Does Buttermilk Spoil?
Once opened, buttermilk will usually last anywhere between 10–15 days if kept in the refrigerator. However, you can preserve it for a longer period by storing it in an air-tight container and letting the bottle rest in the fridge. It’s better to throw away your buttermilk if you detect any changes in the way it looks or smells to prevent falling ill.
If your buttermilk has become more sour than creamy, it may have gone bad. If the buttermilk is very thick, shows signs of mold or other discoloration, or has a strange smell or taste, discard it. Since it is lactic acid that causes the drink to spoil, it is safe to say that buttermilk is dead if it has a strong unpleasant sour smell. Expired buttermilk can make you sick due to lactic acid, which makes buttermilk sour.
Yes, you can use expired buttermilk, as long as it doesn’t have a strong and unpleasant smell, up to 2 weeks after the expiration date. If you can’t tell if your buttermilk has gone bad by its smell, taste, and texture, and it’s not past its expiration date, it’s okay to use. It’s hard to tell if buttermilk is bad, especially if you’re not used to using it at home because it has a very different texture than cow’s milk, and it also has the spicier smell that many of us associate with whole milk. You can also just use buttermilk, once you separate it from the buttermilk it will be more milk-like than more tart buttermilk.
Similarly, you can re-grow your buttermilk if you want it to taste natural. You can also freeze buttermilk, but this will greatly change the texture and taste. If the buttermilk is expired but still looks good, you can freeze it for later use, but it doesn’t need to be refrozen after that. You can only store opened buttermilk in the refrigerator if you plan to consume it within 14 days.
| Signs | |
| Color | If the color of the buttermilk starts to fade, then it has gone bad |
| Mold | Your buttermilk has gone bad if mold starts to appear on it |
| Smell | If the buttermilk has a strong smell, then it is best to throw it away |
If you leave it sealed in its original container in the refrigerator, you can drink it up to two weeks after the expiration date. Use common sense here: if you open buttermilk 14 days after the expiration date, don’t expect it to be good two weeks later. You can expect your buttermilk to keep for 7-14 days past its expiration date if you put it in the fridge as soon as you get home from the grocery store. You can only store buttermilk for a limited time before it stops tasting.
You can keep buttermilk alive for as long as possible by storing it below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It can become very acidic and spoil if not stored properly. Buttermilk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, but will spoil after a few days if kept in temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Even with all the precautions taken, you can’t tell if a seller or shipper is putting your buttermilk in the freezer, basically making sure it spoils much faster than the usual two weeks.
If you’ve left an open jar of buttermilk in the fridge and don’t know how long it’s been in there, chances are it’s spoiled, even though it looks and smells fine. Don’t take risks. Buttermilk is perfectly safe in the freezer, but be sure to freeze it as soon as you get home from the store. If you ensure proper storage conditions, your buttermilk can keep in the freezer for a couple of months, but is best used within three months of the freeze date. If you need a longer shelf life, you can put the buttermilk in the freezer.
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In addition to storage, if you mix any other food or liquid with buttermilk, the shelf life may be affected. Buttermilk will keep for 1-2 weeks after the date printed on the package and can usually be used for cooking and baking after that. Yes, expired buttermilk, unless it is already moldy, can be safely used in cooking, if this product is listed as one of the necessary products in the list of ingredients. Because the standard for buttermilk packaging is usually over 1 liter, unless you’re going to use it to make a big batch for a big party, you can’t run out of unused buttermilk.
If you are pretending to use buttermilk immediately, take the correct amount to be added to your recipes in a separate bowl or container with unused buttermilk, there are 2 options you can apply. The separated buttermilk can be remixed, but it will still taste sour, so we recommend using it for cooking purposes only. The fact that thawed buttermilk has separated is not evident in such recipes, and the acid content remains the same. Buttermilk has a slightly thick, eggnog-like consistency and is not recommended to be added to coffee of any kind.
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After about two weeks, an open container of buttermilk will become thicker, more acidic, and less drinkable, but you can still use it to make pancakes and other dishes. The average storage time for a cold dairy product, such as milk, outside the refrigerator is two hours; buttermilk may stay a little longer due to its acidity, but it should be checked for signs of spoilage. Of course, buttermilk can be expensive if you don’t use it often and find it goes bad long before you can use a regular container at your local grocery store. When the acidity of buttermilk becomes extremely bitter and sour when combined, it is a sign that it has been spoiled by heat or has expired.
Can expired buttermilk make you sick?
The consumption of any dairy products after their expiry will make you sick, and so in the case with buttermilk because of the lactic acid, which makes it sour. If you consume expired buttermilk you may be at a risk of food poisoning that includes upset stomach, diarrhea vomiting, and fever.
Can you get food poisoning from buttermilk?
Sharp buttermilk can in any case cause gentle food contamination. It won’t kill you, yet it can make you hurl and give you looseness of the bowels, sickness, and a lot of stomach torment. Try not to cry over ruined buttermilk. Your stomach is sufficiently able to figure out a couple of unintentional tastes, yet we don’t suggest savoring it enormous quantities.
How long is buttermilk good for once opened?
Buttermilk that has been persistently refrigerated will save for around 2 to 3 weeks in the wake of opening. To additionally broaden the time span of usability of buttermilk, freeze it; frozen buttermilk will frequently become isolated and the surface might turn out to be to some degree grainy, yet it is generally OK for cooking and baking purposes.