Let's talk about butter

[Aubrey]

Ever since the butter bell discussion, I've been wondering...does margarine work in those things?

 

So what do you buy & why?

[Tracy in Ky]

Butter (I make it and buy it). I am scared silly of margarine. That stuff will kill you--slowly. :eek:

[Pink Fairy]

I missed the butter bell discussion. I loved both of mine (they're broken now, and haven't been replaced yet). I am definitely pro-butter, and anti-margerine, so I don't know if margerine would work in the butter bell. Is this what you mean by "let's talk about butter"? :001_smile: "Oh butter, how I love thee. Let me count the ways..."

[lwilliams1922]

90% coconut oil

10% organic butter

 

http://www.coconutoil.com/research.htm

[sleepy]

I used to be a vegan (for about 10 yrs, we used a soy-based margarine), but a couple of years ago I went back to the real thing. Real butter is good stuff. Yum!

 

Not sure about the butter bell, though, I don't have one.

[nmoira]

We buy organic cultured butter because it tastes better, and we use little enough of it that it doesn't throw our food budget out of whack. I also keep Earth Balance in the fridge to accomodate guests who may have a dairy allergy.

[JFSinIL]

real butter. The other stuff just tastes nasty!

[Marie in Oh]

butter is not. I ate margarine this morning on my pancakes at the Labor Day Fireman's breakfast. Ugh! It was yucky. In a squirt bottle no less. Pass the butter please.

[Liz CA]

Butter (I make it and buy it). I am scared silly of margarine. That stuff will kill you--slowly. :eek:

 

Same here. We never eat margarine. The chemical content of this stuff is mind-blowing.

[E_Edgerton]

Real butter! We usually try to get it fresh from an Amish community not far away. So tasty!:)

[Parabola]

I have a question, how does real butter compare to the new kinds of products like Benecol, Promise Active or Smart Butter? These products claim to lower cholesterol if you eat enough of it, and have no trans fat, have plant esterols, etc?

 

I notice though that some of them still have hydrogenated oils.

 

I've been wanting to switch to real butter, but butter (careful with my Ts there), has some unhealthy aspects as well.

 

Oh, and I guess another question: if you use real butter, what exactly do you buy?

 

Oh yet another, how hard is it to make?

 

And squirt bottle margarine....never tried it, never will. :eek: There is just something inherently wrong with that.

 

Thanks everybody.

[Aubrey]

I have a question, how does real butter compare to the new kinds of products like Benecol, Promise Active or Smart Butter? These products claim to lower cholesterol if you eat enough of it, and have no trans fat, have plant esterols, etc?

 

I notice though that some of them still have hydrogenated oils.

 

I've been wanting to switch to real butter, but butter (careful with my Ts there), has some unhealthy aspects as well.

 

Oh, and I guess another question: if you use real butter, what exactly do you buy?

 

Oh yet another, how hard is it to make?

 

And squirt bottle margarine....never tried it, never will. :eek: There is just something inherently wrong with that.

 

Thanks everybody.

 

First of all, squirt bottle margarine is...well...sentimental. It's all my gr-grandparents would use. Open a roll of biscuits, squirt some margarine, add jam. Yum. Completely nostalgic.

 

Now, you have to understand. At my house, we had *stick* margarine. So you can imagine the warm, melty yumminess of the squirt stuff.

 

However, I'm a grown-up now. I don't much like jam, & I haven't had squirt margarine in over 20 yrs. I'm just sayin'....

 

As far as how hard butter is to make...somebody told me one can simply put cream in a tupperware & shake it until it turns to butter. The same person said this is a great kid job, lol. I haven't tried it, but it sounds fun.

 

All the other questions, I'll have to...uh...defer on. I'm the one vote for "whatever's cheapest." :001_huh:

[3lilreds in NC]

I don't much like jam, & I haven't had squirt margarine in over 20 yrs. I'm just sayin'....

