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A Southern Table: Buttermilk And Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream

A Southern Table: Buttermilk And Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream

Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream

To showcase how outstanding buttermilk can be, Laura Davis serves a delicious lemon buttermilk ice cream recipe she got out of the Austin American Statesman food section about a million years ago.
By Laura Davis

Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream

Buttermilk. Buttermilk has always, always been around, like a trusty, reliable friend.  How can you cook without it?  Buying buttermilk in the south is a very different experience than in the northeast where I am.  There is little selection and ow fat and non fat buttermilk is the only types available in our local grocers.  I am good with low fat or 1% buttermilk but I am very lucky that I live in an area with small farms that provide produce, dairy, eggs, poultry and meats.  So when I run across a market that has fresh, local buttermilk, I grab it.

Buttermilk

What exactly is buttermilk? Originally it was the liquid left over after churning butter so it really had very little fat unless there were some tiny chunks of butter left in it.  Natural enzymes that the milk contained fermented the buttermilk so that it was slightly thickened with a soured, tangy flavor.  This milk became popular in the south because regular milk would sour quickly and buttermilk would last for days.  This is one of the reasons that it became a staple in southern kitchens and remains so today.  Even today the shelf life of buttermilk outlasts regular milk and beyond it own expiration date by weeks sometimes.  I generally go by sight and smell and it is pretty clear when it has passed its prime.  It rarely lasts that long in my kitchen anyway.

In America today, buttermilk is cultured which means that lactic acid bacteria is added to milk and allowed to ferment for 12 hours or more at low temperatures.  The resulting milk is acidic and tangy.  There is a difference in taste between pasteurized and unpasteurized buttermilk as there is between commercial and a local dairy buttermilk.  I know people who go out of there way to get unpasteurized dairy products because they like the taste and believe in the health benefits of the “good bacteria” that it contains.  Pasteurization kills all the bacteria, good and bad, and in this world of mass production it is probably a good idea.  If you want unpasteurized dairy products and can find a local farm that follows guidelines to produce their milk, you have found a delicious, natural source for milk and other dairy products.  Commercial buttermilk sometimes has salt added to it and you should check the label if you are concerned.  One final important note, unpasteurized buttermilk does not have the same long shelf life that pasteurized does.

I know people who drink buttermilk daily and think it is delicious and some who thinks it tastes nasty and how could it be good in anything.  The benefits of cooking with buttermilk is one reason and why it is a staple in many southern kitchen.  Added to baked goods it produces a tender crumb and a slightly tangy flavor.  Buttermilk biscuits and buttermilk pancakes are two very popular, delicious examples of this.  Buttermilk is commonly used in unison with baking soda or sodium bicarbonate as leavening for baked products. We all know how fluffy and delicious buttermilk pancakes and biscuits turn out!

See Also

Lemon Buttermilk Ice cream with blueberries

To showcase how outstanding buttermilk can be, I have included a delicious lemon buttermilk ice cream recipe that I got out of the Austin American Statesman food section about a million years ago. Seriously, it was a long time ago.  The combination of the tart lemon and the tangy buttermilk is divine.  Lemon lovers you will not be disappointed.  The tangy lemon flavor is prominent and it has the consistency of sorbet more than ice cream.  This recipe is also for all you calorie counters (who isn’t) out there because it can be made with low fat buttermilk and you won’t even know it.   I don’t really recommend the no fat buttermilk because you need a little fat for some creamy consistency, but then again, if that is how you roll then go for it.

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A Southern Table: Buttermilk and Ice Cream


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  • Author: Laura Davis
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1/2 cup servings 1x

Description

This is a very tangy, lemony ice cream. Lemon lovers you will not be disappointed!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups (383 g) superfine sugar (see note)
  • 4 to 6 lemons for zesting and juicing
  • 1 quart (473 mL) Buttermilk, low fat (1%) to full fat (3.25%)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional (see note)

Instructions

  1. Place the sugar in a large container to chill in the refrigerator. Zest 2 lemons for 2 to 3 teaspoons of lemon zest and place in the container with the sugar. Juice enough lemons for 1/2 cup of lemon juice and add to the sugar and mix. Add the buttermilk and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Chill the mixture for 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to their instructions. Place in containers and finishing freezing in the freezer.
  3. Enjoy!

Notes

For this recipe I used unpasteurized whole milk buttermilk that I purchased at a nearby farm. I have also made this with commercial buttermilk and I will say that there is a difference. They were both really, really good but the local buttermilk was definitely better and I don’t think it had as much salt as the commercial (I am guessing because there was no ingredient list). My husband and I did a taste test before I made the ice cream and I was amazed how different tasting the buttermilks were.

Superfine sugar: Place granulated white sugar in a food processor and process for 1 to 2 minutes and voila, you have superfine sugar!

Vanilla: The addition of vanilla produces a smoother, creamier lemon flavor. If you like a tangy tart, lemony flavor forgo the vanilla.

  • Prep Time: 10 mins

 

View Comments (10)
  • I absolutely adore buttermilk and all you can do with it. Unfortunately, buttermilk isn’t available in Italy, that’s why I have to make it myself. Probably it’s not like the one you buy, but it works really well.
    Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    • No buttermilk?! Yes I have heard about adding lemon juice or a small amount of buttermilk and allow the milk to sit at room temperature overnight but I have never done this. I will have to try just to see how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by Rita.

      • Actually I do not use lemon juice but I simply beat cream, the way you do to make butter. Here’s the process, if you are curious to know: you start beating the cream in a bowl with electric beaters; when the cream is whipped, you keep beating for about 10-15 minutes till you see that the liquid is separating from the cream (be careful because it squirts everywhere). At this point, a good quantity of liquid is at the bottom of the bowl and the cream has become thick. Well, this thick cream is butter, real butter. All you have to do now is to take the butter (which is very soft) in your hands and squeeze it over a bowl to take out all the buttermilk in there. The whitish, opalescent liquid you have is buttermilk.
        I love this process because you can have home-made butter and buttermilk at the same time!

        • I’ve been wondering how to do this (I live in Italy too and can’t get buttermilk) – amazing! I hear it’s also great for making homemade ricotta ;)

          • I meant to add the easy recipe for buttermilk in my post which is 1 cup of milk (1% to whole) to 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and allow to sit for 30 minutes. I apologize for omitting.

            The milk from making butter traditionally was allowed to naturally curdle over night which is why it is thicker than milk (even lowfat versions). Mine was a little too thin and use a splatter guard on your mixer (you can also do it in a food processor) or you will be cleaning your ceiling. I know I was at least wearing it! Either way you make buttermilk, I think the most important factor is the quality of the milk. The liquid that I got from making butter was much thinner than the “easy” recipe.

            I wish I could share some of the buttermilk from the farms around my area. I bet you would have been amazed as I was.

            Italy has such beautiful food but I have never seen a recipe with buttermilk, now that you mention it.

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