Buttermilk

August 1, 2012
The fermented version of milk takes center stage in Moose's 50-recipe collection. Praised for its supporting role in creating light and fluffy pancakes, buttermilk, with the help of science and creative culinary arts, becomes a versatile component in such items as bananaville bread, fried calamari, and even lemongrass-green tea panna cotta. Veteran specialty cookbooker Moose (Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes from Simple to Sassy, 2004, etc.) prefaces buttermilk's debut as a bona fide, often critical ingredient with its description, history, and uses as well as tips (e.g., don't freeze it) and old wives' tales (e.g., it gets rid of freckles) about it. That information readies cooks for what follows. Each recipe includes not only how-tos but also a folksy introduction, an attribution (to a restaurant or a person), and notes about substitutions and accompaniments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)