Make Fluffy Pancakes Without Buttermilk Using This Clever Leftover Tip

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If you've run out of buttermilk and desperately need to make basic but fluffy buttermilk pancakes, don't panic. Look no further than the cloudy liquid that many people usually pour down the drain after straining their homemade yogurt batch: yogurt whey. This surprisingly effective hack can help you achieve tender, fluffy pancakes. Yogurt whey is a natural byproduct of yogurt-making, the liquid that is separated with a yogurt strainer, such as Euro Cuisine's Greek yogurt maker. Alternatively, you can find whey in some health food stores or purchase it online if you need a regular supply.

Yogurt whey is rich in lactic acid and behaves almost the same way as buttermilk does in batters: The inherent acidity in the whey reacts with the baking soda to produce bubbles of carbon dioxide, which lift the batter and make the pancakes fluffy. And it's not just pancakes — bread, cakes, and other baked goods benefit from this reaction. 

The faint acidic taste of whey also counterbalances the sweetness of regular pancake ingredients and toppings, providing a more complex flavor than milk-based recipes. So if there's no buttermilk, there's no problem. This simple substitution is just one of many ways to use yogurt whey instead of tossing it out. It saves breakfast and eliminates food waste by turning your "leftovers" into something delicious.

A useful tip for using yogurt whey to replace buttermilk in a pancake recipe is to use unsweetened, unflavored whey; Greek yogurt is ideal in this case. First, get a cup of fresh yogurt whey, preferably at room temperature. Next, use the whey in place of all of the liquid (milk or water) in your pancake recipe. While mixing, be careful not to mix too vigorously, as this is one of the major mistakes that ruin pancakes.

You should also keep in mind that even if you're not using milk or water, the consistency of your batter should still be able to coat the back of a spoon and drip slowly. If it's too thick, add another tablespoon of whey. If it's too thin, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour. Any unused whey can be frozen in ice cube trays for future batches. And in the future, when you or someone you know strains their yogurt, remember that the whey doesn't have to be wasted. It could be the ticket to pancakes so fluffy, they might just float off your plate.