The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections from a Small Vermont Dairy by Diane St. Clair

  • Making buttermilk (and butter) from heavy cream (page 5)

    from The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections from a Small Vermont Dairy The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook by Diane St. Clair

    • Categories: How to...
    • Ingredients: heavy cream; buttermilk
    show

  • Show all Recipes...

Notes about this book

  • Breadcrumbs on October 25, 2014

    I was excited when I saw this book since it seems I always have some extra buttermilk in the fridge that needs to be used up. Hopefully my first experience with the recipes isn't indicative of what's to come as the GREEN CHILI STEW WITH MASA DUMPLINGS was a dull flop. First of all, when the recipe has you puree all the veggies (never mind before even cooking them) we're talking soup, not stew in my books. Cooking would have drawn out the natural sweetness and flavours of the vegetables in my view but since they were pureed raw and warmed in the pot they were very "one note" and just green-tasting. Of course once the mixture is heated it turns a dull grey-green and isn't remotely appetizing. The addition of buttermilk, which the author points out, curdles as it hits the pot, just takes this from uninspired looking to off-putting. We poured what was left down the drain. Even a spritz of lime juice couldn't brighten this hot mess!!

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Buttermilk and sour cherry coffee cake

    • bching on April 02, 2017

      Good but a lot of work. I cut the recipe in half.

  • Buttermilk French toast

    • qchu204 on January 06, 2024

      I had buttermilk and was trying to find a way to use it up so made this but didn’t find it tasted noticeably different than making French toast with half and half or milk. Also, the toast burned more easily than when making it with milk/half and half. Next time I’ll save my buttermilk for something else.

  • Smothered country-style pork ribs

    • bching on November 12, 2017

      Good comforting meal--a less processed version of a swiss [pork] steak that I remember from childhood. There was plenty of sauce to add some accompanients to the pan as the cooking time ran down--I pulled added a good handful of green beans and some grits. Next time, I'll season more aggressively.

  • Making buttermilk (and butter) from heavy cream

    • bching on April 02, 2017

      Fun and educational project. The butter I made was delicious and I used some of it to make a compound herb butter--extra delicious!

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

  • Seven Days

    Beautifully photographed by Colin Clark, it features life-on-the-farm passages in St. Clair’s direct prose, buttermilk FAQs and lore, instructions on making it, and recipes using it.

    Full review

  • Cookbooks for Dinner by T. Susan Chang

    ...a comprehensive tour of the buttermilk landscape and its many culinary delights... their backstories are often fascinating (and photographable) and their love for what they make is palpable.

    Full review
  • ISBN 10 1449427537
  • ISBN 13 9781449427535
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Jun 04 2013
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 224
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Imprint Andrews McMeel Publishing

Publishers Text

The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections from a Small Vermont Dairy offers 100 recipes, from sweet to savory, designed to showcase the best that buttermilk can contribute to food, all set in the context of what it is like to live and work on a small Vermont artisanal dairy.

For anyone who’s enjoying a return to real food, true buttermilk remains one of the great undiscovered pleasures. Many people enjoy organic produce, grass-fed meats, artisan breads, but “real” dairy has been slower to reach a wide market. Dairy products have long been pasteurized and homogenized into bland tastelessness, with no regard to where the product came from or how it was made.

On Animal Farm, in Orwell, Vermont, butter and buttermilk production is at a new level. This book explains how Diane St. Clair does this, from animal husbandry and land management to creamery processes. Learn how to make your own butter and buttermilk at home, and then enjoy the fabulous ways in the kitchen that buttermilk enhances food flavors and textures.

These are practical but unique recipes for using buttermilk—everything from buttermilk doughnuts dipped in maple syrup to salmon chowder, buttermilk ricotta gnocchi, and harissa buttermilk salad dressing. Families will love the buttermilk bechamel pizza, the spicy buttermilk gingerbread, and smothered pork chops in buttermilk sauce. Buttermilk is not just for waffles or biscuits anymore—although you'll find the best recipes for these in this book too!

Other cookbooks by this author