Buttermilk - The Forgotten Summer Drink

Author: Mark Velov Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: January 27, 2026

In this article, learn more about Buttermilk - The Forgotten Summer Drink. What is the difference between buttermilk and kefir?.

Prepared from yogurt, buttermilk is a traditional Bulgarian drink, which is slowly and gradually losing its popularity after the onset of mass urbanization of the population and to this day remains in the shadow of kefir.

The drink is obtained by extracting butter from semi-fermented milk, for which purpose it can use cow's, goat's, sheep's and buffalo's milk.

The main difference between kefir and buttermilk is that the latter drink has a thicker consistency and a higher percentage of fat. Also, buttermilk has a variable taste: when fresh it is slightly sweet, but if it stays for more than a day, it acquires a pleasant, sour-tart taste due to the ongoing fermentation process.

Although in Bulgaria, due to the increasing share of the urban population, this unique drink is losing its popularity, replaced by the easier to prepare and more durable kefir, in the west it is gaining popularity as a healthy drink for athletes. It's called buttermilk . With this name, it is again trying to appear on the Bulgarian market.

The big chain stores offer two main types of this product: full- fat and low-fat . In addition to their caloric and fat content, they also differ in the concentration of vitamins.

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One cup of full-fat buttermilk contains 152 calories , while low-fat butter contains only 98. In the same quantities, full-fat butter contains 8.1 g of fat , 4.7 g of which is saturated fat, while the lighter drink contains 2.2 g of fat. 1.3 g of which - saturated. This makes a full-fat product unhealthier because it is many times more likely to cause an increase in "bad" LDL cholesterol and cause hypertension and related cardiovascular disease.

In terms of vitamins, however, full-fat buttermilk wins: one cup contains 404 international units of vitamin A and 127 units of vitamin D, while low-fat buttermilk contains 115 units of vitamin A and only 10 units of vitamin D.

In terms of calcium, both drinks offer similar concentrations - about 280 milligrams per cup, as well as about 8 grams of protein.

If you take enough vitamins A and D, whether with other foods or supplements, experts advise to choose a low-fat product because it will be much more useful for heart function, neural communication and bone strength. A

Buttermilk - The Forgotten Summer Drink

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