Buttermilk was traditionally a by product of homemade hand churned butter. Buttermilk was the liquid that remained after the butter had been made. The liquid contained small particles of floating butter and some traces of butterfat. This gave the buttermilk a rich sweet flavor and made the drink very refreshing. It was also commonly used in homemade biscuits, salad dressings such as ranch and as the dipping liquid for fried chicken.

Today buttermilk is mass produced and has only a trace resemblance to the original form of buttermilk. In today