I used to get this brand of powdered buttermilk at the supermarket. It might still be there. Price is probably lower than Amazon's, as they include shipping.

Click here

For baking, you can add a spoonful of white vinegar to milk to get something similar to buttermilk.

It's a grocery store item, not particularly unusual. Look for it where the dry milk products are sold.

Good question Moni. We don't drink it, but I do have a couple of recipes that call for it, like the brownie bar (Texas sheet) cake. And I'm always pouring a quantity out then if not organized enough to make pancakes, waffles or something with what's remaining by the use date. I've bought it powdered at Safeway grocery (picture of a chef in chef's hat on the recloseable can) and it's OK, may very slightly change the texture of the cake. I don't know if it would result in a product you could rehydrate and happily drink, enjoy.

There are youtube videos on dehydrating milk, sour cream, eggs - done with an actual dehydrator which I don't have.

I have just one friend who regularly keeps it to drink, and he's several miles away not next door so not always handy to pass it on to him.

Just about any grocery store or Walmart. It's in the baking aisle near the canned evaporated milk.

I looked for it at sprouts, and no luck. Guess I add some to my next amazon order.

I found it at my local market. It might be in the baking section, cannot remember. I think after opening, it says to keep in the refrigerator.

SACO brand, linked above at Amazon, is commonly found along with the powdered milk at most grocers. If your store carries Bob's Red Mill products, they also carry it.

I keep powdered buttermilk in our home food storage, but I find it's rather insipid when reconstituted, compared to commercial buttermilk, but I have found a "fix" for that. I like to use it to culture milk - either commercial milk, or in my case, reconstituted powdered milk - to make a homemade fermented version that has the characteristics of commercial buttermilk - rather than the weak-as-water reconstituted version from powdered buttermilk and water.

I use this method when I need a LOT of buttermilk for all the things I make for St. Patrick's Day to help save some money because buttermilk has gotten pretty expensive. You can also freeze commercial buttermilk. Occasionally I'll find a pint of cultured lowfat buttermilk reduced for quick sale, and I'll freeze it in 1/2-cup amounts to use as a culture for the homemade version. Just be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator. If you thaw it in the microwave or in hot water, the heat will kill the good bacteria needed to make it culture properly.

How to....

Recipe from "Natural Meals In Minutes" by Rita Bingham.

Scald a quart jar with boiling hot water and allow to air-dry.

Add 1/2 cup of commercial buttermilk, OR reconstituted powdered buttermilk, to the quart jar. Fill the remaining space of the jar with commercial milk or reconstituted powdered milk [leaving about 1-inch of space from the top rim of the jar]. You can use any type of milk you like.... whole milk, 2%, low-fat, and fat-free, your choice.

Stir well and cover [I use a plastic canning jar lid]. Let stand in a warm place (at least 80°F) until clabbered, about 12-18 hours. [I put it in my oven with the light on, as far from the light as possible (or take the temperature to make sure it's around 80°F where you place it]. Once it has clabbered, remove it from the oven, stir it and refrigerate. To keep the buttermilk fresh, make a new batch at least every two weeks; and you can now use 1/2 c. of the former batch of homemade buttermilk as the culture.

You can easily make this recipe in smaller amounts, if needed. Just make a 1/2 or 1/4 recipe.

-Grainlady

I'm going to guess that powdered buttermilk isn't a very acceptable substitute for the real stuff when it comes to drinking it. I also don't think most people would want to go through the trouble to make their own when it's so easy to just pick up a carton at a grocery store.

I have the container of buttermilk powder that Alisande linked to. Not sure if I would want to make something to drink with it but it is good when you need buttermilk for baking or pancakes. I also buy it at the bulk food store. Best stored in the freezer. It is hard to find smaller containers of buttermilk here in the stores, I dislike having to buy the liter carton and then having to waste it. My Dad loved drinking buttermilk, back then I remember it was a bit chunky with bits of butter

This works for me, when baking and I need buttermilk)

Buttermilk for 1 cup: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup

My other go-to as a buttermilk substitute in a recipe is my homemade milk kefir. I use kefir as a substitute for plain yogurt; drain the curd and it substitutes well for cream cheese or sour cream, depending on how long you drain the whey from the curd.

I thin plain yogurt with regular milk and use that whenever I need buttermilk for a recipe.

All the powdered buttermilk I have seen is recommended for use in recipes and baking. I don't think it would be very palatable for drinking. Dairy buttermilk in the fridge lasts awhile. Seems a drinker of it would easily use a quart before it went bad.