 

 

You don't like JAM? How can you not like jam? Clearly you have not had blueberry jam made with wild UP blueberries. We will have to remedy that.

 

We buy Smart Balance. We like it. Other margarine is a little scary, but often apparently dairy-free because my friend who is lactose-intolerant uses it for baking. If we didn't get Smart Balance, we'd get real butter.

[Parabola]

I just did some reading, and it seems that the new products (I don't even know what to call them) such as Smart Balance, Benecol, etc. are better for you then both butter and definitely margarine. We eat a lot of "butter", so in moderation is hard for us.

 

I think that butter probably has a better taste, but I'm willing to give that up for better health.

 

One site I read did say that if you're going to get margarine, get it in a tub or a squeeze bottle, so there you go Aubrey!

[LisaKinVA]

I buy real butter -- and I buy "spray" butter (no bad transfats). We use spray butter on toast, toaster waffles, most of the time. We break out the butter for cooking and special dinners. Creates balance in my life :D

[Aubrey]

You don't like JAM? How can you not like jam? Clearly you have not had blueberry jam made with wild UP blueberries. We will have to remedy that.

 

We buy Smart Balance. We like it. Other margarine is a little scary, but often apparently dairy-free because my friend who is lactose-intolerant uses it for baking. If we didn't get Smart Balance, we'd get real butter.

 

Well, ok, blueberry jam sounds like it might be ok. As a general rule, though, I don't like big pieces of candied fruit in my jelly-product. We buy the all-fruit stuff because it's supposed to be healthier & tastes better (imo).

[Mrs Mungo]

We use real butter. However, I do buy the "spreadable" butter by Land O Lakes that is mixed with canola oil for use on toast and such.

[H.S. Burrow]

We switched to real butter when DD was a baby (she will be 14 this year!) after watching a scary Dateline episode about trans fats in margarine. We don't use tons of butter, but that is *all* we use....even in baking. I set it out to soften it if we are having rolls with dinner. We don't eat a lot of toast or bagels but when we do, the warmth from the toasted bread or bagel is sufficient to soften the butter. DH wants me to order a butter bell.

 

What I find interesting is that my mom - who never stopped buying margarine (her brand is now trans-fat free - it *says*) is her ideal body weight but has *scary* high colesterol and I am over my ideal body weight but have excellent colesterol. My sister who has recently switched to all butter has high colesterol but it is getting better.

 

We will always use butter. Yes it is a bad saturated fat, but it is a more natural fat than the other products that are out there and I think that is the key difference.

[Mamagistra]

Butter, organic, and lots of it. ;) And my cholesterol is an oh-so scary 203.

 

Life is too short to eat fake cr@p, I say. :D (But, Parabola, I'll still love you if you eat Smart Earth Bene Balance.) :grouphug:

[Ellie]

it isn't just *any* butter; it's Plugra butter. Everything else just tastes like salty oil :-p

[Parabola]

Butter, organic, and lots of it. ;) And my cholesterol is an oh-so scary 203.

 

Life is too short to eat fake cr@p, I say. :D (But, Parabola, I'll still love you if you eat Smart Earth Bene Balance.) :grouphug:

 

Well thank goodness Debra, cause I was worred.

 

:D

 

:grouphug:

[fivetails]

I don't think I've ever actually had "real butter" - we just buy the cheap margarine in the round container, store brand....it goes on toast, bagels, pancakes, in recipes, whatever. Do they actually taste different?

 

(We call it 'butter' though - nobody says "pass the margarine")

[Spy Car]

I won't eat margarine. Never liked it.

 

While I love very fresh butter I eat very infrequently (using olive oil as my main "fat") so I keep a small amount of butter (well wrapped) in the freezer) and remove tiny portions for immediate use. If butter tastes even slightly "oxygenated" I won't eat it.

 

I'm not super-picky about many things, but fresh tasting butter is one of them.

