Quick buttermilk help please!

[NJ*Doula]

I'm making my very first pure buttermilk starter from dry starter and raw milk. I followed the instructions exactly (from culturesforhealth.com). I heated the milk first, let it cool down to room temp and added the starter. Then I stuck it in the oven with no heat, just the pilot light, and it's been there for 48 hours tonight. The instuction sheet says to leave it there until it "sets" and it "doesn't run up the sides of the jar". What does this mean? It's full of chunks now, but is still very liquidy. I stirred it up really well with a wooden spoon, and crushed the chunks a little. It's still pretty runny-but-chunky. The sheet says that when it reaches the "set" point that I should put it in the fridge for six hours to culture some more before adding it to a batch of milk to start making buttermilk. Is it there now? Should I stick it in the fridge, or should I leave it to thicken more? Also, it doesn't smell very good - is this normal?

[Magelet]

I usually make my buttermilk either from buttermilk I've made, or from cultured buttermilk from a store. however,
it sets kind of... firm. usually I run a knife down the side of the mason jar, pull it in, and if it takes forever, or doesn't really fill in again, it's set. I think what they mean is that you tilt the jar and the buttermilk stays put.

(btw, it does get a lot more liquidy when you stir it. I don't know what your chunks were like but maybe the chunks were it setting?)

in terms of the smell, it's hard to say. buttermilk has a very distinct smell, but it smells like buttermilk. A deep wiff will definitely turn my stomach, but it doesn't smell like it's gone bad, exactly...

I'm not sure what's up with yours. Maybe the milk was too warm when you added the culture? Usually with both raw and pasturized milk, I take it cold from the fridge, pour it into a mason jar, stir in 2 Tbs per quart, and stick it under the pilot light with the door held open a crack with a pot lid/on the back of the stove (which is very warm), and they go oh... 18-20 hours.

I think I'd put it in the fridge, because you don't want to overdo it. if you let it culture in the warm temp too long, it clabbers (seperates into curds and whey). of course, then you can add some salt and strain it for cheese...)

[NJ*Doula]

Originally Posted by Magelet

if you let it culture in the warm temp too long, it clabbers (seperates into curds and whey). of course, then you can add some salt and strain it for cheese...)

That's what it looks like it's doing. So it's no good for buttermilk now? Darn.

ETA: I just went down and shook it really well. It's much smoother now, but still gritty. I know raw milk buttermilk is often gritty, so I'm hopeful that it's still ok. The sheet says it's ok to let it sit for more than 48 hours if necessary. I'm just concerned about the smell. It doesn't smell sour, but a big whiff made me feel headachey.

[dogmom327]

Clabbered/chunky milk is a bad sign--no need to leave it longer. The most common reason for clabbered milk is that the culture didn't survive so unfortunately you'll want to start over (just use 3/4 tsp. of the dried starter left in your packet with 1/4 cup of milk--that way you'll still have some dried starter to use in the future).

Couple of things to check before you try again. First, check the temperature where the culture was sitting. Being too hot is by far the most common issue when we see clabbered milk. In most ovens, just having the light on gives a good temperature for culturing but we've heard from a few people who's oven get up into the 90 degree range with just the pilot light on--too hot for a mesophilic culture like buttermilk. If you happen to have a thermometer, it's worth double checking.

A less common problem (but it happens) is if there's some soap residue in the container or on the utensils that the dishwasher missed. Soap is detrimental to the culture.

Also not terribly common is issues with the age of the milk. Particularly with raw milk, if it's not fairly fresh, the bacteria load in the milk can compete with the culture (and win given that raw milk bacteria is very strong). This is rarely a factor though with a pure starter since most of the bacteria should have been killed by heating the milk.

Let me know though--I'm always happy to help troubleshoot--we want to be sure this works for you. Lately I haven't been on MDC as much as I'd like but please feel free to e-mail or PM me too