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I love making buttermilk pancakes but I can never seem to use up my buttermilk before it passes the expiration date. The thing is, if I take a solid whiff of the "expired" buttermilk it smells great (even up to a month after the expire date).

How can I tell if it's still ok to use?

Aaronut
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jessegavin
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  • I experience the same problem, so I substitute evaporated milk mixed with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar. See my "buttermilk" pancake recipe here: http://www.justrightmenus.com/recipe.php?id=10 I make the pancakes with the substitute every time. – JustRightMenus Jul 17 '10 at 13:06
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    @JustRightMenus - I used that substitution for a long time. I switched to real buttermilk because, although the acidified milk has a similar texture, real buttermilk has a lot more flavor. – Sobachatina Nov 04 '10 at 15:05
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    Personally I find the powdered stuff to be a better substitute than the mixing substitute, which flavor-wise I was not a fan of at all. America's Test Kitchen agrees with me that it is the best backup. – justkt Nov 04 '10 at 15:08
  • @justkt - I haven't used powdered buttermilk. Is it acidic or just the flavor? – Sobachatina Nov 04 '10 at 16:01
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    @Sobachatina - it's the real thing - a powdered form of buttermilk itself plus a few other ingredients. Here's what I use: http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html – justkt Nov 04 '10 at 16:09
  • I gave up on real buttermilk because of the expiration date problem. I switched to using the Saco buttermilk powder a few years ago, and have been VERY happy with the results. It is really nice to always have non-expired buttermilk at hand for my recipes. – Rick G Nov 05 '10 at 00:15
  • Just used some buttermilk over a month past its expiration date, that was opened before the expiration date. It was fine. – PoloHoleSet Sep 13 '16 at 21:50

7 Answers7

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Buttermilk is already thoroughly packed with live bacteria. During its manufacture, that bacteria already consumed some portion of the available lactose and turned it into lactic acid.

Because of the lack of food, acidity, and the extreme competition it is pretty hard for buttermilk to go bad. The good bacteria will stay active and the buttermilk will get thicker and more sour until it runs out of lactose. In fact- when your buttermilk container has about 1/2 cup left you can make more just by refilling the container with milk and leaving it to ferment on the counter for a day. If you use it up more quickly than the bacteria eat the lactose then you can keep this up indefinitely.

Don't worry if it is thicker- if it still smells good then it probably is. As Noctrine said- mold around the lip is the worst risk. I am not a food chemist and despite my personal experience- if you ever suspect that food is bad just throw it out. $2 of buttermilk isn't worth an unpleasant afternoon.

Sobachatina
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    I was curious about the ability to culture more on your own, and found a great reference from a professor of biology & chemistry: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/buttermilk.htm – ken Mar 01 '15 at 07:18
  • @ken- Dr. Fankhouser's site is a great resource for all sorts of home milk fermentation. – Sobachatina Mar 02 '15 at 15:31
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The only time I ever throw buttermilk out is if it has mold in it. I keep it in the back top shelf of the fridge and it does fine. I have some right now with an expiry date of Dec 2012. Whenever I'm making a choc cake or cornbread I open it and if it has no green, Shake it up to incorporate and go ahead and use it. I try to buy the kind in a plastic container, it seems to last longer (like 9 months isn't long enough LOL)

mommyoftwinz
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As long as it's mostly liquid, you're probably ok...Buttermilk tends to turn pretty solid when it goes bad. Still, I'd be scared of using it more than 7-10 days after expiration.

A good trick is to freeze it in the quantities that you typically use, and thaw as needed.

Satanicpuppy
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  • Do you just thaw it in a container. How do you defrost it... just leave it in the fridge, on the counter or... – Kyra Jul 27 '10 at 16:48
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Buttermilk should hold for sometime after the expiry date, in general you should be wary if it has become chunky, and of course (like all food) if it becomes molded.

I've also ran across a few things that said it would have a taste that is more bitter than usual the worse off it becomes.

Jesse Dorsey
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Buttermilk never expires. Ten days after the expiration date, just boil it for a few minutes and let it settle for a while. It makes a great dry yogurt in the form of cookies. They last for years.

mfg
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Abdul Jammaz
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I freeze left over buttermilk in ice cube trays. When frozen, I put the cubes in a plastic bag to be kept in the freezer & use as needed.

MamaDawn
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    Could you expand on this? Presumably the buttermilk will keep in the freezer indefinitely (i.e., it won't "go bad" as long as your freezer is working and kept at a cold enough temperature), but do you thaw it in the fridge? Microwave? Does the texture suffer at all? – Laura Sep 26 '12 at 20:16
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I also have a plastic container of buttermilk in the back of my frig cause it's coldest there for some reason and my expired in nov and it stills smells like buttermilk . I just shake it up before using , do the sniff test, and ck for mold and chunky texture if it's all good then I'm baking . Today I will be making banana bread Happy cooking

Kim
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  • You typically want to check for mold *before* you shake it up. (see [mommyoftwinz's answer](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/36844/67)) – Joe Jan 07 '15 at 15:40