Battle royale...real butter or....

[brewmaster15]

Butter is just such a keystone ingredient. You can substitute so many ingredients for others but with butter its either butter or....not butter. Vegetable spreads both cheap as dirt or expensive and" healthy". So many recipes depend on it. So the question is there ... To butter or not.

I love butter. The rich flavor. The utility... the.convenience. but its not a really heart healthy food so I often substitute spreads
By far my fav is "smart balance"..... but that rich butter calls and calls.


What about you?

[jeep]

Don't be fooled by the the unscrupulous marketing. Real butter is much better for you you than chemically manipulated vegetable oils refined into a semi-hardened stick that resembles butter. I remember grandma talking about Oleo, the first imitation butter. It had to be squeezed in it's plastic container, squished and mixed together until it took a uniform, edible consistency. Only real butter only in my house!!

[Vanman]

My NP said to use the real stuff. Life is too short not to use real butter.

[AquaticNerd]

My motto is "I'm here for a good time, not a long time."

It's real butter for me. That said, there aren't many things that I eat that use/need butter. Maybe the occasional pancake breakfast at home, a nice steak basted with butter, garlic, and rosemary, or a baked dessert.

[Second Hand Pat]

I'm a real butter lady. I personally think the artificial stuff is bad for you. What does your body do with stuff it has not been exposed too?
Pat

[bluelagoon]

I use butter both for taste and health. It is a bit more expensive but better for you.

[LizStreithorst]

I'm butter all the way.

[fljones3]

Real butter ONLY.

[LizStreithorst]

Remember when they were saying that eggs were bad for you? I bet you didn't believe those experts, did you, Al?

[Willie]

Check the ingredient statement on Smart Balance and you'll find it's made with tropical oils. The saturate content is as high as butter, so there's virtually no benefit. The key to making a good butter substitute is essentially great butter flavor. You should try this product, which has lots of butter, lots of butter flavor and a lot less cholesterol, saturated fat, etc.

139311

For the record, I have no financial interest in Land O'Lakes.

[jwcarlson]

Only real butter. As an adult, I don't think I've ever bought any of the fake butters/margarine.

[danotaylor]

Real butter is what makes a Vegemite sanga genuine mate…salty creamy yum yums!!

[brewmaster15]

Lol.. There are threads that I post knowing without much doubt what the response will be . Real Butter is King.. no doubt. As I said in my first post I do love it and cook with it all the time. Its really not "heart healthy." .. maybe neutral at best. Its debateable I know. I guess depends alot on how much we use, the sodium content and an individuals personal health. I really don't care too much if it is or isn't. My steaks certainly arent heart healthy and that doesn't really influence my grilling frequency. :) it probably should though. I don't really buy into the alternatives as being healthy either.. note the "healthy" in my first post. We do use smart balance here. It tastes pretty good,.spreads easy and is convenient to use, dairy free, It used to be cheap but not anymore. Its actually the poster child for what happens when a company takes a loved product dumbs it down as a cost cutting measure and tries to sell the change as healthier and better. Smart Balances new formula was disgusting and the backlash forced the company to return to the old formula. We have been phasing it out here mostly based on cost and I just prefer butter over spreads but theres still a tub usually in the frig. Willie I will have to give your suggestion a try.

I grew up in a low income household immigrant household. My mom was a penny pincher and the queen of coupons and sales shopping. We never went hungry and her cooking was excellent but our diet was not what we would call heart healthy today or healthy period. The cheapest vegetable oil spreads and margarines were what we had. I was the oldest out of 11 kids. Butter was a luxury we had at holidays. We did however have copious amounts of homemade by hand Italian bread at pretty much ever dinner and often breakfast toasted. Plenty of opportunities there for spreads.


What I really like is ghee... I use that alot and like thats its shelf stable room temp and easily spreadable.. Im a bit surprised no one mentioned GHee. Anyone use it? Clarified butter isa pretty useful ingredient to have on hand.

Now the next million dollar question. Do you refrigerate your butter or leave it out so its nice and soft all the time?

AL

[Vanman]

I make my own ghee. I make two pound batches. There is a container on the counter at all times. I use it when I make omelettes and as a spread on toast.

[brewmaster15]

I make my own ghee. I make two pound batches. There is a container on the counter at all times. I use it when I make omelettes and as a spread on toast.
Gary I would be very interested in how you make it.:)

Al

[danotaylor]

I keep a supply of butter in the refrigerator, but always have some at room temperature on the kitchen island for immediate use. I too enjoy the taste of ghee, which also tastes great with fresh, crusty, white bread, and Vegemite lol

[LizStreithorst]

Me too. I"ve been wanting to try it but the stuff in the supermarket is expensive.

[brewmaster15]

I keep a supply of butter in the refrigerator, but always have some at room temperature on the kitchen island for immediate use. I too enjoy the taste of ghee, which also tastes great with fresh, crusty, white bread, and Vegemite lol

Danny tell me you don't put Vegemite on your steaks as well.:)

[Iminit]

I use the same butter as Willie. But I don’t believe the canola oil has anything to do with making it better for you. Its purpose is to make it spreadable when cold. No clue what ghee is. From New York so that goes for grits too! Irish family! Bland was always on the menu! Italian sauce was Ragu!

[Vanman]

You are supposed to use unsalted butter, but being cheap I use salted. It works just fine I just don't add salt to my omelette.

I cut the butter into cubes and put it in a 2 quart sauce pan over low heat. It melts and simmers off the water. The solids mostly collect on the top as a foam that I skim off. There will be some solids that collect in the bottom of the pan. When it becomes clear and slightly brownish I let it cool some before pouring it into a glass bowl. There is a some what fine line between clarified butter and slightly brown. Some people filter it through cheese cloth. As usual there are YouTube videos.

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Gary.. thats pretty easy!

So where you are salted butter is cheaper than unsalted? Stores here sell both.. same price

[danotaylor]

Danny tell me you don't put Vegemite on your steaks as well.:)

Ok Al…I won’t tell you…lol, just kidding, I don’t put Vegemite on my steaks, though I do occasionally use it to flavor up a bland gravy!

[Vanman]

Salted comes in a two pack, unsalted does not. Single packs are the same price. Two packs are a little cheaper. Did I mention that I am frugal?

[jwcarlson]

Can attest that ghee is pretty easy to make.

[LizStreithorst]

Salted comes in a two pack, unsalted does not. Single packs are the same price. Two packs are a little cheaper. Did I mention that I am frugal?

You never knew anyone like me, did you? I'm absolutely incapable of bartering and I'm too good at giving things away. At first, you were at a bit of a loss, weren't you? I was at a bit of a loss dealing with you at first.