You can easily make cultured buttermilk at home with milk and an active culture buttermilk as the base. You can buy cultured buttermilk from the grocery store and use it as a starter. Choose the cultured buttermilk that is less than four weeks old with “active culture” symbol on the package to ensure the bacteria are still alive.

• 1 cup of cultured buttermilk

  3 cups of whole milk, store bought milk is fine

Equipments:

• 1 quart glass jar with lid.

Ensure the ingredients and equipment are clean and sterile.

1. Pour the buttermilk to the jar, and then add the milk.
2. Close the jar tightly. Shake the jar several times until the buttermilk and the milk is thoroughly mixed.
3. Let is stand in warm room temperature for about 24 hours. The finished buttermilk should be thick and coat the glass like the original buttermilk starter. If it is not thick enough, leave it again for 12 hours. If the buttermilk isn’t formed within 36 hours, it means the bacteria in the starter have died and it is no longer usable to make cultured buttermilk.

Instructions:

1. Allow 1 cup of raw fresh milk to stand in room temperature for several days until it is clabbered.
2. Put 1/4 of the clabbered milk into the jar. Add a cup of fresh milk. Close the lid tightly and shake it up. Let it stand in a room temperature for several days until clabbered.
3. Repeat the transfer process several more times until the milk is able to clabber in 24 hours. Check if it is thickened and taste tart.
4. Use the cultured buttermilk as the starter for larger quantity of buttermilk as described above.

You cannot use this type of buttermilk as the base for larger quantity of cultured buttermilk and it is not as thick and rich as cultured buttermilk. It still makes a tasty and refreshing drink, and you can also use it in baking.