Aunty Huia

Tu Tangata, Issue 30, 1 July 1986, Page 63

Aunty Huia

TE RINGAWERA

Buttermilk

the yoghurt that pours

IMAGINE the fresh, clean taste of natural yoghurt.

Now, imagine that yoghurt being of a pouring consistency and you have a reasonable picture of a dairy product which has recently become available on the New Zealand market - cultured buttermilk.

Of course, buttermilk is not new. It has a long history in Europe and the United States, but it wasn’t until the 1900 s that the valuable nutritional properties of buttermilk were widely realised.

With the wide acceptance of yoghurt in this country, the number of health conscious consumers, the more adventurous cooks and the number of immigrants who have used the product overseas, it is not surprising buttermilk has been introduced here.

Marketed under the Tararua brand name by the Tui Co-operative Dairy Company in Pahiatua, New Zealand’s cultured buttermilk is the modern equivalent of “drinking buttermilk”, which was buttermilk obtained when cream was churned on the farm.

This cream was slightly sour and the buttermilk was soured further, producing a liquid with small particles of butter distributed through it. This was used as a long, cool, refreshing drink, and in cooking.

Cultured milk products are valued in most civilisations because their high nutritive value and low calorie count make them an ideal drink for people involved in strenuous activity. In some countries, buttermilk is served following an evening’s conviviality, especially as it is a good pick-me-up.

Buttermilk today is simply pasteurised non-fat milk that has been clotted by the action of appropriate starter bacteria. It’s a similar process to that used in cheese manufacture, but of course, buttermilk does not have to go through the cutting and ageing process which cheese does.

The culturing process converts the milk sugar to a mild acid - that is, lactic acid. The flavour therefore changes, becoming fresher and slightly sour, like adding a little lemon or orange to water to make it more thirst quenching.

The composition of this cultured buttermilk makes it an ideal ingredient in a variety of recipes where it can add not only flavour but also a wide range of

important nutrients. Many European breads, for example, depend on buttermilk to give them their unique character.

fust 250m1s of buttermilk supplies up to 40 percent of a teenager’s daily calcium requirement, as well as significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. It also contains only 5-8 percent of energy requirements, almost 20 percent of protein requirements but has less than one gram of fat, making it even lower in fat than yoghurt.

For those concerned about their calorie intake, low-fat buttermilk offers a good alternative to whole milk.

The wide variety of ways in which buttermilk can be used in cooking include as a marinade, with fruit, in blended fruit drinks, in hot or cold soups, in salad dressings, as a cream substitute or in many baked goods. And of course, many people use it simply as a refreshing drink or at breakfast time on cereals.

One of the advantages of cultured buttermilk is that it has a shelf life of six weeks from the date of manufacture. But, because it contains no preservatives or artificial additives, it must be kept refrigerated at all times.

However, it’s not a good idea to freeze buttermilk as the ice crystals formed in freezing break the curd and alter its very smooth texture.

While Europeans, Americans and many Asian people have a head start on New Zealanders in the buttermilk drinking stakes, there’s no reason why, in our dairy-oriented country, buttermilk should not be a regular item in our refrigerators.

Buttermilk Pikelets

I V2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder (rounded) V 4 teaspoon salt V 4 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon sugar (rounded) 1 small egg V2 cup cultured buttermilk V 4 cup milk

1. Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl. 2. Add sugar, mix together then make a hollow in the centre of the flour mixture. 3. Pour the buttermilk and milk into the hollow, break in the egg - using a metal spoon fold the flour mixture into the liquids.

4. Add a little more buttermilk and milk, if necessary, so that the batter will drop off the point or side of a tablespoon. 5. Have a heated griddle, solid element or heavy pan lightly greased with butter. If necessary any surplus butter can be wiped off with a paper towel.

6. Drop the batter off the spoon onto the hot griddle and allow it to spread. Depending on the size of the cooking surface 3-4 pikelets may be cooked at one time.

7. When the bubbles are just bursting use a metal spatula to turn each pikelet. Cooking time first side will be 2-3 minutes, second side 2 minutes. Adjust the heat of the griddle if the pikelets are cooking too quickly, or so slowly that they do not turn a beautiful golden brown. 8. Lift cooked pikelets onto a wire cake rack, leave them to cool. 9. Repeat until all the batter is cooked. 10. Serve while they are fresh, spread with butter or topped with jam and a dab of cream. 11. The recipe may be doubled. Yields 18 pikelets.

