Butter or Margarine?

[Bulls Beers]

Which do you prefer? I used to use margarine like olivio, but I seem to use butter more. I know butter might not be as healthy, but on popcorn or whatever, it tastes so much better.

 

[harry_the_face]

Actually butter is much more healthy than margarine. Margarine is made with hydrogenated oils which are linked to a laundry list of health problems. Butter, while high in fat is a naturally made substance that your body can process. Read up on it and I think you will move to using only butter.

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[Hello]

I used to use margarine then moved to "I can't believe it's not butter" and realized that I do not use enough butter to really warrant whatever chemical compound it takes to make that stuff. In moderation, butter isn't bad. I use it in baking and never replaced it with the fake stuff, so a couple more teaspoons a week wasn't going to hurt.

I think out of convenience I used margarine and the likes because it spread easily. Then I got a butter crock and I just use real butter.

 

[Subsailor]

Real Butter! No Substitutions!

Seriously, like Hello said and it applies to almost anything in Life, moderation is key.

 

[passedpawn]

I haven't seen margarine in years. My wife has never bought it. I do love butter, but it burns easily so I mix it with vege oil when cooking.

I miss Olestra. It really cleaned me out.

 

[thadass]

Not no Parkay, not no margarine. Strictly butter, strictly butter, baby.

 

[kaconga]

Butter. There is no good substitute taste wise for this.

 

[Hello]

Real Butter! No Substitutions!

Seriously, like Hello said and it applies to almost anything in Life, moderation is key.

Well, in fairness, if you knew me you'd know I talk about moderation quite well but clearly do not practice it!

But yeah, butter is just better in terms of cooking, baking, and general health. I'm not talking butter like Paula Deen butter though. I'm not down on those who don't use actual butter and I'm not all conspiracy theory about it. I also don't own a microwave for no other reason than I never bought one when I bought a house.

 

[corkybstewart]

I haven't seen margarine in years. My wife has never bought it. I do love butter, but it burns easily so I mix it with vege oil when cooking.

Since I met my wife 35 years ago there has been no margarine in our house either. We mix butter with a little olive oil for sauteeing veggies.

 

[Beernik]

Grew up with margarine.

Wife converted me to butter.

 

[okiedog]

The problem is, we are not eating food anymore. We are eating food-like products.
Dr Alejandro Junger, Hungry for Change

I know I'll probably get some disagreement on this, but butter is just plain healthier for you. Within reason. It doesn't have the omega 3 fatty acids that olive oil does, but it isn't hydrogenated like margarine. Hydrogenated oils are real artery cloggers. Eat real food and drink real beer. You'll be better for it!

 

[schematix]

For most things butter tastes better, browns food better, and is irreplaceable in baking.

I like to think I am doing my part to make butter more popular than at any time in recent history: http://www.jsonline.com/business/us...-level-in-40-years-b99146251z1-233963341.html

There are a few foods that I can think of where margarine is superior, but those are isolated cases. 2 recipes that immediately come to mind are homemade rice krispy treats and homemade chex mix. In both cases the taste of butter isn't as important as the texture and temperature stability brought to the party by margarine.

 

[thadass]

I grew up on margarine until, as a teenager still at home, I discovered a religious icon I could believe in

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Butter. Just got to remember to take it out of the fridge early so you can spread it on toast.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Butter. Just got to remember to take it out of the fridge early so you can spread it on toast.

That's funny. Every morning when I have a Thomas English muffin, I always pull the butter out a few minutes before.


BTW, a Thomas's English muffin is one of the best foods in the world. Love them..

 

[Yooper]

I'm on the butter bandwagon too!

I am eating only "real foods", so I don't eat margarine at all. For cooking, I use coconut oil or butter. For salads, I use olive oil.

I'm very healthy (just did my yearly lab tests).

One of my favorite ways to use butter is in my rendition of Giada deLaurentis' Chicken Piccata. That dish needs butter and olive oil. It is awesome, and margarine would ruin it!

