Cooking Questions: Substituting Butter with Margarine

[newchef2010]

Hello everyone,
I am still in my first 30 days and this site has helped my so much.
I am not a very good cook but I love to try. That said, when a recipe says butter do you use butter or does anyone substitute margarine? Is it ok to cook with margarine or should I use only butter to cook?

 

[sherri lynn]

Hi. I'm no expert, but if it calls for real butter, I use real butter. Margarine has more vegetable oil in it (I think) than butter. I do my baking with real butter. Just my experience, hope this helps.

 

[BethCooks4U]

I only use real butter. Neither are "good" for you so why not have the REAL thing?!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I only use butter.

Here is one of many articles on the subject....

Butter Up: Why Butter is a Healthy Choice

 

[chefjeanine]

I only use real butter. Neither are "good" for you so why not have the REAL thing?!

My sentiments exactly!!!!

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

Butter tastes better too!

 

[BethCooks4U]

Butter tastes better too!

Exactly!!!

 

[PamperedchefDaly]

I only use butter.

Here is one of many articles on the subject....

Butter Up: Why Butter is a Healthy Choice

I stopped using margarine years ago. Thanks, Becky, for the informative article. I printed the article so that I can show it to certain people that insist that the manufactured spreads are better.

 

[wadesgirl]

DH is a big butter fan so that's what we use to cook with.

 

[pampered1224]

Me too especially when it is called for. Margarine or the other substitutes use water and that actually changes the moisture level in recipes and changes the out come of the recipe. ESPECIALLY WHEN BAKING! In fact, my doctor said butter is better as it is more natural and is really not any worse than the so called good for you things! So... MODERATION IS THE KEY!

 

[BethCooks4U]

Me too especially when it is called for. Margarine or the other substitutes use water and that actually changes the moisture level in recipes and changes the out come of the recipe. ESPECIALLY WHEN BAKING! In fact, my doctor said butter is better as it is more natural and is really not any worse than the so called good for you things! So... MODERATION IS THE KEY!

Totally true and, yes the KEY is moderation! Too much of anything is not good for us.

 

[pampered1224]

Funny you mention that Beth. I love apples. I have been eating quite few lately and found I am getting canecor, (sp), sores! So much for an apple a day!

 

[lt1jane]

I always use margarine. I have tried side by side taste tests. I can hardly tell the difference. It is a matter of preference. In my house, we use real butter for sandwiches but margarine for all cooking.

 

[kam]

I use margarine on toast and things like that. I always use butter for baking -unless the recipe specifically calls for margerine.

But, now I may have to re-think using margarine for my everyday food...

 

[wadesgirl]

Me too especially when it is called for. Margarine or the other substitutes use water and that actually changes the moisture level in recipes and changes the out come of the recipe. ESPECIALLY WHEN BAKING! In fact, my doctor said butter is better as it is more natural and is really not any worse than the so called good for you things! So... MODERATION IS THE KEY!

My uncle swears that he heard some where that margarine is one "step" away from being plastic! He won't even touch the stuff!

 

[pampered1224]

Your uncle is right to a degree. When margarine first came out, most of the labels read like science experiments! However, with most people looking to drop cholesterol levels and the trans-fat levels in their foods, they are less of a problem. Hydrogenated oils where the main problem in them. This is being changed so...

 

[raebates]

I'm a big believer in using butter.If you prefer margarine because it spreads easier you might consider doing what I do. I make a butter blend. I use a 1:1 ratio of butter to light olive oil*, so for 1 pound (2 c) of butter I use 2 c oil. I whip the butter then blend in the oil. It's almost liquid at room temperature, so I keep it in the fridge. I used some on my toast this morning. By the time I put a bit on the second piece of toast that on the first was soft and spreadable. I use it for cooking (but not baking), too. *I like light olive oil because it has all of health benefits but not the distinctive olive oil flavor. You could use whatever oil you prefer.

 

[raebates]

Thanks for the article link, Becky. I'm going to share that with my customers. I'm also signing up for the newsletter.

 

[cookinfletch]

Be sure to use unsalted butter, so you have more control over the saltiness of whatever you are making, whether it is baking or any other recipe.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Thanks for the article link, Becky. I'm going to share that with my customers. I'm also signing up for the newsletter.

It's a good newsletter - sometimes a bit more militant than I would be...but still lots of great info!

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Funny you mention that Beth. I love apples. I have been eating quite few lately and found I am getting canecor, (sp), sores! So much for an apple a day!

