Buttermilk, crema, crème fraiche, kefir and sour cream all provide lactic acid in an immediately digestible form. Most traditional fermented dairy products resulted from the natural fermentation of milk or cream, but widespread use of pasteurization kills bacteria that initiates and controls the process. Recipes that originally called for sour milk offered cooks a use for non-pasteurized milk that had passed its prime for drinking. Updated recipes often substitute buttermilk, a cultured product. Create your own cultured milk by adding an acid such as vinegar to whole milk.
Step 1
Measure 1 cup of whole milk. Put the milk in a drinking glass or cream pitcher and allow it to sit until the milk reaches room temperature, 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Put 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar in the bottom of the measuring cup.
Step 3
Pour whole milk over the vinegar in the bottom of the cup until the total measures 1 cup.
Step 4
Stir gently to mix the milk with the vinegar. Allow the mixture sit at room temperature until it "clabbers," or forms clots.
Step 5
Use the soured milk immediately. Refrigerate soured milk if it will not be used immediately to slow down the clotting process.
Things You'll Need
- 1 cup whole "sweet" milk
- 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
- Non-metal liquid measure
- Drinking glass
- Measuring spoons
References
- "Joy of Cooking"; Jean Anderson, et al.; 1975
- The Cook's Thesaurus: Cultured Milk Products
- MadSci.org; Why Does Milk Sour?; Dean Culver; 1999
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