Recipe substitutions

[JR8]

I'm trying to get the ingredients together to bake some Nutella and oatmeal muffins. But I need buttermilk, and it is an ingredient I'm not aware of having used before.

So the mental journey went:
- 'What is it?' > Wikipedia
- 'How does it work, physically/chemically?' > www.deliaonline.com
(I'm a scientific 'Principles of cooking' kinda guy. e.g. if I know why something happens (skin on chicken browns/crisps, a souffle collapses, etc etc), then I can better direct and control my cooking.

Then googling 'buttermilk substitute' I came upon this site http://www.foodsubs.com/

It looks like the mother-load of direction in how to substitute ingredients.

So for buttermilk, I am offered multiple substitutions. The easiest for me in my current locality are ...
- Natural bio yoghurt (runny)
or - 2 parts plain yoghurt + 1 part milk
or - Soured cream


I'm posting this, as I thought it might be useful for SGn Expats who are struggling to find 'back home' ingredients.

Happy Cooking!