 

Bill

[Tammyla]

Butter, butter, only real butter.

[Guest]

I grew up on margarine, so as an adult, I defaulted to that. I took a much keener interest in cooking and baking than my mom, so I started using butter when it made a difference in recipes. I still bought margarine for Mac & Cheese - a staple item in our house. I've been buying more and more real butter, though.

[Haiku]

I voted neither. We're vegan and have a soy-sensitive child (so no "soy butter").

 

Tara

 

ETA: I probably should have said what we DO use: olive oil or coconut oil.

[gandpsmommy]

I use only real butter for cooking and baking, and I like real butter for toast and rolls, etc. But dh only likes margarine. So, I buy sticks of butter and a tub of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." I tried buying Smart Balance, but dh says it doesn't spread well.

[Nestof3]

I picked butter, but I also have smart balance. I bake with butter or oil, I use Smart Balance on other things.

[abbeyej]

I don't think I've ever actually had "real butter" .... Do they actually taste different?

 

:ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy:

 

Really?!?

 

They're really not even remotely alike. But, um, *surely* you've had butter? How is that even possible?

[Cheryl in NM]

I just did some reading, and it seems that the new products (I don't even know what to call them) such as Smart Balance, Benecol, etc. are better for you then both butter and definitely margarine. We eat a lot of "butter", so in moderation is hard for us.

 

I think that butter probably has a better taste, but I'm willing to give that up for better health.

 

One site I read did say that if you're going to get margarine, get it in a tub or a squeeze bottle, so there you go Aubrey!

 

Check out the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. She goes into the false myths about the "healthy" alternatives to butter. Butter is just fine as long as you don't drink it. I tend to eat too much on my:lurk5: though.:glare:

[nukeswife]

We were a margarine family for many years growing up. Only my Grandma used real butter, so to us butter was butter even if it was margarine. My dh and I started using margarine out of habit from us both growing up with it. I made the switch to butter a few years ago and then we went back since we didn't like it being so hard from the fridge and we would always forget to bring it out. Then in Jan I saw a horrible thing about margarine and the things in it so I switched us back to real butter and bought a butter bell. I would love to start making my own although I've never tried. I have a Bosch mixer so I'm sure I could try using that. Maybe I'll have to do some research.

[MicheleB]

Dh is a dairy farmer and about had a COW the first time I brought margarine home from the store. I didn't know! I was raised on margarine. Now I don't know how I ever stomached the stuff. <blech>

 

Butter only.... even if I want to bake a lot, like around Christmas, dh insists I only buy butter.

[fivetails]

I don't think I've ever actually had "real butter" .... Do they actually taste different?

 

:ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy:

 

Really?!?

 

They're really not even remotely alike. But, um, *surely* you've had butter? How is that even possible?

 

Well, I may have *in* something that someone else cooked/baked - probably, in fact...after all, I *have* eaten food that other people cooked (restaurants, bake sales, etc) ....or perhaps as a kid....but I've never bought it - and I've never seen it in anyone else's fridge... everyone in my family buys the margarine containers like I do...and they all call it 'butter' like we do. :)

 

Maybe I'll have to go buy some of the "real butter" now just to see what the big fuss is all about....

[Cindy in C-ville]

Maybe I'll have to go buy some of the "real butter" now just to see what the big fuss is all about....

 

Oh, honey, please get out and get some REAL butter today! I, too, grew up on margarine and my mom still uses it, but I made the switch as a young adult abd have never gone back. I do have a butter bell, but it is a little bit of a frustration b/c the buuter falls down into the water sometimes. Anybody have any suggestions for this?

[GailV]

Ever since the butter bell discussion, I've been wondering...does margarine work in those things?

 

So what do you buy & why?

 

Real, organic butter, cultured if possible. Not salted. It's the healthiest choice, IMO. Also, I get the butter oil centrifuged from butter produced by cows eating rapidly growing spring grass, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.

