Let’s Talk Food: Buttermilk — a versatile ingredient

I always have buttermilk in my refrigerator, as I never know when I will need it to make buttermilk fried chicken, a yellow cake, waffles, pancakes, scone, biscuits, mashed potatoes or salad dressing.

Buttermilk originally was the byproduct from churning butter. Today, it’s made from nonfat or low fat milk that is “cultured” with lactic acid bacteria.

Buttermilk is made by fermenting lactose, breaking down the sugars, which then lowers the lactose. This means that although buttermilk contains some lactose, it is much less than milk, so many people with lactose-intolerance can drink it.

In addition, this sour or fermented milk has live, active cultures of healthy bacteria and contains probiotics that help limit the amount of unhealthy types of bacteria in our digestive tract. This lowers the risk of getting diarrhea and is useful when taking antibiotics.

In Ayurvedic medicine, buttermilk, or “chaas,” is used as a medicine to maintain health as well as treat disease. It improves digestion, treats inflammation, digestive disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, aids in appetite, spleen and liver disorders and anemia. It can be taken instead of an antacid as it fights acidity in the stomach. It also helps with acid reflux after meals as it cools the stomach and soothes any irritation.

After eating a spicy meal such as curry, buttermilk soothes the stomach lining. It also washes down oil, butter and ghee.

In addition to Ayurvedic treatments, a study found the milk fat molecules in buttermilk contain unique bioactive proteins that lower cholesterol and have antiviral, antibacterial and anticarcinogenic properties. This same study found drinking buttermilk every day can significantly reduce blood pressure.

There’s even more to simile about when it comes to buttermilk: Nectar is for the gods and goddesses, buttermilk is for human beings.

So, grab the buttermilk from your refrigerator before you grab your antacid.

Here are some recipes with buttermilk:

Buttermilk and Blue Cheese Dressing

Makes: 2 cups

Mix together in a medium bowl:

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup mayonnaise

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight before serving.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes: Eight 6-inch pancakes

Mix in a medium bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Separate:

2 large eggs

Place whites is a clean bowl and whip until soft peaks form.

Place egg yolks in a medium bowl with:

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix to combine, fold in egg whites gently until there are no white streaks.

Place 1/4 cup batter into hot griddle coated with butter.

Cook pancakes until cooked on one side, about two to three minutes, flip pancakes and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with additional butter and maple syrup.

Small bites

There are a lot of websites about foods that children should not eat. As I teach cooking classes to children, at E.B. DeSilva, Hawaii Community College Summer Youth Academy and The Kitchen on Haihai Street and distribute “Hawaii Healthy Me” books to every fourth-grader in public schools on this island, along with being a grandmother, I cannot help but think how important it is to teach kids about foods.

• Sweet, colorful breakfast cereals are usually high in sugar, corn syrup and/or fructose. Check the ingredient list. If the first three ingredients are either sugar, corn syrup or fructose, don’t buy it. Instead, look for breakfast cereal with at least 3 grams of protein and 3 grams or more of dietary fiber.

• Hot dogs and bologna are highly processed and could contain nitrites, which are linked to an increased risk of cancer. Red and processed meats increase the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

• Many fried foods from fast-food restaurants are cooked in oil containing additives, such as dimethypolysilxane, or an “anti-foaming” agent.

• Sugary drinks are high in sugar and are empty calories.

• Gummy types of fruit snacks are high in sugar, artificial coloring and preservatives and stick to teeth.

• Packaged lunches that contain deli meats, cheese and crackers are all considered processed foods with preservatives, nitrites and food colors.

• Toaster strudels are high in sugar, the jelly filling is also loaded with sugar and, on top of that, there is the icing.

• That blue box of mac and cheese is high in sodium and contains food colors.

• Microwave popcorn is in bags lined with perfluoroctanic acid, or PFOA, which is linked to cancer, postponed puberty, thyroid disease and high cholesterol in children. It is healthier to pop your own popcorn.

• Kid’s yogurt or Gogurt, which is squeezable yogurt, contains too much sugar and artificial colors.

• The natural acidity in tomatoes means more BPA, or bispherol–A, a chemical additive found in canned foods, that could leach out of the cans. BPA is linked to childhood obesity, asthma, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes and liver problems.

Nibble on this

• Hawaii Community College’s culinary students are back at school and serving great hot lunches in the cafeteria and the Bamboo Hale. This week, the foods of Thailand and the Asian Standard Menu will be featured through Friday. Call 934-2591 to make reservations from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Email me at audreywilson 808@gmail.com.