Last week, Mr. Stewart gave me a special assignment. I was to go to the grocery store, purchase buttermilk, and try it for myself. I thought that this would be an enjoyable experience--I like butter, and I also happen to like milk. I expected to be confronted by a rich, creamy drink that I could enjoy this Sunday morning. However, I was dismayed to discover that buttermilk didn't live up to my expectations. It turned out to be a sour concoction that I couldn't bear to finish.
In fact, buttermilk wasn't always so unappetizing. To understand why, let's travel back in time to the 18th century. Until the age of refrigeration, milk soured quickly in the kitchen, and most butter was made out of this soured milk. Thus, in some cases, buttermilk was used to describe the sweet byproduct of traditional butter-making, and in others, buttermilk referred to the soured milk that was used to make butter. Very confusing.
By the late 1800s, the definition of buttermilk evolved yet again. Cookbooks started calling for the sour milk in bread made with baking soda. This was because baking soda needed an acid to work, and slightly spoiled milk was the perfect solution.
While this cooking revolution was going on, America also saw an influx of immigrants who saw sour milk as a refreshing beverage. Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, who have a tendency toward lactose intolerance, may have been especially inclined to drink it, since the bacteria make it more digestible.
The nonimmigrant American public, however, was generally mistrustful of sour milk as a beverage until 1907. Then, Russian biologist Elie Metchnikoff concluded that the relative longevity enjoyed by people living in the Balkans was a direct result of their consumption of sour milk, and health-conscious Americans started going crazy for sour milk, thinking it would prevent aging.
Furthermore, breakfast-cereal enthusiast John Harvey Kellogg began serving an ultra-tart, deliberately soured milk with the catchy name “Bulgarian buttermilk.” Naturally-occurring sour milk had in the mean time become increasingly rare, thanks to modern refrigeration, so commercial dairies, spotting an unfilled niche, began to culture it themselves, and sold the new product widely as buttermilk.
Butter-byproduct buttermilk, meanwhile, remains mostly the province of small farmers and DIYers. Large butter manufacturers now dry their butter byproducts and sell them to processed-food manufacturers as means of adding body and texture. (If you’ve ever eaten ice cream or a candy bar with “buttermilk solids” on its ingredients list, you’ve consumed the byproduct of butter.)
And that's the story of how buttermilk evolved into the sour monstrosity that we (and by we I mean maybe you, because I'm not touching that stuff) drink today.
I really liked your post and not only found it entertaining, but very informative. I appreciate the fact that you went out to try buttermilk yourself, making this post all the more credible. I found it interesting how buttermilk dipped in and out of popularity, and also how people at one point thought it would prevent aging. Although, buttermilk may provide some health advantages. It may aid with the stomachs of the dyspeptic and ease the nerves of those who tend to stay up late. Interestingly enough, if kept in the fridge buttermilk has a surprisingly long life span. If its left refrigerated for a couple days, the solids will separate from the whey, but will combine once shaken.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.southernliving.com/dairy/what-is-buttermilk
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, as it’s both well written and a fresh change from the usual topics that are covered in these blogs. It’s interesting how you not only tied in your own personal experience of trying buttermilk, but also your thoroughness in explaining how it affected American society throughout history. It’s also interesting that so many people would be willing to try a foul drink in order to gain whatever small amount of benefits it may have.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting blog post that deviates from the traditional blogs we see. It is unfortunate that you didn't enjoy the buttermilk. I would agree that buttermilk doesn't taste that great but it does possess some advantages. It can provide bone support, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure. So while it may taste bad it certainly has some redeeming qualities.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading this post and found its humor refreshing among the other blog posts. It seems that President Truman also had a recipe for buttermilk pie. He was served the pie on the USS Missouri and asked for the recipe. The chef refused but after retiring he shared the recipe. It seems that buttermilk held a special and very dear place in Harry Truman's heart and stomach.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.deseret.com/1998/3/17/19369386/buttermilk-pie-was-hit-with-give-em-hell-harry