Buttermilk ice cream is awesome. I make it with blackberry swirled in.

Buttermilk is very good for making green pea soup: just lightly cook some frozen green peas in boiling stock (til they turn bright green), add some buttermilk, blend. Tah dah!

Once you get a taste of Smitten Kitchen's raspberry buttermilk cake, there is no such thing as leftover buttermilk. Freezes beautifully, too!

Don't suppose it occurred to you just to pour a big o' glass and drink it? I prefer it with a couple turns of fresh ground pepper.

I add it to avocado with some vanilla extract, sometimes honey, and cocoa powder to make pudding.

Very rarely do I ever buy fresh buttermilk. I always have a container of dry buttermilk powder in my frig. I only use it in cooking and baking. I don't make many things that require fresh buttermilk, like salad dressing. You can find this product next to the dry milk in your market and is a lifesaver for me.

Buttermilk helps make the tastiest mashed potatoes. I once had a boyfriend from the south and he would make them with buttermilk and garlic. Delicious!

@ccp mbd I've used powdered buttermilk in ranch dressing with no ill effects.

I put together a small list of recipes to use up buttermilk, since I've had the same problem:

http://www.food.com/cookbook/buttermilk-300575

I have a question about THAWING buttermilk. How the heck do you defrost it in under 10 hours? Or don't you? It separates as it melts so it really has to be in liquid state again so you can shake it back together. I once froze half a carton and thought I'd micro defrost it. I don't have enough patience, apparently.

I just rediscovered Smitten Kitchen ... love IT! Check out smittenkitchen.com's buttermilk-laden recipes: http://smittenkitchen.com/search-results/?cx=009671904594399389362%3Aoll_ocju5k8&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=buttermilk#911

These buttermilk chocolate chip cookies are pretty great. They have really nice, fudgey interiors, where as most other buttermilk cookie recipes I found are cake-like and fluffy.

Oh and, I totally prefer using buttermilk instead of regular milk in this Strawberry Dumpling recipe from Epicurious.

Claudia Flemings Buttermilk Panna Cotta is my favorite way to use buttermilk.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Buttermilk-Panna-Cotta

Once I used buttermilk in my pancakes & biscuits the first time, I couldn't go back to regular milk.
- frying fish or chicken ... marinating chicken overnight (less time for fish due it's delicate nature) gives AMAZING flavor!
- need buttermilk in a pinch? make you own ... For 1 cup buttermilk: put 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice in measuring cup, fill to 1 cup line with milk, stir, let sit 10 minutes to thicken before using.
- Thanks for this post! I've used leftovers in creamy dishes like grits, Cream of Wheat, mashed potatoes, French onion dip, macaroni & cheese, etc.

@cmcinnyc - I measure my leftover buttermilk into 1 cup amounts and freeze it in individual ziplocs. They thaw on the counter in a decently short amount of time (or submerged in a sink of warm water). After it's thawed, I just shake the ziploc to reincorporate the separated liquids and solids.

If you have as little as 1/4 of buttermilk left, you can make King Arthur Flour's Simple Sugar Cookies: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simple-sugar-cookies-recipe

Sorry, I meant 1/4 cup!

Thanks, skeddy. I can see how the thin ziplock would defrost much faster than the nice thick carton!

I can't bring myself to buy a carton of buttermilk. It always goes half wasted. So instead I use a buttermilk substitute. About a cup of milk and Tbsp of vinegar works every time!

@Maypop80 ... My Southern family (parents, grandparents, etc.) loves buttermilk in a glass. As a child, my job during Thanksgiving & Christmas cooking was to crumble the homemade cornbread for dressing. My Mom & Grandmom would enjoy buttermilk with cornbread crumbles during a break so much that I couldn't wait to try it ... I was disappointed that I didn't love it as they did. Treasured memories of them every time I use buttermilk ... perhaps I'll try it again.

I have leftover buttermilk when I make homemade butter...and then I make pancakes!

Biscuits/pancakes FTW, because chances are you'll have flour and butter around. I use it in cakes and cupcakes as well.

@maypop80: that is an...aquired taste.

I'm with maypop80---I love to drink the first glass of buttermilk out of a new carton. Yes to freezing it in one-cup portions. Yes, to buttermilk pound cake and buttermilk brownies (the best ever). The bread recipe I use in my breadmaker calls for buttermilk. I make pecan pralines in the microwave that uses buttermilk and I wish I'd never seen the recipe because it is too, too easy and I have no will power to resist them. It adds great low-fat flavor to mashed potatoes, too.

I have used vinegar and milk in an emergency, but I wouldn't call it a substitute by any means. Powdered buttermilk isn't anywhere close either.

Perfect timing. I didn't have time to make biscuits the other day and now I have a carton of buttermilk in the fridge. I think I'll try biscuits tomorrow morning and maybe fried chicken later in the week (there goes trying to eat healthy).

@SunnyBlue ... pleeeeease share your pecan pralines recipe!

I'm with maypop80, just drink it! Here in Holland lots of people drink it with some kind of fruit syrup, like strawberry or raspberry syrup! Delicious!!

The Smitten Kitchen linked recipe for Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie is a favorite of mine. It was a huge hit at Thanksgiving last year and will make an appearance again this year. Thanks for reminding me!

I puree apple peels with buttermilk, mix in a couple of eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar, and some milk--and then pour over bread cubes to make a wonderful bread pudding.

The chef on Mad Hungry made a strawberry shake using strawberry sorbet & buttermilk ... LOVE it!