Kitchen Conundrums: How to make buttermilk

by Nicole Lisson
- The Capitol Hill Times - 

On Saturday, I laid in bed listening to the rain gently fall outside. Seattle had returned to it’s normally gloomy self. As I racked my brain for what to make for breakfast, pancakes seemed to be the perfect hearty meal to welcome in pea coat weather. Not just any pancakes though, buttermilk pancakes. They are light and fluffy with a slight tang from the sour milk. Mucking them up with any kind of add in’s would be a sin. All you need is some good quality maple syrup and a pat of butter to top them off. When I went into the kitchen that morning, I opened my fridge and was met with disappointment. There was no buttermilk to be found. Unfortunately, it is one of those ingredients you never have on hand when you need it. The pouring rain deterred me from running to the grocery store, so instead I settled for a bowl of oatmeal. It wasn’t quite the start to my day I imagined. Luckily for you, dear readers, you can make buttermilk pancakes even if you don’t have buttermilk, with a couple of simple substitutions.

Cream of Tartar
Measure 1 ¾ tablespoon cream of tartar. Whisk to combine with 1 cup of milk and let stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes. Once it’s curdled, stir again.

Lemon Juice
Mix together one tablespoon of lemon juice and one cup of milk in a liquid measuring cup. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Plain Yogurt
2 tablespoon of milk plus 1 cup of plain yogurt equals a great stand in for buttermilk.

Sour Cream
Thin the sour cream with a bit of milk until it reaches the consistency of buttermilk. Stir to combine and then use as your recipe directs.

White Vinegar
Add one tablespoon to a liquid measuring cup and then add the milk until the amount reaches one cup. Let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to combine.

Each one of these stand in’s can be used 1:1 for buttermilk. So don’t end up like me on a Saturday morning, shoveling goop in your mouth. Make yourself a high stack of fluffy pancakes and start your day off right.

Please feel free to submit your own kitchen conundrums to simonenicole25@yahoo.com, and we will figure out how to conquer the kitchen together.