 

[Homercidal]

Ate margarine for years growing up because it was healthier, don't you know? I never really cared about the flavor. I think butter is one flavor that I have a hard time picking out. Margarine was always fine. Then, couple of years ago, I find out I was lied to this whole time and eating margarine was the wrong thing to do! So we switched back to butter. Sometimes we use margarine for baking, but it's pretty rare. We also buy butter in a tub mixed with olive or canola oil for spreading on toast. I'd like to have a butter crock in the house to keep out. It's winter, so it would barely be spreadable in the morning and should keep pretty good.

BTW - I made butter the other day with some heavy cream that went unused (used for creamy soups and such) and I put it in the kitchenaid machine as per normal and it never did set up! It got creamy and fluffy and just stayed that way. Not sure what was wrong. I've made butter 2-3 times the same way with no problem.

 

[aiptasia]

I also grew up on margarine. My parents mistakenly believed that it was healthier. They bought into the hype in the 1970's.

I gave up on it completely when I learned about the link between alzheimers and diacetyl. I'm also much more careful to take that diacetyl rest in all of my beers and I won't drink any beer that I can detect that buttery butterscotch flavor in the beer.

I fry with peanut or safflower oil, cook with EVOO whenever possible and if I need a butter flavor, I use real butter.

 

[unionrdr]

You also need real stick butter for things like cookies so they stay thick & soft. Margarine makes them spread out thin & burn on the edges. But I like butter made from WV milk. something the cows eat down home makes stronger buttermilk & the butter is a bit darker with a lot more flavor.

 

[Homercidal]

I also grew up on margarine. My parents mistakenly believed that it was healthier. They bought into the hype in the 1970's.

I gave up on it completely when I learned about the link between alzheimers and diacetyl. I'm also much more careful to take that diacetyl rest in all of my beers and I won't drink any beer that I can detect that buttery butterscotch flavor in the beer.

I fry with peanut or safflower oil, cook with EVOO whenever possible and if I need a butter flavor, I use real butter.

Any links to that study?

 

[progmac]

i eat this stuff called earth balance. lactose intolerant

 

[Beernik]

My lactose intolerance has never been triggered by butter. But I think my body produces some of the right enzyme, just not a lot of it.

Occasionally cheese gets me.

 

[corkybstewart]

I also grew up on margarine. My parents mistakenly believed that it was healthier. They bought into the hype in the 1970's.

I gave up on it completely when I learned about the link between alzheimers and diacetyl.

My folks switched to margarine because of food rationing during World War II and never went back to butter, so until I met a woman from France who'd never eaten margarine I didn't really understand the difference. I'm not familiar with the alzheimers link, my mom's family all had issues with it. Had she not died last month, my Mom's Alzheimers would have soon ruined her life.

 

[Subsailor]

Butter. Just got to remember to take it out of the fridge early so you can spread it on toast.

4 things I keep near my stove for cooking:
Butter
Bacon grease
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil

Near the stove because it tends to be warm in the kitchen and so my butter remains spreadable. I reckon I can cook just about anything with those nearby.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

4 things I keep near my stove for cooking:
Butter
Bacon grease
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil

Near the stove because it tends to be warm in the kitchen and so my butter remains spreadable. I reckon I can cook just about anything with those nearby.

Yeah, the first time I saw my wife leaving butter out on the counter for days, I freaked out. But it seems pretty darn stable...

 

[terrapinj]

we switched to Ghee (clarified butter) a few months back and use it in place of butter for everything except some baking - don't really use much butter - but I love that it's soft and easy to spread

we use coconut oil for most cooking and sometimes grapseed oil but Ghee does have a higher smokepoint than butter so I like using it at times as well for sauteing etc

 

[Melana]

That's funny. Every morning when I have a Thomas English muffin, I always pull the butter out a few minutes before.


BTW, a Thomas's English muffin is one of the best foods in the world. Love them..

Home made are SO much better. Trust me.

 

[Xpertskir]

Butter, olive oil, and animal fat are the workhorses in my house...no margarine or any other branded faux butter in my house.


