What Is Sour milk and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about sour milk and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 97 recipes to cook tonight.

What is sour milk?

Soured milk  is a food product, distinguished from spoiled milk, and is a general term for milk that has acquired a tart taste, either through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, or through bacterial fermentation.

In recipes, soured milk created by the addition of an acid or by bacterial fermentation can often be used interchangeably. For example, 1 cup of cultured buttermilk, a soured milk produced by bacterial fermentation, can be replaced by 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup. The chemically soured milk can be used after standing for 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find sour milk: Sour milk is usually found in the dairy section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Sour milk is a member of the Dairy and Egg Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

酸牛奶

British (UK) term

Sour milk

en français

lait aigre

en español

leche agria

How much does sour milk weigh?

Related

Dairy and Egg Products

Recipes using sour milk

There are 97 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Syd's Banana Bread

Syd's banana bread is a tender old-school loaf made with shortening, sour milk, mashed bananas, and a half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans. The kind of recipe passed down on a stained index card.

Evedine's Banana Nut Bread

Banana nut bread bakes a moist, walnut-studded loaf using ripe bananas and tangy buttermilk for a tender crumb. A classic Southern family quick bread recipe.

Sugar Cookies For Loved Ones

Old-fashioned sugar cookies made with sour milk, nutmeg, and shortening. A versatile dough that can be dropped soft or rolled and cut into shapes for Valentine's, Christmas, or birthday cookies.

Favourite Whoopie Pies

Classic chocolate whoopie pies with two soft cocoa cake rounds sandwiching a fluffy marshmallow buttercream filling. The Pennsylvania Dutch lunchbox favorite that freezes beautifully.

Lauren's Banana Bread

Moist homemade banana bread made with three ripe bananas and a full cup of sour milk. The buttermilk-style batter bakes up tender with a tight, even crumb and rich banana flavor.

Date Squares

Tired of making cookies and muffins? Try this tasty snack that is sure to make you a fan.

Breakfast Sour Milk Waffles

Sour milk waffles with whipped egg whites folded in for an airy crumb and a crackly crisp exterior. Baking soda meets soured milk for old-fashioned tang and lift, no baking powder required.

Chocolate Zucchini Loaf/Cake

Very good and melt in your mouth recipe that taste so moist and delicious you'll be glad it makes two!!!

Sour Milk Waffles

These warm and delicious waffles are great for breakfast. Serve them with fresh berries and maple syrup.

Hot Cakes

Hot cakes recipe folds beaten egg whites into a sour-milk batter with melted lard for old-fashioned pancakes that puff tall and tender. Eight pantry ingredients.

All-Bran Bread

Who needs all-bran muffins when you can toast up a slice of all-bran bread? Add fruit and nuts and it's a quick and easy grab 'n go breakfast.

Easy Bread Machine Irish Soda Bread

Easy bread machine Irish soda bread: just six ingredients dumped into the machine, press start, and walk away. Sour milk and a little baking soda give it that classic tangy soda-bread flavor and a soft, tender crumb.

White Sour Milk Cake

Milk goes bad, don't just throw it away, make this moist and delicious sour milk cake. Serve it with ice cream or any fruit sauce.

Rocks

Old-fashioned oatmeal cookies loaded with figs, nuts, and warm spices create hearty, chewy treats perfect for holiday baking or lunchbox snacks.

Walnut-Spice Cake

Moist walnut spice cake with brown sugar, nutmeg, and allspice topped with a bake-on meringue. Old-fashioned comfort baking with a crispy, golden crown.

My Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding steams grated carrot and potato with raisins, currants, suet, and warm spice blend into a moist holiday dessert. Serve with brown sugar sauce or custard.

Fig Ginger Cake

Fig ginger cake with boiled dried figs, corn syrup, warm spices, and chopped nuts baked in layers and topped with ginger icing. A vintage spice cake with jammy fruit throughout.

Rye Cakes

Rye cakes: old-fashioned fried griddle cakes made from rye meal, sour milk, eggs, and molasses. Hearty whole-grain breakfast from New England tradition.

Spice Cakes

Old-fashioned griddle spice cakes made with sour milk, nutmeg, and baking soda, stacked with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. A heritage breakfast treat served pie-style in wedges.

Fruit Sponge

Fruit sponge whips gelatin-set sour milk with crushed fruit and beaten egg white into a light, mousse-like vintage dessert. Old-fashioned chilled treat with cloud-soft texture.

Phyllis' Avocado Bread

Phyllis's avocado quick bread with mashed ripe avocado, sour milk, pecans, and a mix of unbleached and whole wheat pastry flour. Faintly green, tender, and a clever way to use up an over-ripe avocado.

Jumbles # 2

Jumbles are old-fashioned filled sandwich cookies, two rolled rounds enclosing a smear of grape jelly with three peek-a-boo windows cut into the top. Vintage pantry treat.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

Green Devil Cake & Chocolate Glaze

Chocolate cake made with pureed green tomatoes, brown sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest, finished with a glossy dark chocolate glaze. Unexpected end-of-garden dessert.

Corn Bread Sticks

Old-fashioned cornbread sticks baked in a corn-stick pan with cornmeal, sour milk, and melted shortening. Crispy golden crust, tender crumb, and ready in 35 minutes.