Dear Mr Whaanga Kia ora

I have followed with interest the coverage you have provided of the Waitangi Tribunal hearing on the application brought by Nga Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo. Indeed, the first I or the Corporation learnt of the application was when we read it in your April/May issue last year!

Your reporter has done a good job in presenting a complicated topic, but there is one point in your article in the February/March issue which I would like to clarify. Your article says:

“However he said the Maori initiative, Aotearoa Broadcasting Service, could not be funded by the Corporation. Sir Graham Latimer said if the Corporation could spend money in the production of the health series ‘Waiora’, would it not be possible to fund ABS? There was no reply.”

In my evidence, I mentioned the commitment we had made to provide funding for ABS if and when it obtains a warrant. I pointed out that the Corporation could not provide (and indeed should not provide) finance for the expenses of the application itself. ABS was created independently of the Corporation, and must continue in that fashion in its own interests if it is to meet the requirements for the grant of a warrant.

At a later point in the hearing, Sir Graham did make the remark which your reporter attributes to him. It was not in the nature of a question to me, and at least on my understanding of the Tribunal procedure, I was not able then or afterwards to make a reply.

Your readers may have thought from your report that there was no reply which could be given. That is not the case.

We await the outcome of the Tribunal hearing with great interest, and if there is any information which we can provide meanwhile on our efforts to make changes in broadcasting in the Maori programming area, I would be pleased to see that this is provided.

HUGH RENNIE Chairman

Dear Sir Kia ora

Your February/March issue’s report on the technical institutes principals’ conference at Koriniti made interesting reading, but the opening remark about Taha Maori being non-existent in technical institutes needs some comment. Please note that this polytechnic... • has had an honorary Kaumatua for almost 10 years and last year was able to appoint him as a special adviser/ liaison officer through a 5 year sponsorship negotiated with NZ Forest Products Ltd. • last year held its annual 3 day management seminar at Rehua Marae.

• for the past 3 years has held special 3 day staff training and orientation programmes at Rapaki. • is experiencing a growing demand for its all year round programme of 6 week Maori Language full-time block courses. • has one full-time tutor and several part-time tutors teaching the above block course and other part-time classes in Maori Language. • recently sent 15 staff members, including 2 of the directors, to attend a combined hui at the Otakou Marae in Dunedin, along with representatives of Otago Polytechnic and Southland Community College. • is offering a half-year “Polynesian Performing Arts” course organised by its Special Programmes Department. We may still have a long way to go but we have made a start and we are working on it.

Kia ora ano. DICK HOCKLEY Associate Director (Acting) Christchurch Polytechnic Dear Mr Whaanga Tena koe The protest by some Maoris about the presence of the South African maiden in the Waiariki Community College, I believe sponsored by the Department of Maori Affairs, has compelled me to present my views as an Elder of Ngati Manawa. Firstly this maid is our manuhiri and as such we, both Maori and Pakeha, should respect her and entertain her at our homes. I commend Mr Tamehana of Ngati Pikiao for his support of this innocent South African maid. Mr Waaka and I while going overseas to war called in to Capetown on the way to England and again on the way to Egypt. We were given the red carpet treatment by both coloured and whites. Those who did not go over have a limited view.

Now where is the aroha our leaders so fondly expound on the many marae of Aotearoa? Where are the voices of our clergyman, Bishops, etc? Has Waitangi taken it all? This innocent maid when she goes home could help to do away with apartheid (separate developments). At the Waiariki Community College she became the friend of the Maori girls working there and she in turn became very friendly not only with the Maori girls, but with everyone she came into contact with. Those who protested got carried away and should be the ones to apologise, not those who sponsored her and looked after her. Kauaka tatau te maori e kino ki tenei manuhiri. Arohatia. Awhinatia. HENRY TAHAWAI BIRD Ngati Manawa Murupara

Dear Sir Please find enclosed the address of a twenty-one-year-old from Czechoslovakia who would like to write to someone of similar age from this country. I thought one of your readers may be interested in corresponding with him. Kamil (or Wolf) enjoys aviation, parachuting, geography, astronomy, archaeology, and he likes small children. He is also interested in the Hindi and Swahili languages, and studies English and German. He is keen on listening to pop, country, rock ’n’ roll, swing and spiritual music, but he spends most of his free time mountaineering. He would like to learn about our culture and music, and would be interested in exchanging records, souvenirs, postcards, sports equipment, and sports and musical magazines. His address is: Kamil Malcanek, Sidliste 662, Kralupy m Lvlt 11, 278 0-1, Czechoslovakia, Europe. K L JOHNSTON Wanganui