John, if you're coming down with a canker sore, I can recommend this....try a zinc supplement!! It's amazingly effective, if taken right when the symptoms start. I usually take a high dose (50 mg.) for about 3 days, and the canker sore will usually go away without getting to the awful, painful level!!

Hope that helps you!! Keep eating those apples!!:angel:

 

[raebates]

It's a good newsletter - sometimes a bit more militant than I would be...but still lots of great info!

I noticed they're hard-liners. That's okay. I can filter the info and choose a more moderate path for myself. As a matter of fact, I sometimes like to tap into more extreme opinions and information in order to find my own balance.

John, if you're coming down with a canker sore, I can recommend this....try a zinc supplement!! It's amazingly effective, if taken right when the symptoms start. I usually take a high dose (50 mg.) for about 3 days, and the canker sore will usually go away without getting to the awful, painful level!!

Hope that helps you!! Keep eating those apples!!:angel:

Great suggestion, Paula. I'll have to try that this winter when my orange/tangelo/grapefruit addiction kicks in.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I noticed they're hard-liners. That's okay. I can filter the info and choose a more moderate path for myself. As a matter of fact, I sometimes like to tap into more extreme opinions and information in order to find my own balance.

Exactly! I also like knowing how the extremes both ways think...

 

[legacypc46]

Exactly! I also like knowing how the extremes both ways think...

Me too. When I went back to college in my mid-20's, I would go to the library every Friday afternoon and hunker down with "The New Republic" and "The National Review". It was kind of fun reading about the same issues from such opposite viewpoints.

Now I'm more interested in food politics than party politics.This became more of an issue after I fell last year and suffered a concussion (technically, a traumatic brain injury, but that sounds so dramatic). Its been a full year, and I still have cognitive limitations. As I learned more and more about the brain, the more concerned I grew about the chemicals I was putting into mine and the nutrients it was missing out on. It just became very personal when it was my brain that wasn't functioning 'right' anymore.

I'm not a hardliner either, but I do question just about every food purchase I make..more so now. Over the last couple years, we've gradually transitioned to organic dairy products, organic chicken, and mostly wild-harvested fish. (These items are more expensive, but we find we are eating less food in general and can offset the cost by dramatically reducing the amount of pre-packaged foods we buy.)

Anyway, just chiming in...thanks for the link Becky.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Me too. When I went back to college in my mid-20's, I would go to the library every Friday afternoon and hunker down with "The New Republic" and "The National Review". It was kind of fun reading about the same issues from such opposite viewpoints.

Now I'm more interested in food politics than party politics.This became more of an issue after I fell last year and suffered a concussion (technically, a traumatic brain injury, but that sounds so dramatic). Its been a full year, and I still have cognitive limitations. As I learned more and more about the brain, the more concerned I grew about the chemicals I was putting into mine and the nutrients it was missing out on. It just became very personal when it was my brain that wasn't functioning 'right' anymore.

I'm not a hardliner either, but I do question just about every food purchase I make..more so now. Over the last couple years, we've gradually transitioned to organic dairy products, organic chicken, and mostly wild-harvested fish. (These items are more expensive, but we find we are eating less food in general and can offset the cost by dramatically reducing the amount of pre-packaged foods we buy.)

Anyway, just chiming in...thanks for the link Becky.

We think a lot alike.

I'm assuming, just by you saying that you're more interested in Food Politics, that you've read Michael Pollan's books?

I'm much more interested in Food Politics too, for much the same reasons. When it became very personal for our family, I started researching more and questioning more every food purchase I make. We are mostly organic, local, and free range/grass fed at our house now. Butter was an interesting question/topic for me, because just recently I began buying from a local organic dairy that doesn't homogenize, and they pasteurize at lower temps. We can purchase this at another Farm Store - that specializes in local, grass-fed beef, and organic pork, and poultry - along with the dairy products.

http://www.heffronfarms.com/faq.htm
http://hilhofdairy.com/

 

[legacypc46]

Becky,

Yep, the food industry and agribusiness politics are pretty amazing. I don't believe in being extremist about anything, but I simply don't buy into the status quo either. Good reads on the topic are:

- In Defense of Food, Ominvore's Dilemma and Food Rules (all by Michael Pollan)
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (by Barbara Kingsolver...great read!)
- Twinkie, Deconstructed (by Steve Ettinger....truly eye-openig)
- What to Eat (by Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at NYU)
- The End of Food (by Paul Roberts)