Country Bran Muffins

Hearty bran muffins packed with fiber from bran flakes and all-bran cereal. Make-ahead batter stores in the fridge for fresh-baked muffins all week.

Toasted Nut Spice Cake

Toasted nut spice cake with brown sugar meringue baked right on top. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a moist sour milk batter, crowned with a crispy-chewy nut meringue layer that bakes alongside the cake.

Vinegar Cake

Vinegar cake is an old-fashioned chocolate layer cake leavened with baking soda and vinegar instead of baking powder. Sour milk and unsweetened chocolate create a moist, tangy, deeply chocolatey crumb.

Fried Elephant Ears

Homemade fried elephant ears: sour-cream and buttermilk dough rolled thin, slit, fried golden, then tumbled in cinnamon sugar. State fair pastry made in your own kitchen.

Grandma's Best Jam Cake

Grandma's jam cake, a Southern Appalachian heirloom spice cake folded with fruit jam, raisins, nuts, and warm cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Old-time celebration cake for caramel icing.

Bonanza Banana Bread

Sheet-pan banana bread baked in a 9x13 pan for a thinner, crustier slice with soft, banana-packed crumb. Uses a sour milk trick for extra tenderness. Serves 6.

Maine Apple Bread

Maine apple bread studded with red apple chunks and walnuts, made with sour milk for a tender crumb. A classic New England quick bread baked in one loaf pan.

Old Fashioned Fruit Cake #4

Old fashioned fruit cake with blackberry jam, fig preserves, watermelon rind preserves, candied cherries, pecans, and cocoa. Baked low and slow in a cast iron skillet.

Favourite Oatmeal Drop Cookies

Old-fashioned oatmeal drop cookies use lard for tender texture, sour milk for tang, and chopped raisins for chew. Big-batch heritage cookie that yields 80 from one bowl.

Honey Chocolate Cake

Honey chocolate cake made with melted chocolate, sour milk, and a folded egg white for lift. A moist, old-fashioned single-layer cake with deep honey sweetness.

My Health Muffins

Health muffins built on a four-flour mix of whole wheat, rye, soy, and wheat germ, packed with chopped dates and nuts. A hearty, fiber-rich breakfast muffin with deep, malty flavor.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

Chocolate zucchini cake with cocoa, cinnamon, and sour milk for a tender crumb, topped with chocolate chips. Grated zucchini keeps it incredibly moist.

Farmer's Bran Bread

Farmer's bran bread builds a sour-milk quick bread loaf from cut-and-stacked rectangles brushed with butter. Old-fashioned pull-apart fiber-rich loaf, homestead-kitchen classic.

Monkey-Faced Cookies

Monkey-faced cookies: old-fashioned molasses drop cookies with ginger and cinnamon, decorated with three raisins for eyes and a mouth. Makes 36 cookies in 30 minutes. A classic kids baking project.

Rocks Cookies

Rocks cookies with oats, brown sugar, figs, nuts, and warm spices in a bumpy, hearty drop cookie. An old-fashioned spiced oatmeal cookie loaded with dried fruit and chopped nuts.

Frosted Spice Fruit Cookies

Frosted spice fruit cookies are old-fashioned molasses-spice rolled cookies loaded with walnuts, golden raisins, and dates, finished with an orange juice glaze. Holiday cookie tin staple.

Jerry's Granny's Vinegar Cake

Old-fashioned vinegar chocolate cake with sour milk, melted chocolate, and a vinegar-baking soda fizz for lift. A heritage two-layer recipe with a tender, velvety crumb.

Excellent Devil's Food Cake

Devil's food cake: a deep, dark, three-layer chocolate cake built on melted chocolate and sour milk for that signature reddish-brown crumb. The classic American showstopper that puts boxed mixes to shame.

Moist Pumpkin Cake

Moist pumpkin cake layered with spiced whipped cream. Brown sugar, cinnamon, sour milk, and pumpkin puree make a tender, old-fashioned two-layer cake for autumn dessert tables.

Hyde Park Fudge Cake

Hyde Park fudge cake is a rich chocolate Bundt made with unsweetened chocolate, sour milk, and a glossy double-boiler chocolate icing. An old-fashioned classic.

Ginger Cupcakes

Old-fashioned ginger cupcakes made with molasses, cinnamon, sour milk, and cake flour. Dark, spicy, and tender with a warm gingerbread flavor.

Brown Bread #2

Old-fashioned brown bread made with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, sour milk, and lard. Mix everything in one bowl and bake. No yeast, no kneading, no waiting.

Mom's Apple Cookies

Mom's apple cookies are soft, cake-like drop cookies with grated fresh apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. Old-fashioned spiced bakery flavor from a lunchbox-friendly batch of three dozen.

Lemon Wonder Cake

A winner in Senior division of the 1953 Pillsbury bakeoff.

Awesome Oatmeal Cookies with Raisin & Walnuts

Old-fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies with walnuts, warm cinnamon and clove, and sour milk for tenderness. Crisp golden edges, soft chewy centers, and the kind of nostalgic flavor that beats any bakery version.

All 97 recipes