Cultured dairy

I've made posts in the past on how to make butter and cultured buttermilk from cultured buttermilk. I was in a bit of a craze and made all kinds of things that I don't think I actually posted about. In addition to shaking a jar of heavy cream until it separated into butter and traditional buttermilk, I've made cultured butter, sour cream and some kind of soft cheese. All of these were made using cultured buttermilk as a starter.

So let's recap. Cultured buttermilk is not the same as traditional buttermilk. Cultured buttermilk is milk that has been thickened and innoculated with a kind of bacteria. Traditional buttermilk is produced in the process of making butter. Cultured buttermilk is the stuff you find in the supermarkets.

From cultured buttermilk, you can make more cultured buttermilk the same way you make yogurt from yogurt. I like to use a 1 to 3 ratio, that is one cup of cultured buttermilk to 3 cups of milk. You can use skim milk, but the resulting buttermilk will be thinner than using full fat milk. Mix the two together and let sit in a warm spot for at least 24 hours. It shouldn't take more than 36 hours to get thick. You're done with the buttermilk coats the side of a glass. You can view instructions with pictures here:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/buttermilk.htm

With cultured buttermilk, you can also make sour cream. Mix 2 tablespoons of buttermilk to a cup of heavy cream and let it sit for about 24 hours. Then place in the refrigerator to chill.

From the sour cream, you can make cultured butter, which tastes heavenly! Just put the sour cream in a jar and shake it past the whipped up stage until it completely separates into butter and traditional buttermilk. Pour out the buttermilk, which can be used to make pancakes and other baked goodies, and fill the jar with cold water. Shake again and pour off water. Repeat filling jar with cold water, shaking and pouring it out until the water pours out clear. Getting all the buttermilk out will prevent your butter from going sour.

You can also make cheese from buttermilk. Mix a quarter cup of buttermilk with half a cup of milk and let sit for 24 hours. Then add 2 cups of warm milk and wait another 24 hours. Now gently warm it up over pot of hot water for about 30 minutes. Pour the mixture into a cheesecloth and strain for at least an hour over the sink or bowl. Add salt and herbs to taste.

I have not played with cultured dairy since we moved and now I'm having the urge to start again. Think I'll get some cultured buttermilk this weekend...