Is there a butter backlash? for the purists ...

[Patrick S]

I feel the same way about Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. Sugar is 16 calories a tablespoon.  Do anyone benefit enough from saving 16 or so calories in his or her iced tea that it is worth consuming something that tastes horrid? Again, no way!

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Well, sugar is actually about 50 calories a tablespoon, and a lot of people who like sweet tea are going to want a bit more than 1 tablespoon of sugar in their tea. Certainly if we are talking subbing Splenda for sugar in all of our sweetened drinks, the calorie savings are not trivial at all, easily hundreds of calories a day. I'd rather save the calories for something for which there is not IMHO a good low-cal substitute. Like buttercream.

[Megan Blocker]

I do have a "tub o' funk" in my icebox... it's for my husband.  I think that he is the only person in the world that doesn't like real butter on bread.  Seriously.  He loves real butter melted on hot things, but he doesn't like it straight up.  Sigh.

He's awfully cute tho'. 

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Tub o' funk -

[A Patric]

I love butter, and compared to replacements, there is no question that even lower quality butter beats them all. However, I often use Smart Balance on toast and things like that because it actually is a healthy substitute for butter (i.e., is not partially or fully hydrogenated, has olive and canola oils, and is proven in trials to reduce cholesterol). Normally though, if I can get away with using a good quality extra virgin olive oil, then I do so. I go through almost as much olive oil in a week as I do milk. I use it for most things. That is why a book of Greek deserts is a good resource for people who like sweets, because often, believe it or not, I have found them calling for EVOO rather than butter.

At any rate, it is hard to beat the flavor of the best butter I can find around here:

Unsalted Beurre Baratte de Celles Sur Belle

Alan

[takomabaker]

I meant 16 calories a teaspoon, which is what I have always been told at least. Sorry. It was a typo. I'm about as much of a Southern, sweet tea drinking gal as they come, and I don't think I put much more than a teaspoon in one glass of iced tea. Maybe it's cultural, but sweet tea and Splenda just ain't right.

I suppose it's a matter of taste or health concerns. My partner is a South Beach addict, and she swears by Splenda. I won't let her within 50 feet of me with the stuff. Bleh! But I also try very hard to not consume anything overly processed or fake -- including margarine or artificial sweeteners. I'm not always successful, but I do try.

I feel the same way about Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. Sugar is 16 calories a tablespoon.  Do anyone benefit enough from saving 16 or so calories in his or her iced tea that it is worth consuming something that tastes horrid? Again, no way!

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Well, sugar is actually about 50 calories a tablespoon, and a lot of people who like sweet tea are going to want a bit more than 1 tablespoon of sugar in their tea. Certainly if we are talking subbing Splenda for sugar in all of our sweetened drinks, the calorie savings are not trivial at all, easily hundreds of calories a day. I'd rather save the calories for something for which there is not IMHO a good low-cal substitute. Like buttercream.

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Edited February 28, 2006 by takomabaker (log)

[Patrick S]

I meant 16 calories a teaspoon, which is what I have always been told at least. Sorry. It was a typo. I'm about as much of a Southern, sweet tea drinking gal as they come, and I don't think I put much more than a teaspoon in one glass of iced tea. Maybe it's cultural, but sweet tea and Splenda just ain't right. 

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Well, I don't think its so much regional culture as it is individual preference. I'm also from the south, and I use lots of Splenda, and see lots of other people who use it too.

I suppose it's a matter of taste or health concerns. . . But I also try very hard to not consume anything overly processed or fake -- including . . . artificial sweeteners.

Well, I hate the break the news to ya, but sugar is one the most refined, most-processed products you'll ever buy. You don't get 99.98% pure sucrose without a great deal of processing.

[deltadoc]

After 30 years of telling us that margarine was better for you, it is now a clinical fact that it is worse heart healthy wise than butter. They have always had equal amounts of fat calories.

Most solid artificial spreads are hydrogenated to make them solid. That's bad news.

(mom always loved the Diet Imperial Imitation Margarine)...

I've always eaten butter since I left home and EVOO 30 years ago before it became the rage and could only be found in Italian grocery stores.

57, cholesterols is fine, blood pressure is fine, and I don't think my alopecia is due to butter intake!

doc

[annanstee]

I'd rather eat butter once a week than margarine everyday- but I really would rather eat butter everyday.

There are just certain predjudices I have- and food substitutes are a major one for me. I love vegetarian food, but not especially when it is made to imitate a meat dish. Same with Butter.

Will admit to loving the Splenda though

My body just can't take too much sugar.

