Buttermilk vs Milk
Though buttermilk is made from milk, we can observe a substantial difference between buttermilk and milk in their nutritional content. However, since milk and buttermilk are two types of dairy products, beverages to be exact, people tend to think they have not much of a difference. Milk is an opaque liquid produced by the mammary glands of animals. It is chiefly used by the human beings as a kind of beverage. It is a complete food in the sense that it is laden with nutrients. If you consider milk, there are even different types of milk such as cow’s milk, goat milk, etc. However, in the normal context, the word milk refers to cow’s milk. On the other hand, buttermilk is a product of milk. Let’s discuss them in detail in order to elucidate the difference between buttermilk and milk.
What is Milk?
Milk comes from the mammary glands of the cow. This milk type is the mostly used milk type in the world as children, as well as adults, drink milk. Moreover, milk is the natural form of food produced by the animals, especially the cow and the buffalo.
An interesting observation between milk and buttermilk is that, milk contains more calories when compared to buttermilk. When it comes to nutrients, cow milk has more selenium. Selenium is important as it has antioxidant properties. Those qualities protect the cells from damage. Also, cow milk is higher in Vitamin B2, which is otherwise known as riboflavin. Cow milk also has more B12 that helps to create red blood cells.
It is said that milk is not very easily digestible. This is a problem some people possess. This digestion problem occurs to people who have a low production of lactase enzyme. That is actually not a problem in the milk. It is rather a problem with people. As a solution, there is lactose free milk in the market. At the same time, people who suffer from lack of lactase enzyme can even get lactase via medicine.
What is Buttermilk?
On the other hand, buttermilk is fermented milk. It is chiefly preferred by the residents of the countries characterized by warm climate. It is interesting to note that the buttermilk prepared by fermenting the milk is not the original buttermilk. The original buttermilk is a byproduct of churning the milk to produce cream and butter. The fat in the milk contributes towards the making of butter. When fat gets removed from milk by churning, what remains is nothing, but buttermilk.
When you consider the nutritional content of buttermilk, while regular milk is laden with fat, buttermilk is said to be characterized by the presence of potassium, vitamin B12, and a great deal of calcium. It is highly beneficial to our health. The calorie count in buttermilk too is far less when compared to that in milk. Hence, buttermilk is recommended by doctors as a drink that supplements any other nutritious food that you take. Buttermilk is widely used in various dieting plans due to the less percentage of calories in it.
It is indeed true that buttermilk is quite easily digestible when compared to milk. This is why buttermilk is used as a digestive drink.
What is the difference between Buttermilk and Milk?
• Definition of Buttermilk and Milk:
• Milk comes from the mammary glands of the cow.
• Buttermilk is the fermented milk.
• Types of Milk and Buttermilk:
• There are different types of milk such as whole milk, 1% fat milk, 2% fat milk, etc.
• There are different types of buttermilk such as dry buttermilk, nonfat buttermilk, buttermilk (low fat, cultured), etc.
• Lactose Intolerance:
• Cow milk is not good for people with lactose intolerance.
• Since buttermilk has less lactose than cow milk, it brings no problem to lactose intolerant people.
• Calories:
• Milk has more calories.1 Milk has 122 calories in one cup.
• Buttermilk has less calories.2 Buttermilk has 110 calories in one cup.
• Calcium:
• One cup of milk has 276 mg calcium.
• One cup of buttermilk has 282 mg calcium.
• Fat Content:
• Milk has 4.88 g fat in one cup.
• Buttermilk has 2.5 g fat in one cup.
• Lactic Acid:
• Milk has less amount of lactic acid.
• Buttermilk has more lactic acid as the bacteria in the milk have multiplied by the time it turns to buttermilk.
• Benefits:
• Milk is great for growing children because of the high calcium content.
• Buttermilk is used as a digestive drink because people find it easy to digest. Buttermilk is also considered good for the skin.
• Acidity:
• Milk has a low pH value.
• Buttermilk is acidic in nature.
• Food:
Though both buttermilk and milk is consumed as beverages people add them to make food items too.
• Milk is added to cereal, porridge, cakes, etc.
• Buttermilk is added as a base for cold soups and buttermilk is used in making various doughs as well.
These are the main differences between milk and buttermilk. As you can see, buttermilk and milk are both dairy products that carry different uses and different values. Both have their nutrients. If you have lactose intolerance, choose buttermilk.
Sources:
Images Courtesy:
- Milk by Benson Kua (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Masala buttermilk by (CC BY 3.0)
