What is the difference between butter milk and regular milk?

Question

If regular milk is used in place of buttermilk in a recipe, will it change the flavor drastically?

Answer 1

Buttermilk is the liquid left over after the butter is removed from the milk. To use regular milk in place of buttermilk, simply add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to one cup of regular milk. It will have the same taste as using buttermilk.

Answer 2

Bubba is describing the traditional way to make buttermilk. Nowadays they add a special bacteria to lowfat milk to make buttermilk. Buttermilk is notably acidic and yes there will definitely be a taste difference. Also, if you're baking something that calls for buttermilk you might need the acid in it to make you baked item rise. For example, biscuits are often made with buttermilk and one of the other ingredients is baking soda. The alkaline baking soda combined with the acidic buttermilk creates CO2 which causes the biscuits to rise.

So depending on what you're making, the buttermilk can be essential.