[Sugarella]

I can't get behind the "I Cab't Believe It's Not Butter"-thing after I saw Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon of a fly eating out of a similar looking tub marked, "I Can't Believe It's Not Sh!t"

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Butter for me, but then I've never tasted a lot of these brand name margaines that all of you have. Never tried "I can't believe...." etc., but I have tasted a few horrendous margarine products. I was raised on bad margarine and only tasted butter when I was in my 20's.

These days, it's butter for everything except toast, actually, because I do like to slather the stuff on. For that, it's a 100% soy product, non hydrogrenated, which remarkably tastes an awful lot like butter, or at least a lot closer than regular margarine does, and I'm ok with that.

I have customers who gasp at my use of butter based buttercreams for their cakes, but once I've exlained it's whipped so that all they're getting on one serving is barely a tablespoon and that they easily put more butter on toast, they're fine with it. Besides, butter is better for you than crisco, that's for sure.

I think this is similar to the whole egg backlash that went on a few years ago. Somebody reports something stupid and everybody jumps on the anti-"food of the week" bandwagon with only a shred of proper information, and those people refraining from consuming eggs didn't realize they were easily eating at least 2 dozen eggs per week anyways, in their bread, pasta, and ice cream. A little misinformation sadly goes a long way these days.

I really wish someone authoritative would start preaching portion control instead of total abstinance and fear.

[Patrick S]

After 30 years of telling us that margarine was better for you, it is now a clinical fact that it is worse heart healthy wise than butter.

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Actually, there appears to be little concensus on this point. Most experts do agree that trans-fatty acids are worse than saturated fats on a weight-for-weight basis, and margarines do have much more TFAs than butter (butter does have a very small amount of all-natural TFAs). BUT --and this is why there is so little agreement-- butter has so much more saturated fat than margarine has saturated fats+trans fats, its not clear that its better overall than the TFA-containing margarine. A lot of nutritionists are still recommending the softer, tub margarines over butter, because they are much lower in TFAs than the firmer stick margarines.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Patrick S (log)

[barolo]

[

Actually, there appears to be little concensus on this point. Most experts do agree that trans-fatty acids are worse than saturated fats on a weight-for-weight basis, and margarines do have much more TFAs than butter (butter does have a very small amount of all-natural TFAs).

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Interestingly, I just read an article about healthy TFA's in butter:

For example: there is evidence that even high-quality saturated fats can play a healthful role in the diet (up to 10 per cent of caloric intake); milk and meat products contain small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which has been found to stimulate the immune system, protect against cancer and support weight loss;

Full article here. Just scroll down a bit to A letter from Victoria Pawlowski, a nutritionist with Capers Markets

[takomabaker]

I really wish someone authoritative would start preaching portion control instead of total abstinance and fear.

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Julia did, God bless her!:

Child loves to use butter and cream in her recipes, bucking the national trend for low-fat, healthy living. Her secret of staying trim, despite the rich diet? "I don't eat so much butter and cream -- just enough! And no snacking. That's very important."

[deltadoc]

True clinical studies, which I read as an employee in cardiology based medical devices tend to grab my attention.

This is just my personal preference and is not intended to slight nutritionists, et al.

doc

[echocolate]

My pet peeve is when people think that the word "butter" is a perfectly acceptable substitute for the word "margarine." But out of politeness, I have never said anything - just swallowed my disappointment after eagerly looking all around for the butter they asked me to pass, and realizing they meant margarine.

In fact, after reading this thread yesterday, I called a wholesale grocery store to inquire into their prices for butter. The man quoted me 54 cents a pound and I nearly fell over in shock, until I realized a few minutes later that he meant margarine. I went down to that store today in person, and sure enough, the margarine is 54 cents a pound. The butter was $2.44/lb, and I can get that cheaper at Aldi ($1.99).

(I wandered around the store for a while longer and also saw some white truffle oil for sale, which I filed away for future reference, 'cause I have no idea what to do with it. )

[repoman]

I used to be scared of real butter until I became a foodie. Now I always use it. I also have some of that Blummel and Brown yogurt spread which I find tastes ok in certain applications. I tried smart balance and I found that it left a strange film on my tounge that made beer taste funky and if there is one thing that I hate, its anything that messes with the taste of beer.

Edited March 1, 2006 by repoman (log)

[Rebecca263]

My daughter just told me that she had Olivio spread on popcorn at a friend's house, and that it was pretty good. I dunno, I'll stick to spraying the popcorn with olive oil and salting it, here at home. I just can't get the application right with butter, and I end up using sticks and sticks of the stuff!

[Rebecca263]

...Well, I hate the break the news to ya, but sugar is one the most refined, most-processed products you'll ever buy. You don't get 99.98% pure sucrose without a great deal of processing...