 

Also, I think you don't need a butter bell for margarine. I'm under the impression that you could leave margarine on the counter for several months and it wouldn't really change that much -- no bugs would bother it, since they wouldn't recognize it as a food. But maybe the fats would go rancid ... oh, wait, if they're hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated that would take a long, long time, too.

[jmgconner]

I don't think I've ever actually had "real butter" - we just buy the cheap margarine in the round container, store brand....it goes on toast, bagels, pancakes, in recipes, whatever. Do they actually taste different?

 

(We call it 'butter' though - nobody says "pass the margarine")

 

Yes! Here's a fun little test. Make up some toast, butter one with real butter (make sure to let your butter sit out so it gets soft and spreadable) and the other with margarine. Do a little blind taste-test.

 

You'll find that you don't need as much butter as margarine to get that wonderful buttery taste.

[Cheryl in NM]

Oh, honey, please get out and get some REAL butter today! I, too, grew up on margarine and my mom still uses it, but I made the switch as a young adult abd have never gone back. I do have a butter bell, but it is a little bit of a frustration b/c the buuter falls down into the water sometimes. Anybody have any suggestions for this?

 

Here's few suggestions.

 

• Change your water every few days with cool water.

• Don't let the butter get to hot while it's not in the bell.

• I always push the butter up against the sides and the bottom when I put it back in the water

There was a thread several months back about butter bells.

[M&M]

we have started to like coconut oil as well, but that is a whole 'nuther ball of..

[Lisa at Home]

It is a vegan spread made from whipped oils. We buy the organic, whipped version. It is non hyrdrogenated. Tastes like the real thing!

 

We do also use coconut oil, too.

 

~Lisa

[Jennifer3141]

We make our own butter a couple of times a month from our local dairy's cream. Yum!

 

Jen

[Michelle in MO]

I bought margarine for a while during my college years in Minnesota, simply because it was cheaper. One day my parents (also native Minnesotans) visited my apartment; when they saw the margarine, they said, "I can't believe you're buying that stuff!" My dad tells me that when margarine was first used in the 1940's, it was actually banned from the state! :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Apparently there were signs that would say, "Lene likes butter, not Ole!" (if it's not funny to you, don't worry! There are lots of jokes about a fictional Norwegian coupled named "Lene" and "Ole" in Minnesota.)

[MicheleB]

 

Apparently there were signs that would say, "Lene likes butter, not Ole!" (if it's not funny to you, don't worry! There are lots of jokes about a fictional Norwegian coupled named "Lene" and "Ole" in Minnesota.)

 

That's interesting. My grandmother called margarine "oleo". She was from PA though... Hmm.....

[laylamcb]

It was when my kids asked me to spray the butter on their corn that I realized, My children don't know what real butter is. THAT'S SO WRONG! So we got the real thing, and they now know how delish it is. To ensure that there's no confusion, we now call the yellow spray stuff (which I still use depending on the situation) Futter--fake butter. :lol:

[lwilliams1922]

eeesh

my mom went to weight watchers a few years back.

Every since then she's been using the imitation low cal spray stuff.

MIL uses it to.

 

Sometimes I feel like such a freak or a bad house guest :( there are just so many things I don't want to eat or give my kids. hydrogenated oils, MSG, high frutose corn syrup,...

 

 

I must have missed the butter bell conversation.

 

can anyone tell me where to get one or how to make butter?

 

thanks

[GailV]

That's interesting. My grandmother called margarine "oleo". She was from PA though... Hmm.....

 

Oleo or oleo-margarine is an old term for margarine. If I were industrious I could probably find something on the internet about it, but it's before 6am and I should be feeding the cats instead of sitting here half asleep.

 

ETA: Aha, here's a Wikipedia article on margarine that mentions it was originally called oleomargarine (since it's oleic acid? I'm to sleepy to read this well), which was shortened to either oleo or margarine.

 

Okay, off to feed cats now.