The product is then gently stirred and cooled to stop fermentation. Buttermilk flakes or liquid butter may be added to cold buttermilk to give the product a churned buttermilk appearance. That acidity is what produces a tender crumb during baking, retarding the development of wheat flour's toughening gluten. Dairy products contain some of these sugars. Buttermilk's appeal doesn't stop there.
Savvy cooks choose it to send some meats and seafood on a lawful acid trip.
Chicken or firm-fleshed fish bathed a while in cold buttermilk soak up moisture and flavor, and hold fast to bread crumbs applied before frying. More than a marinade, buttermilk offers a tasty way to thin heavy dressings or other prepared dishes. Susan Crane asks, not waiting for a response. The other are those who have discovered its talents in cooking. It can be gulped straight, or combined with equal parts tomato juice in a drink called Blushing Buttermilk.