Is Your Buttermilk Bad?

Ever since I've been living on my own, there's a lot of questions that come up that I've never had to worry about. This especially includes food going bad. Recently, I had orange specks (dots) in my buttermilk. Did my buttermilk go bad and what is this?

When I found I had bright orange specks in my buttermilk, I really thought it had gone bad. And me, being a maniac on not wasting stuff, starting thinking about all the ways I could use up everything before it goes "completely bad".

With some research, I found out that these specks are actually not bad... in fact, it's what's used to make buttermilk. They are actually supposed to be there!

Bacteria: The Good Kind
The orange dots are a strain of lactic acid bacteria that are used in the fermentation process in making buttermilk. Most buttermilk you buy in stores is inoculated with this bacteria to promote the growth of bacteria found in traditionally-made buttermilk (you know, with the churning and stuff). They usually disappear after a while in room temperature but it doesn't matter if it does not go away. It is a natural part of making buttermilk.

Mystery of the Orange Specks: Case Solved!
So next time you find orange specks in your buttermilk, be thankful they're there. They are actually used to make buttermilk and you might not have buttermilk otherwise!

Note: So when is your buttermilk really bad? You'll know. You think when I say this, you won't. But you'll really know. Usually buttermilk smells sweet/sour. When it's gone bad, there's either something else growing in it (not orange) and it'll start to smell reeaally bad (kind of like when milk goes bad).