A few weeks ago, I was trying to cook biscuits and one of the ingredients for the recipe was heavy cream. I did not have any heavy cream at the time, but I had buttermilk; that is how this post came about.  I was wondering if I could use the buttermilk instead of the heavy cream, and this is what I discovered.

Buttermilk is not the same as heavy cream. Heavy cream is made by skimming the fat from unhomogenized milk and contains 36–40% fat; Buttermilk is made by milk sugar lactose, water, and the milk protein casein and is lower in fat.

The Difference Between Buttermilk and Heavy Cream

Buttermilk	Heavy Cream
Thinner texture, tangy flavor	Thicker, creamy flavor
Low in fat	Higher in fat
Sour, tangy	Rich
Thicker than milk	Thick and heavy

Therefore, buttermilk and heavy cream are not the same.  

What buttermilk?

Buttermilk is essentially the liquid left over after the whole milk has been churned into butter. This would be the traditional buttermilk that you can find in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The buttermilk you find in the grocery stores consists of mostly milk sugar lactose, water and milk protein casein.

Nutrition

1 cup of buttermilk provides the following nutrients, according to Food Data Central:

Calories: 98

Protein: 8 grams

Calcium: 22% of the Daily Value (DV)

Carbs: 12 grams

Fat:3 grams

Fiber: 0 grams

Sodium: 16 % DV

Riboflavin: 29% DV

Vitamin B12: 22% DV

Pantothenic acid: 13 % DV

Health Benefits

Easy to digest

Supports Strong Bones

Improve Periodontitis (inflammation of the gums)

Might help lower cholesterol levels

Lower blood pressure levels

What is heavy cream?

Heavy cream is like milk, but because it contains approximately 38 % of fat is thicker than milk. Heavy cream has a fatty, rich, creamy flavor. Its is produced at dairies by sending pasteurized milk through a fat separator, which spins the milk capturing the fat that rises to the top and the skim milk in the bottom.

1 cup of heavy cream provides the following nutrients, according to Food Data Central:

Calories: 809

Fat: 85.9 g

Sodium: 64.3 g

Carbohydrates: 6.76g

Fiber: 0 g

Sugars: 6.95g

Protein: 6.8g

Can you substitute buttermilk for heavy cream?

It depends, you can substitute buttermilk for heavy cream. Buttermilk has an acidic taste which will alter the flavor of the recipe that originally called for heavy cream. If you don’t want an acidic taste in your recipe, mix 3/4 cup of milk with 1/3 cup of melted butter.

To substitute buttermilk for example you can do

1 cup of heavy cream with 2/3 cup buttermilk and 1/3 cup oil instead.

Can I have buttermilk on keto diet? Buttermilk is not good for ketogenic diet because it has high carbs and therefore will kick you out of ketosis. On the other hand, buttermilk is low in fat and in a keto diet you have to eat fat. You can substitute buttermilk with heavy cream for example and make Buttermilk Style Biscuits

Keto buttermilk-style biscuits

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serving: 15 biscuits (the number of biscuits depends on the size you make them)

Ingredients

½ cup of heavy cream

1 egg

1/3 cup butter cut in pieces

1 tsp vinegar

2 tsp baking powder

2 cups almond flour

½ cup whey isolate

1 tsp xanthan gum

Instructions

Heat oven at 400 F

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

Whisk the heavy cream, the egg, and vinegar in a mixing bowl

Add the baking powder, xanthan gum, almond flour, and why isolate and make a thick batter

Grate the batter in the mix

Make the biscuits with your hand, first mixing the batter well with the butter.

Place the biscuits on the cooking sheet and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes

Nutritional Information per biscuit: Calories: 248, Fat: 23.6 g, Carbs: 4.6g. Net Carbs: 2.6g, Protein: 7.2g

Traditional Buttermilk Biscuits

Where did buttermilk biscuits originate? The word biscuit comes from Latin bis coctus, that means “twice baked”. They were originally made by the British. A typical recipe will include buttermilk, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and butter. Biscuits are usually a savory food item. Sugar is not part of the traditional recipe.

The Southern History of Biscuits | Southern Living

Traditional Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Preparation time:10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving: 10 o 15 biscuits depending on the size you make them

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Salt to taste

6 tbsp of cold butter cut into cubes

¾ cup buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour

Add the butter and combine with the flower with your hands

Add the buttermilk and mix till you form a dough

Make the biscuits and place them in the cooking sheet

Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush with melted butter

Enjoy!!

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