The Secret Ingredient You Need to Always Have Stocked in Your Pantry
There is nothing in this world quite like buttermilk pancakes, am I right? I don’t know what it is about buttermilk, but if you truly use the real stuff in your recipe as opposed to just milk they turn out a MILLION times better! In a pinch I try to use a buttermilk replacement, which is to add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to your scant cup of milk and the acidity should change it into something resembling buttermilk. It kind of curdles it a bit. While this is good, it’s still just not the same.
The problem with buttermilk is that it seems you have to buy a pretty good size carton of buttermilk and I don’t make buttermilk pancakes enough to use that all up. There are some out there that love to drink buttermilk by the glassful like my dad, but I am not one of those people! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
However, I have been making my kids the most delicious buttermilk waffles almost everyday that we have been staying at home the last few weeks and I haven’t had a drop of fresh buttermilk! So what is the secret?
Powdered cultured buttermilk! The recipe I use for my buttermilk waffles calls for ½ cup buttermilk, so instead I add 2 tablespoons of this dry buttermilk and ½ cup of water and it tastes exactly like I used real buttermilk. But now, my buttermilk has a much longer shelf life! The ratio for this brand “The Saco Pantry Cultured Buttermilk Blend” that I love is 4 tablespoons powdered buttermilk to 1 cup water.
Not only does it make fantastic pancakes and waffles, there are a few other great ways to use this powdered buttermilk to make it totally worth it. Here are a couple other ways I use this powdered buttermilk:
Dry Pancake and Waffle Mix
Instead of grabbing one of these boxes of powdered pancake and waffle mix like Aunt Jemima’s or Bisquick, by using this powdered buttermilk and a few other ingredients of your choosing, you can make your own quick and easy pancake mix that is ready to go and isn’t fully of yucky preservatives you don’t want.
Dry Ranch Dressing Packets
Same concept here--you can create your own dry ranch mix to replace the packets you buy in the store like Hidden Valley, and you don’t have to have any unwanted preservatives. I just keep mine in a little jar in the fridge and it should last for at least 6 months. You can add a little sour cream and milk and make a chip dip, or thin it down even more for a fabulous ranch dressing to dip some chicken wings in.
Or it is great as a seasoning for mashed potatoes, a seasoning for roasted vegetables, or adds a lot of flavor to creamy soups like a corn chowder or white chili. What can’t this dry ranch dressing mix do?
Have you tried using powdered buttermilk before? And are you a person who would drink a nice, cold glass of buttermilk and love every second of it like my old man? :) Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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The problem with buttermilk is that it seems you have to buy a pretty good size carton of buttermilk and I don’t make buttermilk pancakes enough to use that all up. There are some out there that love to drink buttermilk by the glassful like my dad, but I am not one of those people! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
However, I have been making my kids the most delicious buttermilk waffles almost everyday that we have been staying at home the last few weeks and I haven’t had a drop of fresh buttermilk! So what is the secret?
Powdered cultured buttermilk! The recipe I use for my buttermilk waffles calls for ½ cup buttermilk, so instead I add 2 tablespoons of this dry buttermilk and ½ cup of water and it tastes exactly like I used real buttermilk. But now, my buttermilk has a much longer shelf life! The ratio for this brand “The Saco Pantry Cultured Buttermilk Blend” that I love is 4 tablespoons powdered buttermilk to 1 cup water.
Not only does it make fantastic pancakes and waffles, there are a few other great ways to use this powdered buttermilk to make it totally worth it. Here are a couple other ways I use this powdered buttermilk:
Dry Pancake and Waffle Mix
Instead of grabbing one of these boxes of powdered pancake and waffle mix like Aunt Jemima’s or Bisquick, by using this powdered buttermilk and a few other ingredients of your choosing, you can make your own quick and easy pancake mix that is ready to go and isn’t fully of yucky preservatives you don’t want.
Dry Ranch Dressing Packets
Same concept here--you can create your own dry ranch mix to replace the packets you buy in the store like Hidden Valley, and you don’t have to have any unwanted preservatives. I just keep mine in a little jar in the fridge and it should last for at least 6 months. You can add a little sour cream and milk and make a chip dip, or thin it down even more for a fabulous ranch dressing to dip some chicken wings in.
Or it is great as a seasoning for mashed potatoes, a seasoning for roasted vegetables, or adds a lot of flavor to creamy soups like a corn chowder or white chili. What can’t this dry ranch dressing mix do?
Have you tried using powdered buttermilk before? And are you a person who would drink a nice, cold glass of buttermilk and love every second of it like my old man? :) Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Sources:
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
