The consumption of buttermilk decreases, but on the other hand, its absence makes the customers of the lunch canteen start to panic immediately.
- Buttermilk consumption is decreasing, but it also has a large group of loyal friends.
- Buttermilk has many health-supporting ingredients.
- There are signs that after a long dark period, buttermilk consumption is on the rise.
Buttermilk consumption in Finland is falling like a cow’s tail, but now a buttermilk product has entered the market that can turn the drink into a new rise.
Yogurts are eaten and drunk more and more, but buttermilk, which is a product very similar to yogurt, no longer tastes like it used to.
At the beginning of the 1970s, a Finn drank an average of more than 30 liters of buttermilk per year, but today it is just under seven liters.
However, we are now seeing signs that buttermilk consumption may be on the rise.
– We drank more buttermilk than milk last year! says the procurement and product manager of the student restaurant chain Unicafe Susanne Reiju.
If the young adults have found buttermilk, it could mean bright times for buttermilk. Student circles can start a trend that changes consumer habits widely.
“It’s always gone”
According to Reiju, Piimä’s popularity in Unicafe restaurants last year is not exactly a new trend.
– We’ve always had buttermilk, says Reiju.
Demand for milk has decreased in Unicafe’s student cafeterias, while oat milk has increased.
Over the years, attempts have been made to raise a glass of buttermilk to the lips of Finns by telling them that buttermilk contains, among other things, calcium, B vitamins, iodine and good milk protein.
Buttermilk is usually fortified with vitamin D and contains lactic acid bacteria that are good for the gut. It is the lactic acid bacteria that give buttermilk its characteristic sour taste.
There are fewer and more acidic options in buttermilk. According to Valio, buttermilk drinkers are quite loyal to exactly the type of buttermilk they like. Adobe Stock / AOP
From coke to kefir
Even though the popularity of yogurts has only grown as it has grown and Finns also pop sour milk curd quite a lot, buttermilk has been overshadowed by other sour milk products.
Even the fact that many different versions of buttermilk are available has not increased the sales of buttermilk.
Some buttermilks are very sour in taste, while others are soft. Some buttermilks contain fat, others are fat-free.
In the grocery store’s milk product cabinets, you can find, for example, buttermilk, skimmed milk and kefir, and of course different versions in terms of fat.
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Piim has differences
Kefir: a fermented drink rich in certain lactic acid bacteria.
Milkshake buttermilk: buttermilk, which also has milkshakes made from curdled milk.
Buttermilk: when butter is churned, buttermilk is produced. This is made by fermenting buttermilk.
“Let’s ask for more right away”
Brand and communications director of the lunch canteen chain Sodexo Mira Perander says by e-mail that in the consumption of liquid milk drinks at Sodexo, the share of buttermilk is about 15.5 percent.
– The share has remained stable over the years, says Perander.
Communications manager of Compass Group Finland, which runs lunch canteens Heini Laitinen says that buttermilk is a food drink especially preferred by middle-aged people.
According to Laitinen, buttermilk drinkers are demanding when it comes to their drink.
– If you run out of buttermilk, you immediately ask for more.
According to Laitinen, the young adults of Compass Group’s customer base don’t really drink buttermilk. The findings of Compass Group and Unicafe on the consumption of buttermilk by young adults are therefore contradictory.
However, it is possible that the new buttermilk trend is already bubbling in Unicafe’s customer base, from which we are just entering the working life represented by Compass Group.
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Make it yourself buttermilk, 2 ways
1. Mix three or four tablespoons of wine vinegar or lemon juice into a liter of milk. Mix well with a whisk, for example. Let it brew at room temperature for about a quarter of an hour.
2. Heat a liter of milk in a pot to hand temperature (37 degrees). Add a couple of deciliters of room temperature buttermilk. Leave at room temperature for about a day. After that, store the buttermilk in the refrigerator.
A brief history of blueberry buttermilk
Kesko’s purchasing and sales manager Laura Koponen says that the sale of buttermilk has decreased by an average of about five percent per year in recent years.
In detail, he mentions that in the first year of the corona virus, i.e. in 2020, the sale of buttermilk went up for a while, but the increase was quickly reversed.
– Everyone drinks buttermilk, from babies to adults. Most buttermilk is bought in adult households, says the category manager Mirva Tollet From Valio.
The EU supports the availability of fat-free, vitamin D-fortified milk and buttermilk in school and kindergarten meals. According to Tollet, this partly guarantees that buttermilk and milk are available for kindergarten children and schoolchildren.
A few years ago, Valio’s selections also included blueberry and peach buttermilk, which, however, did not interest consumers enough.
According to Tollet, kefir milk is currently on the rise in other parts of Europe, where a large selection of different kefirs has arrived in grocery stores.
In the picture, the Turkish foamed ayran drink, which is also buttermilk, is bubbling. Ayran also has some salt. Gulsen Ozcan, Adobe Stock / AOP
Kefir lift
As kefir, buttermilk is already a trendy drink, but basic buttermilk is not.
– I can’t say why this is, admits Tollet.
Piima’s staying in Valio’s selections is not threatened. The most popular are gefilus buttermilk and fat-free buttermilk.
– Buttermilk is still a big and important category for us.
– Buttermilk is inherently healthy, it is quite inexpensive and versatile, buttermilk fits the spirit and trends of the times. It is suitable for drinking and cooking.
According to Tollet, the buttermilk marinade makes the chicken very tender.
Tollet describes buttermilk as still a beloved, everyday product for many.
– I believe in the rise of fermented milk drinks, Tollet says.