[Sca-cooks] Buttermilk?

[Rikke D. Giles]

On 2004.12.03 22:40, Micheal wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <lilinah at earthlink.net>
> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 3:01 PM
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Buttermilk?
> 
> 
>> With all this discussion of sourdough and lactic acid fermentation,  
>> i have a question entirely unrelated to bread...
>> 
>> In the US the only buttermilk i think i have ever drunk is  
>> commercial cultured dairy buttermilk. I am quite fond of the stuff,  
>> especially in the summer, and can easily go through a quart in a day  
>> or a tad more.
>> 
>> Question One
>> 
>> To the best of my knowledge, buttermilk was originally the whey (if  
>> that is the appropriate word) left after churning cream into butter.  
>> I believe i have never had this. I would assume it would not be as  
>> thick as the cultured buttermilk, but that's just a guess. So, what  
>> would its texture be and why would it be sour?
>> 
>> (side bar: i seem to recall a commercial brand that claims to be the  
>> result of the process of churning butter, but as best i recall, it  
>> didn't seem vastly different from my preferred cultured brand.  
>> Perhaps real churned buttermilk actually isn't?)
>> 
>> Question Two
>> 
>> When i was in Morocco, i had a dairy beverage which name has been  
>> translated into English as buttermilk, but i know nothing of its  
>> production method. It was indeed thinner than the usual USAmerican  
>> cultured buttermilk. But what i found most interested was the mouth  
>> sensation it induced. While not in the slightest carbonated, there  
>> was a "fizzy" or "tingly" mouth feel. Was this due to lactic acid  
>> fermentation? I've had plenty of dairy products produced by  
>> lactobacilli and never noticed this sensation. What is this? I'd  
>> love to reproduce it or find a source to purchase it.
>> 
>> Thanks for any clues,
>> 
>> Anahita

Was it Ayran?  This is yogurt blended with water and a pinch of salt.   
This is drunk in Turkey under the name Ayran.

Aelianora de Wintringham
Barony of Dragon's Laire
Kingdom of An Tir