buttermilk
n.n. a thick, slightly sour liquid that is used to make bread and cakes. It is made by adding an acid to milk or by letting milk sit until it sours.
n. a liquid dairy product with a thick, slightly acidic consistency, used as a leavening agent in baking. It is produced either by the addition of lactic acid or by the natural souring of milk.
I use buttermilk to make my pancakes extra fluffy.
The recipe calls for buttermilk instead of regular milk to give the cake a tangy flavor and a better rise.
While traditional buttermilk was the liquid left after churning cream into butter, modern versions are often acidified to replicate the same texture and chemical properties for commercial baking.
Inherited from Middle English butter-melke, equivalent to butter + milk. Cognate with German Low German Bottermelk (“buttermilk”), German Buttermilch (“buttermilk”).