Let this be a lesson should you ever shop for buttermilk: short of churning your own, there is apparently no longer such thing as “buttermilk” available at retail. I needed some for the saag paneer recipe I’m making for dinner tomorrow and I wanted it to be the true full-fat variety, as it and yogurt were the sole ingredients providing the dish’s creaminess—and I wanted it to be super creamy.
After hitting seven grocery stores in my neighborhood, then seven other grocers on the Upper West Side, including New York stalwarts Zabar’s, Citarella, Fairway, Food Emporium and two Gristedes, I can tell you I’m next to certain you can’t purchase buttermilk with milkfat content any higher than 1.5%. The real slap in the face was the label on the buttermilk I settled on, which alleged that it contained 50% less fat and 20% fewer calories than regular buttermilk—regular buttermilk that was nowhere to be found. I just don’t know; maybe full-fat buttermil exists and it's my bad luck or a New York thing that I couldn’t find it.