freeze-dried options fall into this category), you can reserve a bit of each batch to culture the next.

Some recipes indicate that you should pasteurize your milk (at 180°F) before culturing or at least warm it to 76°F. This step is entirely unnecessary, as store-bought milk is all pasteurized before it hits the shelves.

About the author: Molly Sheridan feels about mason jars the way most women feel about shoes. A music journalist by day, she traces her love of weekend DIY kitchen projects back to the science experiments she ran with her dad as a kid. She is the author of Wonderland Kitchen and tweetledees @WonderlandK.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: 2 cups
Active time: 2 minutes
Total time: 10 to 24 hours

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk (store-bought or activated dried starter)
  • 2 cups milk (whole, 2%, or skim, depending on your nutritional needs and preferences)

Procedures

  1. In a mason jar or other glass container, thoroughly mix the starter and milk. Cover with a coffee filter or piece of cheese cloth (do not seal tightly with a lid) and leave to culture out of drafts at a warm room temperature (between 70-78°F is recommended) until milk has clabbered (10-24 hours).

  2. To test if the milk has thickened, tip the jar slightly. It should move away from the wall of the jar as a single mass. Just as with yogurt making, once the milk sets, it will get more tart the longer you allow the culturing to continue.

  3. Refrigerate to halt culturing for at least six hours. Stir before using.