Butter vs Margarine: Which One is Better?

[jennywren]

My church offers a free community dinner every Monday for people who live in our little town. Both of my kids have to be there because they volunteer there so that means I have to go too. Sometimes the food is off the charts good sometimes it leaves something to be desired but the desserts are always fantastic.

Now you must know, I use only butter. I switched when I decided on a whole food diet. I know whee butter comes from the same cannot be said of margarine. Sometimes it is better for you than margarine sometimes it is totally not.

When I finally got there yesterday there were few desserts left. Cake and rice krispie treats. They were so gross with their overpowering fake butter taste. I couldn't even eat them. I do not know if a really bad margarine was used or fake butter flavoring.

Either way that reinforced my notion that butter is always best.

 

[Becky]

Totally agree with you! I always use butter

 

[limcid]

I figure if you're going to have to use something like that, then use the real thing. It might cost more, but you can definitely tell the difference.

 

[MissDJ]

I'm Team Butter all day, everyday. I do believe in moderation, so I try to sautee veggies in white wine or chicken stock. However, when it comes to baking, there's no substitute for real butter. That's why I look askance at store-bought pastry crusts. If you have flour, butter and salt at home, you can make a delicious, light, flaky, buttery pie crust for pennies. No weird chemicals or preservatives need apply.

 

[Jameela280]

Who does not enjoy baking a good cake, sometimes the only problem can be deciding what kind of cake I want to make. Yesterday, I wanted a cake so bad and I sent my husband to the store where he bought a cake mix, I did not like. Not his fault but it lead me to want to start baking my own cakes from scratch, any tips will be well accepted. If I had to choose, I would say butter.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I use butter also, and after reading how bad margarine is for us, I don't even buy anything but butter. When I am sautéing, I use olive oil, or coconut oil, and sometimes I use that in my baking also, or part oil and part butter, so I can conserve on the butter. It is a lot more expensive, so we have learned to conserve our use of butter, but it is worth it for the health benefits and taste.
I used to have a recipe for sunbutter, and I have been thinking about doing it again. You soften the butter, then whip the oil into the butter, and it is similar to whipped margarine, but it has a buttery taste, and is healthy since it is made with real butter and good oil. You do have to keep it refrigerated, or the oil will soften up too much.

 

[jennywren]

Love all you butter gals! Team Butter rocks! (thanx Miss Dj)

 

[Nahum]

With out a doubt, butter. No thank you to margarine.

 

[Becky]

Not that anyone needs any convincing, but thought this was worth sharing here:

Margarine's not bad - but butter's better

Everything in moderation

 

[Loopyloo]

I try to use butter, olive oil or coconut oil but I do have a secret stash of margarine in the fridge. Its a but easier to spread on fresh bread sometimes. Its something we use sparingly. I feel like its a chemical mix made to taste like butter.

 

[ACSAPA]

I prefer real butter and I use real butter for eating on bread as well as baking.
The only time I use margarine is when I'm really low on cash and it's between buying margarine or putting one of my grocery items back.

 

[happy_tammy]

Butter as always. Not only my tongue gets the satisfaction it needs, it saves money,too! Why did I say that? Well because, I noticed that everytime I use margarine, I end up putting more than what I have to put because it won't give the taste I want. In the end, I have to go back to the nearest grocery and buy myself again, this time butter, to achieve the taste that I want,. At first i thought I only bought a margarine brand that is not known, so on the second time, I again used margarine but same result--lack of taste. So i vowed not to use margarine again and just stick to butter to achieve the taste I want in my cooking.

 

[Becky]

I learned about the history of margarine last night... from watching an episode of Mad Men!

Napoleon III saw that both his poorer subjects and his navy would benefit from having easy access to a cheap butter substitute, so he offered a prize for anyone who could create an adequate replacement.

Enter French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès. In 1869, Mège-Mouriès perfected and patented a process for churning beef tallow with milk to create an acceptable butter substitute, thereby winning the Emperor’s prize.

Read the full text here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/25638/surprisingly-interesting-history-margarine

 

[Soliloquy]

I stay away from margarine because of the trans-fats. Butter tastes better any way!

 

[LivetoErr]

I'm like Loopyloo, prefer butter but I can refrigerate margarine and have it still be soft for bread.

As for Rice Krispy squares, I use Karo syrup in lieu of butter. Much better, especially when using Chocolate Lucky Charms

 

[OhioTom76]

I prefer butter as well, but I don't loathe margarine. I have a couple of friends who are vegan, and when cooking things for a potluck, margarine is a fine substitute. Also, when you are sauteing or frying things that call for oil and butter, if you don't want the nutty brown effect that butter will produce, margarine is a safer bet. Not all brands are that awful tasting. I don't eat a whole lot of either, personally, so it's whatever fits the situation. If I am cooking for myself, butter, if I am cooking for others, possibly margarine.

 

[TheStoryteller1]

Always butter! I don't want to overdo it, so for vegetables, rice and things like that, I tend to use olive oil. But in baking, always butter. That goes with me not seeing the point in drinking low fat milk. Drink/eat in moderation and eat the real thing!

 

[Meowmie]

Butter tastes so much better I won't even consider buying margarine. Even if they found a way to make margarine taste like butter (I can't believe it's not butter got kind of close) I still wouldn't buy it. Too many dangerous ingredients in margarine.

 

[JGPangi]

Oh, butter, quite definitely. One of my best memories from our vacation in Germany was having freshly baked German sourdough bread with creamy butter every single day for breakfast. It got so I didn't want to eat anything else and our host family probably thought I was nuts. I couldn't help it though; the butter and bread together was like heaven in my mouth.

Butter is very expensive here in the Philippines since we don't really have local dairy production, but whenever I get the chance, I always invest in a bar of butter.

 

[NThomas]

I only use margine if I am out of butter. I some time keep a small amount of margerine on hand for buttering toast. I don't cook with it because ti does not have the same flavor and i hear that it is not the heathiest thing to eat.