Butter or Margarine?

[eccentrictinkerer]

I've been married for 47 years to a wonderful cook who is also a cookbook writer , food editor and recipe developer. LOML will not allow margarine in our kitchen. :-)

I'm also blessed with good genes, I guess, because all my grandparents, their children and my parents all passed away quietly in their 90's. So I figure I'll use real butter.

Julia Child was once asked if she could suggest a substitute for butter. Her reply was "Why yes! Use heavy cream.".

[Mr__Bill]

About 2 months ago I changed from using margarine to butter about half the time. For toast and even for light frying, I can tell a world of difference.
snip

This past week, I made two pieces of toast and buttered one and added margarine to the other.

Results:
Margarine toast was soggy almost immediately;
Buttered toast remained crispy.

I'm giving up the watered down margarine!
snip
One tip for buttering toast: Butter doesn’t spread like whipped margarine, so I cut butter into pats, place a pat on the toast and use a Harbor Freight heat gun on the butter. In about 10 seconds, it is fully melted. Toast is crisp too. Finally, I can eat and enjoy toast like I used to!

One thing, it's now called spread.... the stuff in the tubs is as you say, a lot of water. I think the stick stuff is still real margarine. I'll try it on my french toast tomorrow and see how it melts.

I love salted butter, milk and ice cream, unfortunately it hates me. If you think margarine is bad try comparing Oat Milk or Rice Milk to the real thing.

Congrats on the weight loss. I too continue to loose weight, two years and it's down about 35 pounds. Goes in spurts, Ill weigh the same and suddenly I am down another 5 pounds. Had a long stretch of no loss and then I had the stomach flue.....

Bill
on the left coast

[Old Dutchman]

Butter or margarine!

One thing that You might have noticed is what foods the cows were eating. My Family has went to foods that are not genetically modified. My Daughter has food allergies, She also has problems with Dairy products. We have changed to foods that are not Genetically Modified! After a few weeks of getting used to the flavors, We all felt much happier with the flavors of the food and the energy that we have gained, that We will never go back to other unknown foods. You will find that there is a difference, and now We know what We are eating. Other Countries watch this much Closer than the USA does!

[Neal]

We converted to Butter sometime ago, when trying to do a primal dietary regimen. We never switched back.

Don't use a lot of it, because I don't eat a lot of bread, but I much prefer it to margarine.

[thiggy]

I grew up in the 50's with nothing but oleo served at home. When the family would eat out (rarely) I would try butter, but I did not care for it. Since our marriage, my wife has exclusively used butter, as that is what she was raised on. In perhaps the last 20 years, my Mother has converted to butter as well. We all prefer salted.

[marc82much]

margarine/oleo eaters...

Just curious. Why do you eat margarine/oleo?

Is it because you think it will be a healthier choice than butter?
Is it because it tastes better (to you)?
Is it a cost issue?
Other?

[Stytooner]

I don't use much of either. I prefer wheat toast with nothing else on it. I still eat it with butter or Oleo, but won't apply it when given a choice. I like jams and jellies as well, but rarely use it on toast.
Now I like my biscuits with butter. No jam.

[Neal]

.
Now I like my biscuits with butter. No jam.

I prefer my biscuits with suasage gravy....But that won't help me win the weight loss challenge, so I just stay away

[leehljp]

Just curious. Why do you eat margarine/oleo?

Is it because you think it will be a healthier choice than butter?
Is it because it tastes better (to you)?
Is it a cost issue?
Other?

Up until the mid-50s (I was about 8) we had (made) our own butter. Mom bought butter after that for a few years but at some point around '60, she started buying margarine. LOML's family used margarine considerably and when we married we continued that.

I think the reason was that the perception and "science" gave us at that time - margarine was healthier than butter.

Perception is erroneously swayed by statements such as "1/3 less calories", "vegetable", "less fat" etc. Food scientists also led to this conclusion in the 60's - 80's.

[mattcintosh]

If a stick margarine is less than 100 calories per serving or contain less than 80% vegetable oil, it contains added water. I tried to find some of that at the store today and with all the stuff in tubs and sticks, only Land o' Lakes still is the real stuff. I see some stuff out there that is 35%. I've told my parents that when I see the junk they have in their fridge and they tell me "its better for you" and I tell them, you're just paying for a box of 2 sticks of margarine, and 2 sticks of water. Want it to be healtier? Just use less.

I never really got into butter and seems to taste a little funny to me.

Also, I could never stand eating non-melted margarine, spreading it on cold bread is just nasty.

[TB Roye]

Back when I was a kid, Post WWII and we didn't have much, I can remember my mom dumping this red liquid into a bowl of this white stuff and as she stirred it, it turned a yellow color. Then we put it on our Toast yuk. I think that was a butter substitute from rationing during WWII. Of course over the years they improved it? and now we find out it isn't that good for us.

Tom

[atgcpaul]

Probably coming to a Harry and David near you:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1070983896/the-stupendous-splendiferous-butterup

[All Thumbs]

OMG needing a special tool to butter your bread? What is this world coming to?

[dbhost]

Interesting thread to dig back up, but I'll play...

Over the years I have bounced between real butter, and the low fat margarine spreads. I have been taken to task rather sternly by my primary care doctor, as well as nutritionist over the issue. With the amounts I use (minimal at most), I am actually better off using real, honest to goodness butter.

What butter we do get is Organic "Amish" butter. Flavor is a bit different from say Land O Lakes as it seems to have a stronger flavor, so I end up using less. Between the wife and I we go through maybe a pound of butter in 2 months. Thank God for long expiration dates!

FWIW, I tend to make a dish, called Brat Kartoffeln mit Kohl (Bratwurst potatoes with cabbage), the potatoes and cabbage get pan fried in butter. I tried with margarine and the results tasted awful.

[Cochese]

OMG needing a special tool to butter your bread? What is this world coming to?

A butter grater is pure genius though.