PrintButter Substitutes
I am looking for an alternative to butter. I don't use it often but when I do I would like to use one of the healthier versions that are all over the shelves these days. The one I am thinking about is SmartButter. Any thoughts on this product or any other suggestions? It is mostly for toast or pasta.
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20 Comments:
I know this is not the answer you're looking for, but how about "a smaller amount of butter?" In my mind, this is the only acceptable substitute.
Or maybe olive oil on your pasta, and jam on your toast.
Kerosena at 12:28PM on 01/10/08
If it's for specific dietary reasons, such as lactose-intolerance, veganism, food allergies, etc., I'd try Earth Balance. If it's just a personal preference, or for general health concerns, I'd go with Smart Balance with Flax, which is more widely available.
My dad is severely lactose-intolerant, and has major cholesterol problems. He likes Benecol.
Otherwise, I totally agree with Kero... I'd stick with real butter, and just use less of it. It tastes so much better and generally works better in cooking.
LoCo at 12:49PM on 01/10/08
If it's for pasta, I wouldn't use butter at all, but a nice extra virgin olive oil, or perhaps a nut oil, such as peanut, if you can get your hands on some.
I am lactose-intolerant myself, so I have gotten used to using other things, like jam, almond or peanut butter and that sort of thing.
Smart Balance is nice, but it does have a different flavor, I am told, and doesn't hold a candle to the real thing (according to my butter-loving, yet calorie-watching mother). I have heard of Benecol, but haven't tried it. Although, now that you suggest it, LoCo, I think that I will try to see if my supermarket or other place around me has it, so thank you for the tip!
Traveller at 1:11PM on 01/10/08
My husband is lactose intolerant, so we have to go with a substitute. I use Smart Balance (mostly, the one with Flax) and found it to exceed my expectations (since they were extremely low, I guess that's not saying much:-), but seriously, it's really good). I even made pie crusts with it, and it worked very well. For sauteing, I usually mix it with olive oil. When I pan-fry, I use grapeseed oil. For pasta, I use either olive oil or a mixture of olive oil and Smart Balance. Same with risotto. I use Smart Balance in mashed potatoes. The list goes on. Truth be told, I found that I myself stopped using butter altogether (other than on a freshly baked croissant, but that's just an old habit that refuses to die:-)), and I used to be one of those people who say, "if it's not a real thing, it's not worth it". It also helps that cholesterol, fat and calorie-wise it's better for you. I can honestly tell you that I do not feel that I compromise the taste either - whenever we have friends over for dinner, they always rave about my cooking (even when I'm not around:-)). Needless to say, my husband is ecstatic since he can now eat all kinds of things he had been unable to for years (risotto, shrimp scampi or apple strudel, to name just a few). I am getting off my soapbox now, and no, the Smart Balance people are not paying me:-)
brooke29 at 1:14PM on 01/10/08
Butter has almost no lactose in it. Even if someone was lactose intolerant (and the majority of people who say they are are not), you'd need to eat pounds before the lactose really had an effect. I can't think of any fat that stays solid at room temperature that is any better for you than butter. Most of the others are hydrogenated or made up of coconut oil.
arbeck at 3:45PM on 01/10/08
Be careful with any alternative "spreads" -- hydrogenated oils that are used to make those products (yes, even the ones that SAY "no trans-fats") can end up being worse for you than the real thing in moderation. (See the latest Bon Appetit -- there is a very enlightening article on this very subject).
For pasta -- use extra virgin olive oil...on toast, a small pat of real butter will be better for you in the long run than any weird pseudo margarine-type substance... Think whole foods...not franken-butter!
sheldel at 4:47PM on 01/10/08
@arbeck: unfortunately, some people do get sick even from a little bit of butter, for real - I watched my husband after he mistakenly had a steak that was apparently cooked in butter (we only asked when it was too late, and yes, it was) - trust me, he did not "just say that he was sick". And no, that poor steak was not cooked in "pounds of butter". People have varying degree of sensitivity to lactose, and I don't think it is right to be so dismissive of something you clearly have not experienced yourself. Or, and by the way, Smart Balance has neither hydrogenated oils nor coconut oils.
brooke29 at 5:15PM on 01/10/08
Of course, it should have been "oh", not "or"... grrr, and no "edit" function:-)
brooke29 at 5:28PM on 01/10/08
Many of the suggestions people have given are good ones, but I also really want to stress the importance of avoiding these alternative fats. They are doing much more harm to us than if we just used moderate amounts of butter, or used real vegetable fat substitutes (olive oil, grape seed, sesame, etc.) Vegetable oils that have to be adulterated to that extent to be solid at room temperature just can't be good for us, let alone "healthier" than real fats. Coconut oil is an amazing choice that I use in baking. It is highly antimicrobial and assists in the process of metabolizing insulin (which studies have shown adulterated fats can have the negative opposite effect. So, I'm not judging you at all for the question, but I just think you may want to really consider your options. Michael Pollan's new book In Defense of Food sites decades of really important studies about our relationship to different fats, and the experiment of trans fats. Good luck finding what you need.
