should I sour milk for an old banana cake recipe or just use buttermilk

Katherine Schayes
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4 Comments

Maedl April 3, 2015
It depends what you mean by ‘souring’ milk. If by ‘souring’, you mean to add vinegar or lemon juice, then that will work well and is practical if you don’t use a lot of buttermilk. If you mean can you let the milk sit out until it gets sour, no, that is not good. When pasteurized milk turns, it is spoiled, not soured, and is not something you should consume.
 
Regine April 2, 2015
I thought sour milk was synonymous with buttermilk. But I think 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon mixed 15 tbsp milk (one cup) should be a good substitute for buttermilk. I have made my banana bread with both without seeing a difference in the cake texture.
 
boulangere April 2, 2015
If you use a whole milk (4%) and sour it with vinegar, you'll achieve the moist, tender effect of using buttermilk. Don't use anything lower than 2%, because the acids and fat both have a tenderizing effect on the proteins in the cake.
 
Joyce P. April 2, 2015
The short answer is "Yes".

The long answer is as follows: Yes, because it makes a difference in the crumb of the cake. Buttermilk lends such a nicer, softer crumb that is much nicer than using (naturally or artificially) soured milk. It is, without a doubt, a much better cake, when made with buttermilk.
 
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