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That is SO true! I only eat white sugar in foods I eat outside of my house, at home we use Splenda (for cold tea), raw sugar, maple syrup and honey for everything. Mind you raw sugar, maple syrup and honey are THE SAME, nutritionally, as white sugar, so I'm always wondering WHY I do that, but then I buy a bag of the white stuff and I remember, instantly. No flavor other than sweet. Although, it is pretty good when you get the big crystals baked on top of strudel. Or when you get Cuban coffee... ooh, sugar rush!

[Evan]

One of my friends and I never mention the "M" word as a substitute for butter, matter of fact, that word is not even in my vocabulary any more. Albeit growing up, my family would get the fleishmann's(sp?) butter substitute and they still do.

[Mottmott]

I never use substitute butters. When a dish calls for butter, only butter will do. What I have done is to redirect my day to day cooking to dishes that benefit from using olive oil.

[Shalmanese]

My daughter just told me that she had Olivio spread on popcorn at a friend's house, and that it was pretty good. I dunno, I'll stick to spraying the popcorn with olive oil and salting it, here at home. I just can't get the application  right with butter, and I end up using sticks and sticks of the stuff!

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Buy a spritz bottle for 50c. Melt a stick of butter with 2 tbsp of salt and pour it into the bottle and spritz onto the popcorn. Of course, your left with 9/10th of a stick of butter in the spritz bottle but that can be put into the fridge and warmed up in the microwave when you need to use it again. Further uses for a spritz bottle of salty melted butter is left as an exercise to the perspicacious reader .

[Rebecca263]

Buy a spritz bottle for 50c. Melt a stick of butter with 2 tbsp of salt and pour it into the bottle and spritz onto the popcorn. Of course, your left with 9/10th of a stick of butter in the spritz bottle but that can be put into the fridge and warmed up in the microwave when you need to use it again. Further uses for a spritz bottle of salty melted butter is left as an exercise to the perspicacious reader .

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OOh, Shalmanese! I think we'll just leave out the salt, and see what uses we can arrive at for the aforementioned bottle of buttery butter. I'm going to try this! My microwave is usually only used for a teakettle, you know, so we're really not getting our money's worth out of the darned thing (39.99).

[deltadoc]

Mind you raw sugar, maple syrup and honey are THE SAME, nutritionally, as white sugar...

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Just to clarify: honey and raw sugar are definitely not the same nutritionally.

Raw sugar is mainly sucrose which is a molecule made up of one glucose and one fructose molecule. Raw sugar (white sugar) is absorbed by the body through the process of osmosis.

Honey on the other hand is about 1.3% sucrose, 31% Dextrose, 38% levulose, 7% maltose and about 1.5% higher sugars. Honey, due to the nature of its contents, requires "active transport" in order to be absorbed by the body. Active transport requires "carriers" and depending on the availability of "carriers", the absorbtion of honey results in less chance of hypoglycemia, and results in less "ups and downs" in insulin levels than sucrose or glucose.

Since some people's health is dependent on watching the types of sugars they eat, I thought it necessary to go off-topic a bit to address this.

doc

[Rebecca263]

Wow, VERY interesting! I'm going to look up some statistics on this and show them to my daughter tonight. She LOVES to tell me that honey isn't any different than sugar in her tea! Thanks!

Edited March 3, 2006 by Rebecca263 (log)

[Patrick S]

Mind you raw sugar, maple syrup and honey are THE SAME, nutritionally, as white sugar...

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Just to clarify: honey and raw sugar are definitely not the same nutritionally.

Raw sugar is mainly sucrose which is a molecule made up of one glucose and one fructose molecule. Raw sugar (white sugar) is absorbed by the body through the process of osmosis.

Honey on the other hand is about 1.3% sucrose, 31% Dextrose, 38% levulose, 7% maltose and about 1.5% higher sugars.

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Just to clarify a bit, dextrose and levulose are different names for glucose and fructose, respectively, the same monosaccharides that make up table sugar.

[A Patric]

Maybe she meant that the different sugars have the same number of calories per gram.

Edited March 3, 2006 by A Patric (log)

[Rebecca263]

Calories! Hahahaha! I couldn't care less about a calorie or a thousand. If I feel like being nutritionally focussed I count grams of fiber. Still, I always was under the impression that all sugars were similar in nutritional value. I am studying up on it this Sunday. We'll see! Back to the subject, butter! We have butter in the house, and I can eat solid food again! We're having artichokes, then cookies, then fresh bread, all with butter! ASAP!

Edited March 4, 2006 by Rebecca263 (log)