Artist’s Kitchen: Fortunately for us, buttermilk ages well
I wonder what the half-life of buttermilk is. Recent experimentation, with admittedly incomplete data (I ran out of milk), verifies that it’s good for at least 30 days past the stamped expiration date. I don’t normally have much use for buttermilk, but a couple of months or so ago, my wife had a hankering for KFC-style coleslaw, which was easy enough to find via Google. I just picked one that sounded close, since there were several. (This version varies slightly from the one that appeared in the Cook’s Notebook on March 7.)
However, I think we changed our meal plans, and I never got around to making the slaw until after the buttermilk had expired. It still smelled good, though, and in a stroke of luck, my wife’s sister (Hi Bern) from back east sent us a couple of lobsters, hunky two-pounders, in honor of my AARP-qualifying birthday.
The lobsters made the KFC slaw a no-brainer, since it’s the same kind invariably served in Maine, along with the “Do I look like a fool?” plastic lobster bib. This was a bit of a sacrifice for me, since I normally dislike sweet, mayo-based slaws, but the lobsters, along with piping hot French fries, made up for it.
More on the AARP thing in a second. Meanwhile, what do the slaw and pancakes have in common? Just the almost-full quart of buttermilk that I still had. So we’ve been on a pancake binge, of late, and I’d forgotten how quick and easy homemade cakes are. I’ve been using a recipe from our old “Joy of Cooking,” and when I forgot the egg once, they were still tasty, and I’d say the butter’s also optional. You’re going to put butter and syrup on them, anyway, aren’t you?
The aforementioned lobsters didn’t prevent me from turning an AARP-eligible Five-Oh (as in, “Oh, no!”), but I do feel like the worst is over. Isn’t it all downhill, anyway, after you qualify for your AARP card?
Buttermilk Pancakes
From “The Joy of Cooking” (1975), by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten until light
1 cup buttermilk
1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter
Sift the flour, then resift with the sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add buttermilk to the beaten egg, followed by the melted butter.
Combine the dry and the liquid ingredients with a few swift strokes. Do not overmix.
Heat a large skillet over medium and add enough canola or other vegetable oil to comfortably cover the bottom. Spoon batter to desired cake size, and cook until bubbles appear and break across the entire top surface. Alternatively, note the color of the cake’s edge, and flip when it’s firm and turning color. (This will be about a minute and a half or so, depending on batter’s thickness.) Flip only once and cook on the other side about half the time for the first side. Add more oil, as needed, and serve immediately or keep warm in a 180 degree oven.
Yield: Makes about 10 4-inch cakes.
Approximate nutrition per pancake: 77 calories, 2 grams fat (1.7 grams saturated, 38 percent fat calories), 2.4 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 35 grams cholesterol, 250 milligrams sodium.
KFC Coleslaw
From RecipeSource.com
1 head cabbage, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 tablespoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Be sure the cabbage and carrots are finely chopped, about the size of rice kernels. Combine the sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice and beat until smooth. Add the cabbage and carrots and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Yield: 10 servings
Approximate nutrition per serving: 144 calories, 9 grams fat (1.7 grams saturated, 56 percent fat calories), 1.75 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrate, 2.7 grams dietary fiber, 8 milligrams cholesterol, 213 milligrams sodium.