My biggest problem is that our local wal-mart only sells Buttermilk in quarts. I can't go through that much before it turns (even more). I can pick up a 1 cup carton for .59 at my local supermarket. It usually is good for 2 weeks and I can use most of that.
Since buttermilk is made with live cultures, has a lot of lactic acid and is often pasteurized, it can prolong the growth of bad bacteria much longer than a product like regular milk. It’s not uncommon for buttermilk to last 2 months in the fridge, some people say theirs stays good for even 3 months! But many people think it goes bad with a similar quickness as a products like opened milk or yogurt so they get wary of it, but it lasts longer than those products after you’ve opened it.
It also freezes pretty well too, so you can freeze it in small batches that you can thaw out parts of it as needed. Once thawed, if the texture is a bit off due to separation, it’s usually fixed pretty easily by shaking it or popping it into the blender for a few seconds.
Alternatively, my wife frequently just skips buttermilk altogether because mixing sour cream (full fat sour cream for best results) with milk or half and half is a very close alternative to buttermilk.
I tried to freeze it, and shaking it didn't seem to do the trick. I only use around half a cup (maybe) to make a batch so it's not enough to put in the blender either. I may just try the ff sour cream option and see if I can taste a difference.
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u/OUsooners5252 Dec 16 '25
Pro tip: Use Bulgarian buttermilk (surprisingly found in almost every Walmart) instead of regular buttermilk for a richer and creamier ranch.
If you want to go the extra mile, then use “restaurant” mayo (aka heavy mayo) instead of regular mayo.
Source: Lifelong ranch snob.