Bread in Europe They are very light, contain preservatives (e.g. ethyl alcohol) and have a very long shelf life (often more than a month). In Ireland it is traditionally held that the end of a loaf of bread (the "heel" of the loaf) is the best part of the loaf. Other stories and myths surround this piece of the bread in Irish mythology. Irish soda bread, developed to make the most of the soft wheat grown in Ireland, is unusual for a European bread in that it is a quick bread, using the reaction of buttermilk and baking soda rather than yeast to
Buttermilk cultured buttermilk to simulate residual flecks of butter that can be left over from the churning process of traditional buttermilk. Cultured buttermilk, often known simply as "buttermilk" now, was first commercially introduced in the United States in the 1920s. It was popular among immigrants, and viewed as a food that could slow aging. It reached peak annual sales of in 1960. Buttermilk's popularity has declined since then, despite an increasing population, and annual sales in 2012 reached less than half that number. Condensed buttermilk and dried buttermilk have increased in importance in the food industry. Buttermilk solids are used in