Butter - Is it just me?

[VeraBlue]

Originally Posted by mudbug

It's hard to think of anything I would use margarine for anymore.

Mudbug, use margarine to grease your cake pans. It's better than butter because butter has water in it, which turns to steam when it heats up, steaming the bottom and sides of your cake. That is the only reason I keep margarine in the house.

[BreezyCooking]

I have to admit that as much as I LOVE butter, I have learned to temper my use of it quite a bit these days. For starters, I now do nearly all of my sauteeing in extra-virgin olive oil - sometimes with a pat or 2 of butter added for a little more "richness". Some things, however, really seem to "need" butter to cook correctly - I've found mushrooms to be one.

As far as buttering things like toast, green vegetables, etc., I have to say that as sacreligious (sp?) as it might sound, I do like "Can't Believe It's Not Butter" &/or "Smart Balance".

[Claire]

Ever read Kitchen Confidential? Yes, the reason the sauces we make at home never taste quite as good as those in a good French restaurant is because we cannot bring ourselves to put the amount of butter in that they do. I actually grew up on margarine, but trust me, it didn't take long to learn to love butter. Like someone else mentioned, I do prefer salted, which I know is sin.

I do keep Brummel & Brown margarine around for day-to-day toast buttering and such.

How many of you have bought Danish butter? It is like eating cheese!!! SO GOOD.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Originally Posted by buckytom

vb, you've only been here a few weeks, but i keep finding things you post that are my sentiments, almost my words exactly. many times i have said that bread is the vehicle for butter, as pancakes are merely the vehicle for butter and syrup. (until i made gw's pancakes. now, at least, i'm driving a lamborghini).

it must be the water here in boigen county.

Ahhh. You make this Northerner's cheeks redder than if I walked a mile in a Febuary freeze (tmeperature - say minus 30 or so) . You sure you're from New Yowk? If so, then I'm gonna hafta change my mind about the Big Apple . But then again, other than being only slightly less perfect than Joisey folks, or Texans, to throw an occasional bit of fun at (something about you having a good sense of humor, and me having had some true freinds from those areas), maybe not.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Butter is healthier than is margerine, and most of the water is removed from it. Suprizingly, lard has less of the bad cholesterol in it than does butter. But it is tasteless. It's great to use in place of vegetable shortening in recipes for many pastries such as pie-crust, and some types of cookies. Butter obviously has a wonderful flavor that is unmatched in many foods. I don't think for instance that I would add olive oil to smashed spuds, or melt it over sweet potatoes. Butter is a natural for those. And try making butterscotch from any type of oil. It just wouldn't work.

Butter is so yummy, but is hard on your body if used in excess. So enjoy the butter, but use it wisely. Rather than using it for everything you cook, make something that is truly buttery once in a blue moon, but make it so good that it will satisfy you for a long time.

Do the same with pork-fat, fatty beef, etc. Don't eliminate. Enjoy every now and again. And use olive oil that you really enjoy appropriately as well, say over green beans with a bit of dill, or over a tossed salad with bean sprouts and avacodo.

Yep, I agree, butter is a phenominal flavor. So if I'm going to use it, then I'm going to make it worth using. But I'm not going to do it very often.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[sattie]

Originally Posted by VeraBlue

sometimes the bread is nothing more than a vehicle with which to simply eat butter....

I don't even need the vehicle.... just give the tub or stick or whatever... I will eat it!!! I love butter, if it says 2 TB, then I add 3!

[Bangbang]

Lots of butter and garlic with shrimp.

[mudbug]

Oh, Bang........oh, yeah...........

could we have a little french bread to sop up the juice?

[Ellen]

I will not ever have Margerine here. If the flies won't touch it neither will I. I have been told it is one molecule away from plastic, and the stink of them making it is nauseating. It isn't even as if you were saving money using Marg. I well remember the fuss about eating eggs, we were supposed to drop dead if we had more than one a week, but now it is all tickety boo to eat them as wanted. Oh... how the fads go rounds, all my family live into their 80s and 90s. Butter and eggs, all their lives. It isn't all the whole foods that knock us off, it's all the dreadful stuff 'they' add to foods various.

[buckytom]

Originally Posted by Claire

How many of you have bought Danish butter? It is like eating cheese!!! SO GOOD.

lurpak rocks, claire!!!! if anyone reading this has a chance, buy lurpak butter just once to see how good it can be.

the only butters i've ever had that match it were when i had them freshly made in ireland and lancaster county pa..

my wife remembers her mom churning her own butter, slovak style, and says she's never had butter like that since.

[urmaniac13]

Another Lurpak fan here!! I think it is one of the bests around, if it is not THE best. (Except the ones we could get straight fresh from the mountain farmers while we were in the Alps.... )

I agree with Goodweed. Both butter and margarine are not the ideal thing for your health if you overdo them and are the things to be consumed in moderation. And hydrogenated vegetable oil is absolutely no healthier than butter fat. But when you do use them and if they are equally guilty, then why not go for the gusto and enjoy that special creamy sweet rich flavour that only butter can offer?

[black chef]

i'm lactose intolerant, and even though butter does not have a lot of lactose, i STILL use ghee (clarified butter) most of the time-but that's just for the richness of flavor that it adds.

but just like butter, you MUST use ghee in moderation...

i do use butter in most of my recipes... just not as much, and when i do, i almost ALWAYS use Plugra (european style, unsalted). i will hunt down the lurpak and give it a try though.

[Lynan]

Ellen...you are dead right! Margarine should be outlawed AFAIC. I use Olivio's EVOO spread or the avocado one. Except for baking, gotta have the real thing so butter's the go there! Good Lord, imagine pikelets or scones with marg, not a good thought at all.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Lynan

Ellen...you are dead right! Margarine should be outlawed AFAIC. I use Olivio's EVOO spread or the avocado one...

You don't consider Olivio to be margerine???

[Lynan]

BuckyTom, agreed re Lurpak...it is wonderful. Got to know it well when I lived in Italy and I was SO happy to see it on our supermarket shelves here in lil' ole' New Zealand. We had come of age as far as I was concerned!!
We do have superb butter here in NZ ( and the world's best cream...promise!) that is bright yellow from all the lovely grass we have, and sooooo tasty. Mostly salted tho'.

There is something sexy about Lurpaks paleness. I dunno. And the taste sure is too!

Urmaniac, I agree also about Italian butter in the Alps. In Valdisotto ( SO) my family had cows so butter and cheese were always being made. Exceptional stuff.
And boy do I miss Bitto cheese.
Terribly.

[Lynan]

AndyM...you know about our Olivio brand??

0ooops! I mean Olivani not Olivio...sheesh but I get confused with those two brands.
Olivani has our National Heart Foundation healthy heart food tick.

[Andy M.]

Olivio is an olive oil based fake butter spread sold in the US. It contains no cholesterol or trans fats.

From your earlier post, I assume your Oliviani is the same or similar.

So if it's a fake butter spread made with vegetable oil and lots of water, and processed to make it a solid at room temperature, I consider it margerine. You are putting it in a separate category.

Granted, it's probably more healthful than old style margerines.