Q&A for How to Make Buttermilk from Milk

You can use yogurt as a substitute for buttermilk, but be cautious because baking is all about precision. Substituting ingredients, especially without guidance from the original recipe, can change the texture and flavor. If you’re going to swap yogurt for buttermilk, use plain yogurt (not flavored or Greek unless you thin it). Mix it with a bit of milk or water to match the consistency of buttermilk—about ¾ cup yogurt plus ¼ cup liquid to make 1 cup. This helps keep your batter the right thickness and gives you the same tangy flavor. Just remember, small changes in baking can lead to different results, so if the recipe doesn’t specifically recommend it, proceed with care.

Buttermilk can be used as a drink, or you can incorporate it into recipes such as soda bread, biscuits, pancakes, or marinated meats. It also makes a great base for cheeses and yogurts.

You can mix yogurt with a little water or milk to create a buttermilk substitute. A mixture of equal parts plain Greek yogurt and milk makes a great buttermilk substitute.

To make buttermilk the traditional way, allow full-fat, non-homogenized milk to sit out until the cream and milk separate. The milk and cream will ferment, causing them to become sour. The fermented, acidic-tasting milk is buttermilk. This type of buttermilk is still popular in South Asia and the Middle East.

A gallon of milk contains 16 cups. Add 16 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar, and let set.

You would need to use 1 tablespoon of vinegar per 1 cup of milk. If you use more vinegar, it may be too sour.

It takes five or 10 minutes to set before you can use the buttermilk for what you need.

White vinegar is the best choice, because it has a neutral acidic flavor. Other vinegars like apple cider vinegar may add unwanted flavors to your buttermilk substitute.

The ratio required to successfully and evenly curdle the milk is 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of milk. You would need 1/4 tablespoon of vinegar for 1/4 cup of milk.

The correct ratio is one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar per one cup of milk.

You can use 2% lowfat milk, but 1% lowfat milk and skim milk do not have enough fat content to thicken and curdle properly.

The correct ratio is one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar per 1 cup of whole or 2% milk.

As long as it's pasteurized milk, sour milk is extremely unlikely to make you ill if used in recipes instead of buttermilk. Raw milk should not be used if sour.

No. Most instant dry milk has no fat, so you would not be able to get it to sour.

No. Almond milk doesn't have enough fat.