Recipe Finder: Buttermilk Pie

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What is Buttermilk? Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. This type of buttermilk is known as traditional buttermilk.

The term buttermilk also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates (e.g., Middle East, Pakistan, India, and the Southern United States) where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly,[1] as well as in colder climates such as Germany, Poland, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. This fermented dairy product known as cultured buttermilk is produced from cow’s milk and has a characteristically sour taste caused by lactic acid bacteria. This variant is made using one of two species of bacteria—either Streptococcus lactis or Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which creates more tartness. Buttermilk made with the latter is called Bulgarian buttermilk.

The tartness of buttermilk is due to acid in the milk. The increased acidity is primarily due to lactic acid produced by lactic acid bacteria while fermenting lactose, the primary sugar in milk. As the bacteria produces lactic acid, the pH of the milk decreases and casein, the primary milk protein, precipitates, causing the curdling or clabbering of milk. This process makes buttermilk thicker than plain milk. While both traditional and cultured buttermilk contain lactic acid, traditional buttermilk tends to be less viscous, whereas cultured buttermilk is more viscous.

Buttermilk is usually drunk straight, but it can also be used in cooking. Soda bread is a bread where the buttermilk acidifies the rising agent, sodium bicarbonate, to produce carbon dioxide.

Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left over from churning butter from cultured or fermented cream. Traditionally, before cream could be skimmed from whole milk, the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate. During this time, naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria in the milk fermented it. This facilitates the butter churning process, since fat from cream with a lower pH coalesces more readily than that of fresh cream. The acidic environment also helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing, increasing shelf-life. However, in establishments that used cream separators, the cream was hardly acidic at all.

On the Indian subcontinent, the term “buttermilk” refers to the liquid left over after extracting butter from churned yogurt (dahi). Today, this is called traditional buttermilk. Traditional buttermilk is still common in many Indo-Pakistani households but rarely found in western countries. In Southern India and most areas of the Punjab, buttermilk with added water, sugar and/or salt, asafoetida, and curry leaves is given at stalls in festival times.

Commercially available cultured buttermilk is milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized (if 1% or 2% fat), and then inoculated with a culture of lactic acid bacteria to simulate the naturally occurring bacteria in the old-fashioned product. Some dairies add colored flecks of butter to cultured buttermilk to simulate residual flecks of butter that can be left over from the churning process of traditional buttermilk.

Condensed buttermilk and Dried buttermilk have increased in importance in the food industry. Buttermilk solids are used in ice cream manufacture. Adding specific strains of bacteria to pasteurized milk allows more consistent production.

In the early 1900s, cultured buttermilk was labeled artificial buttermilk, to differentiate it from traditional buttermilk, which was known as natural or ordinary buttermilk.

Buttermilk Pie

Della Creighbaum from Plymouth, Ind., was looking for a recipe for buttermilk pie. She said that this was her son’s favorite pie when he was a little boy and she always made it for his birthday but she lost her recipe many years ago and would like to be able to make it for him again.

Lynn Master from Timonium, Md., saw Creighbaum’s request and sent in a recipe for the pie that comes from her grandparents, Vara and Carl Kelly, of Lillinton, N.C. She writes that both her grandparents were wonderful cooks and bakers and that her grandfather, who was pharmacist, after he retired liked to spend time in the kitchen “measuring and creating edible ‘medicines’ for us to enjoy.”

This simple, quick recipe makes two rich and creamy custard-like pies with a mildly tangy buttermilk flavor. I tested it using a refrigerator pie crusts and I’m sure it would taste even better with a homemade crust, but I doubt you will get any complaints either way. It is best to allow the pies to cool completely before serving otherwise they may be a little runny when you cut them.

BUTTERMILK PIE

Makes: 2 9-inch pies

2 unbaked pie shells

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

1 pint buttermilk

2 eggs beaten

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs, add sugar and flour. Stir in buttermilk and flavorings. Add melted butter. Divide evenly between two 9″ unbaked pie shells. Bake for 45 minutes. Top should be golden brown, and center firm. Cool on wire racks before serving.

Requests:

Mary Ewen from Baltimore is looking for the recipe for the Zucchini bread that was served in the breadbasket at the now closed Harbor Lights Restaurant in North Bethany Beach, Del. It had the consistency and appearance of an applesauce cake.

Karen Herwig from Baltimore is trying to find the recipe for a creamy basil salad dressing that was served warm over a tossed salad at the original Perry Inn, in Perry Hall, Md. The restaurant changed hands several years ago and the new owners did not continue to make the dressing.

If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request, write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21278 or email baltsunrecipefinder@gmail.com.

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