Milk, Lemons & Comfort (Buttermilk Substitute)

There was a time when I never thought life in Japan would feel comfortable. And by “there was a time” I mean “until about 2 months ago”. Yes, this third year has brought me around the corner of paralyzing fear and I have found that there is life outside of Minnesota. Don’t misunderstand- this does not mean that I love Minnesota any less. It is and always will be my home. No matter where I live from here on out, I will never be able to replace the space in my heart reserved for the Twin Cities. That’s the truth. However, my deeply grounded roots have been extended farther than I thought possible.

Thinking back to the first months of life here in Tokyo, every time I went to the grocery store I was reminded how far away from home I really was. It wasn’t as much the distance as the complete change in everything I knew. Roads I had known like the back of my hand were no where to be seen. My car was nonexistent. I couldn’t call up my sister or best friends in the middle of the afternoon just to say “hey”. No. Instead, I found myself staring at milk cartons covered in kanji, hiragana, and katakana. And speaking of milk, it tasted different. Too different. I had no idea what half of the food items were that I passed in the grocery store and I had no intention of trying them. At least not yet. Fortunately, that fear subsided and I was able to crawl my way out of the Tokyo-sized culture-shock hole I had crawled into.

Please don’t misunderstand- crawling out of this deep, dark hole did not mean that I was suddenly prepared to try anything and everything. I couldn’t just dive headfirst into tiny fish ovens and 2 burner stove tops. Instead, I tried to MacGyver the foods I could find into something more familiar. Or substituting new ingredients to make my favorite recipes, like whole wheat pancakes.

One trick I figured out early on (the first month or two after moving into our first apartment) was a substitute for buttermilk. I have never seen buttermilk in Japan. If you have, please let me know because I probably just can’t read the packaging…

This post is coming not long after Kamran, a contributor at the Kitchen Generation, posted a buttermilk substitute. If you haven’t taken a look at their site, please do. It’s fantastic! What a talented group of youngins! Anyway, the milk + vinegar method is a pretty fail-proof and common way to go. However, if you don’t have vinegar on hand, you can use fresh lemon juice instead.

Here is the recipe:

Simply add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice per 1 cup milk. Let it sit for about 1 or 2 minutes (it will start to curdle slightly but don’t worry) and use the way you would normal buttermilk.

Simple, right? Even if your corner grocery store carries buttermilk (do those even exist in the U.S. anymore?) or if you are in a crazy country that just doesn’t specialize in buttermilk, this is a great substitution to have in the vault.

Tagged as: baking