Saturday, August 06, 2011

Butter vs Margarine

Butter: milk fat (cream), salt

Margarine: edible oils, edible fats, salt or potassium chloride, ascorbyl palmitate, butylated hydroxyanisole, phospholipids, tert-butyl hydroquinone, mono- and di- glycerides of fat forming fatty acids, disodium guanylate, diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol, propyl, octyl, or dodecyl gallate (or mixtures thereof), tocopherols, propylene glyco mono- and di- esters, sucrose esters of fatty acids, curcumin, annatto extracts, tartaric acid, 3, 5, trimethylhexanul, beta-apo-carotenoic acid methyl or ethyl ester, skim milk powder, xanthophylls, canthaxanthin, vitamin A and D.



Recently, I bought a package of Parkay. This was so my mom was able to eat dessert at my house. You see, my mom's system cannot tolerate dairy any more. No real reason why but after years of horrible stomach and back pain she has pinpointed the source to dairy products. So when she comes to my place I am very careful to make her a completely dairy free meal! It's a bit tough since love our dairy over here but certainly not impossible.
So I have this leftover margarine in my fridge that I've been using for everyday. It's been really hard to adjust my tastebuds back to margarine and I'm surprised! I grew up on the stuff. My parents had to be very penny-wise in my growing up years and among other food economies, we only ate margarine. It was fine, I knew no better...although having 'real' butter on buns at my Oma's was a delectable treat. Several years back I switched my own little brood over to only butter due to the fact it's a 'real' food and margarine is a processed food. The cost was something I just had to get over. Also, the smell of melted butter was never something I liked but whatevs!
So now after chowing our way through a few blocks of margarine, I find that now I think it stinks! It tastes funny too! You can't taste it in baking so that's precisely where it's going to be used until it's all gone.
We'll happily go back to our beloved butter, thank you.
So tell me. Did you grow up with margarine or butter? What do you use now?

10 comments:

Kori's House said...

I was going to suggest using it in baking :)
We grew up on margerine and had butter only as a treat - I think a treat for my mom! The thing I hated about having real butter growing up was that it always came with 'don't take so much, it's expensive'!
I actually buy both. I'm trying to switch over to butter but I actually prefer the taste of Margerine, I like that becel is easy to spread.

Keri's Collage... said...

Keep the bricks of margarine in your freezer and bring them out for baking or when your mom comes over.

Keri's Collage... said...

Also, all margarine is not created equal. Some brands taste horrible and some are more similar in taste to butter.

white girl said...

I'm all about the butter. We can't really get margarine here except for a grody kind in a tin can that I have to open with a can opener. Now that I've made the complete switch over - using it both for baking and for spreading on bread - I can't go back.

I think Keri's suggestion of keeping it in the freezer and pulling it out when you need it for a visit from your mom is a good one!

villagegirl said...

We did both. My mom used marg for baking simply for the cost.
I refuse to use it because it is pretty much one ingredient away from being plastic.
And I can taste it in baking. :)

Stephanie said...

We used margarine most of the time growing up, but Jon and I have been using only butter. That is, until lately, as his cholesterol is through the roof at only age 38! I don't mind the taste of Olivina on bread though; it's quite nice. Parkay would take some getting used to, however! Just throw it into your cookie dough :)

Trace said...

I grew up on margarine and we have that at home but I LOVE butter and much prefer it. We have the cholesterol reducing marg though on doctor's advice after a bit of a scare a couple of years ago.

wildo said...

I grew up on margarine and have used butter in my house since I moved out. Now we have both in the house for my dad, but I buy the "can't believe it's not butter" from the states, and I can't tell the difference.

Jenn said...

We grew up with margarine, but I only buy butter now... I find margarine quite discusting!

Anonymous said...

We grew up with margarine and that's what I use now. I only buy butter once in awhile when a recipe specifically calls for it.