Can you make buttermilk out of normal milk, MIL says vinegar, just need confirmation, not that i dont trust her or anything.

Yep...with milk, vinegar and baking soda!

Or, another way:

Source:
Goodchild

Ingredients
3/4 cup (175 ml) regular milk
2 tsp (10 ml). vinegar or lemon juice
Preparation
add 2 tsp (10 ml). vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk, let stand a few minutes to sour, instead of buttermilk.
Comments
This came from my grandmother's banana bread recipe that calls for buttermilk. Works great!

cheers, thanx heaps

I've used the milk and vinegar for yrs..... when I make homemade buttermilk pancakes, that's what I use... I also started using it in baking cakes....really snaps the flavor.... I use vinegar in my pie crusts too....
Heck...I'm the vinegar lady here at my house....
I use baking soda and vinegar to clean my stove and counters.... I don't like to use chemical cleaning stuff if I don't have to....
Happy baking,
cakegal

This is good to know. When I buy buttermilk the remaining amount left usually goes to waste. Now that I know I can make my own I won't waste as much.

Not to offend, but you aren't making buttermilk folks, you are making sour milk. Frequently one is substituted for the other, but the difference will be the texture that buttermilk provides. It tends to make a crumblier or flakier texture.
Buttermilk is the liquid left over after producing butter from full-cream milk by the churning process. It has a slightly sour taste. Most of the modern, commercially-available, "buttermilk" in Western supermarkets is not genuine buttermilk but rather cultured buttermilk, that is milk to which souring agents (Streptococci bacteria) have been added to simulate the original product.
Unfortunately, even that which is now sold as buttermilk, is not the buttermilk I remember.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

try the powdered milk in the baking isle. It works excellent and no waste.

I'm with SquirrellyCakes on this one...you'd only really want to substiute the "sour milk" in a pinch....if the recipe calls for buttermilk you should use it. I have tried substiuting the sour milk and I have also tried the buttermilk powder and neither gave my cake the texture that real buttermilk gives it.....the taste was pretty much the same but the texture was off, and my customers noticed!

I never thought of it that way, i did make "it" with vinegar and i wouldnt know any different, and i did buy a buttermilk from the supermarket and the rest is still in the fridge going to waste, so which way do we go.
I dont know what its supposed to taste like in cake, Can you tell the difference? Always on the lookout for help.

Hhmn, well taste depends on what kind of cake it is in. It is more of a texture thing, kind of like the difference between using cake flour and all puprose, you get a flakier or more crumbly texture. It produces a moister crumb. Some people like to drink buttermilk, I am not one of them, haha, but some do like it. I find it has a funny sour taste on its own, but it is wonderful when used in cooking.
Here are a couple of recipes to use up that excess buttermilk. There is really nothing quite like buttermilk tea biscuits.
Buttermilk Teabiscuits
Preheat oven to 425F.
Sift together in a bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Place 1/2 cup shortening into the centre of the flour mixture and with a pastry blender or two knives, cut the shortening quite fine, into the flour mixture. Add 1 cup buttermilk and stir with a fork to make a soft dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 8-10 times. Roll or pat to desired thickness - they will double in thickness when cooking. Cut with a floured 1 3/4 inch round cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, close together for soft sided biscuits or 1 inch apart for crusty sided biscuits. Bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 20 biscuits.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Sift together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar depending on how sweet you like your pancakes
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
In a separate bowl, combine:
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp. Crisco oil or corn oil
Add liquid to dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined. Heat a griddle or frying pan on stove top to 380F - drops of cold water will dance across it. Grease with an unsalted fat or shortening. Use about 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Cook until surface is covered with bubbles and edges lose their gloss, then turn and bake other side. Serve hot with butter and syrup. Makes about 12, 4 inch round pancakes.

Buttermilk Waffles
Sift together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
In another bowl, combine:
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Add the liquid to dry ingredients. Whisk only until smooth.
Heat waffle iron as directed by manufacturer. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Use about 1 cup for a 9 inch square iron or 1/2 cup for a 7 inch round pan. Bake until waffle stops steaming. Makes about 3, 9 inch or 6, 7 inch waffles.

Thanks for the recipies, i hate waste.

Hi Nernan,
Me too. Some people drink it on its own, something I could not imagine ever doing, haha! Yuck!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes