Buttermilk

One of the first things I discovered upon moving to Tennessee was Southerners Love Buttermilk. Growing up my best friend was from Virginia and her favorite meal was beans and corn bread which she washed down with buttermilk.While I still don't drink straight buttermilk, I too have fallen in love with this wonderful Southern treasure. I began my appreciation of this once discarded remnant from churning butter, when practing recipes for the International Biscuit Festival Contest in Knoxville. Using buttermilk made my biscuits light and fluffy. I started using buttermilk in my homemade pancakes and waffles and it really made a difference. Next I started searching regional cookbooks for old time recipes using buttermilk. My first find was Buttermilk Syrup, and while I couldn't imagine what it would taste like I decided to give it a try and Oh how glad I was I did !!! One word 'Amazing'. I now use it on pancakes, buttermilk of course and also use it as a glaze on Sour Cream Pound Cake and cookies. It is so good it would make a piece of leather from an old shoe taste good!! My next buttermilk find came while sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office. Flipping through the pages of a Tennessee Farm Magazine dated December 2011 I came across an article containg a treasure trove of buttermilk recipes compiled by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Market Development Department. My favorite and one I make on a regular basis is called White Lie Buttermilk Pie. I'm not sure where the name came from, but I can not tell a lie, This is one great pie. The last one I made I added well-drained peach slices just before the pie was done. Delish!! In and around Knoxville there is only one buttermilk to use Cruze Dairy Farms. Check out their website and pictures at www.cruzefarmgirl.com BUTTERMILK SYRUP 1 ½ Cups Sugar ¾ Cup Buttermilk ½ Cup Butter 2 Tablespoons corn syrup 1 Teaspoon baking soda Combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Serve warm or cold. White Lie Buttermilk Pie 1 single pie pastry 8 Tbs. unsalted butter 1 Cup sugar 3 Tbs. all purpose flour 3 eggs 1 Cup Whole Buttermilk 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract Preheat oven to 450 degress. Line pastry crust with double thickness of aluminum foil and bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5-6 minutes longer or until shell is light brown. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over low heat ; melt the butter, stir in sugar and flour. Mix until smooth. In a mixing bowl; beat eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly stir buttermilk mixture into the melted butter mixture. Pour into baked pie shell. Using aluminum foil tent the pie and bake for 50-55 minutes or until center is set. Cool on wire rack one hour. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. Serve plain or with whipped cream. ( I sometimes sprinkle the top lightly with ground nutmeg before baking )