Fun fact:

I used to assume, as I am sure many of you did/do that margarine was some 1960's U.S. innovation. Shockingly enough it came from a place where butter is considered a deity, France, a century earlier. It was created for Napoleons Army's to march on.

 

[TyTanium]

Solid fats for cooking (more stable): Tallow, lard, butter, coconut oil

Olive oil for non-heated stuff (e.g., dressings, pesto, etc)

Stay away from seed oils. Canola, soybean, "vegetable" oils. Not for human consumption. Great for furniture polish though.


**If you want a challenge, try to find a salad dressing at a normal grocery story that does not contain soybean oil. Sickeningly difficult**

 

[prohl84]

Solid fats for cooking (more stable): Tallow, lard, butter, coconut oil

Olive oil for non-heated stuff (e.g., dressings, pesto, etc)

Stay away from seed oils. Canola, soybean, "vegetable" oils. Not for human consumption. Great for furniture polish though.


**If you want a challenge, try to find a salad dressing at a normal grocery story that does not contain soybean oil. Sickeningly difficult**

Sunflower, sesame, flax, pumpkin, or peanut on that list of seed oils? I thought there were good seed oils and bad seed oils.

My understanding is that soy must be fermented to make it edible... most soy products I don't think are fermented. Legumes for the most part are difficult to digest- which is how beans became the magical fruit. I stay away from soy if only for the fact I get enough phytoestrogen from hops through beer consumption and handling my plants.

Wonder if male hop plants produce phytoestrogens? Plants are insane.

Margarine is useless to me.

 

[krackin]

Margarine is just non-hardening linoleum in practicality.

 

[TNGabe]

Lard.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Home made are SO much better. Trust me.

You wouldn't happen to have a recipe, now would you??

 

[Yooper]

Sunflower, sesame, flax, pumpkin, or peanut on that list of seed oils? I thought there were good seed oils and bad seed oils.

My understanding is that soy must be fermented to make it edible... most soy products I don't think are fermented. Legumes for the most part are difficult to digest- which is how beans became the magical fruit. I stay away from soy if only for the fact I get enough phytoestrogen from hops through beer consumption and handling my plants.

Wonder if male hop plants produce phytoestrogens? Plants are insane.

Margarine is useless to me.

It's not the fact that they are seed oils- it's the way they are processed. As far as I know, there are no "good" industrial seed oils so I use coconut oil for cooking, as well as beef tallow (I render it from grass fed beef). No peanut oil, sunflower oil, canola, corn oil, etc, for health reasons. Olive oil for uncooked/unheated items.

But I have a friend who makes his fried fish in peanut oil, and oh boy does it taste good!

 

[passedpawn]

But I have a friend who makes his fried fish in peanut oil, and oh boy does it taste good!

Hmmm... I use peanut oil for wok cooking for it's super high smoke point, but I sure can taste it. I'm not sure I'd like that with fish.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Butter for sure. Grew up mainly with margarine because my parents had 5 kids so it was cheaper.

But butter tastes better, has better texture, and the biggest lie ever sold is that fat and saturated fat is the devil

 

[Melana]

you wouldn't happen to have a recipe, now would you??

 

[Bulls Beers]

View attachment 172270

Man those look good. If I can make English Muffins myself, I'd be pretty happy.

 

[IslandLizard]

No butter. Olive oil only. And Hellman's mayo.
I know some butter (ghee) gets sneaked in when I eat Indian.

For baking I mostly use canola oil but for a few recipes Blue Bonnet (margarine) seems to work best, more pliable.

 

[glenn514]

I grew up in Wisconsin in the late 1940's and 1950's. At that time, the state had a law that margarine could NOT be sold colored like butter. Rather, it was sold white, and a packet of coloring was included if the purchaser wanted to mix it in. I believe the law was intended to protect the dairy farmers, but many of them were growing soybeans, so it later became a moot point. However, the uncolored margarine looked just like lard to me, and I surely did NOT want that stuff on my toast! Today, we might have some margarine in the house, but we use butter...and the spreadable butter with a bit of canola oil...almost exclusively.