FigswithBri at 6:02PM on 01/10/08
Yes, what brooke said. I agree that it's over- and mis-diagnosed, but it is very real, and there are definitely varying degrees of lactose intolerance. The condition tends to worsen with age -- years ago, my dad could still eat small amounts of cow's milk cheese and yogurt. But, with advancing age, he has reached the point of zero tolerance. Even tiny amounts are guaranteed to induce very unpleasant symptoms. I've lived with him and can attest to the reality of his condition. It's unpleasant for everyone in proximity. I've seen him become ill enough to see medical treatment from unknowingly ingesting large amounts of lactose -- extreme dehydration is no fun.
Sadly, my brother has it, too. He's only in his 30s but it worsens every year. It's not worth it for me to be careless with their comfort and health, so it's margarine for us when they're around. It hardly gets used anyway, thanks to their preference for olive oil for cooking, honey for toast, etc. But it's sure nice to have it when it's needed.
I also think it's terribly misinformed to refer to all butter substitutes as artificial or franken-butter. Margarine is a recipe comprised of other "real" ingredients, just like mayonnaise, yellow mustard, or jam. And just like those products, some are better than others. For example, Earth Balance products offer:
* No Hydrogenated Oil
* Non-GMO Ingredients
* No Trans-Fatty Acids
* No Preservatives
* No Artificial Flavor
* Lactose Free
* Gluten Free
* Nut Free
* Egg Free
* 100% Vegan
* Kosher
Where's the franken?
LoCo at 6:26PM on 01/10/08
Most of the time it's something else that makes you sick not the lactose. Even if you were lactose intolerant it would be HOURS before you felt the affects long after you left the restaurant. Studies show that less than 20% of people who think they are lactose intolerant actually are, there is a simple hydrogen breath test that can prove you are, and unless someone has had it done I tend not to believe their claims.
There is a greater chance that you asked about the butter, heard that it was cooked in butter and then had a psychosomatic response than any lactose caused sickness.
Studies show that even people who truly are lactose intolerant can usually consume about 8oz of milk without noticing the effect, as long as they aren't told what they are drinking.
It's just something else that people like to blame. It's not quite as bad as the blame MSG gets, but it's pretty close.
Smart Balance has palm oil which is a cheaper substitute to coconut oil and just as bad for you. As I said before, there are very few fats that are solid at room temperature that are good for you. Most are worse than butter or animal fat. If you are using a spread that is solid at room temp, you should really question how they made it do that.
arbeck at 6:32PM on 01/10/08
Earth balance contains the same palm oil. Palm oil is worse for you than butter, probably worse for you than duck fat. That's what's in the butter on the movie theater popcorn!
arbeck at 6:35PM on 01/10/08
Now you made me laugh. No, my husband's reaction was not psychosomatic (just FYI, I asked whether the steak was cooked in butter AFTER he got sick, and when he was away from the table), and yes, he did take the hydrogen breath test, and no, he does not just "claim" that he is lactose intolerant (I honestly don't understand why anyone would claim they are lactose intolerant if they are not when there is pistachio ice cream in the world, but that's just me:-)). It seems to me that LoCo's father and brother don't just "claim" that they are lactose intolerant either. And say what you want, I can assure you that it does not take "hours", and I can assure you that my husband knows when something was cooked with butter - the hard way, without having to ask about it (but every time I did ask, it was confirmed). One more thing - Smart Balance (I don't have Earth Balance so i can't check) contains palm fruit oil, which is not the same as palm kernel oil. And really, you don't have to be so dismissive about it. It's not politics:-).
brooke29 at 7:19PM on 01/10/08
Yes, my dad's had all the tests. (The breath test is NOT the only one; there are stool samples and intestinal biopsy, too.) His symptoms were debilitating, causing him to miss work, etc. He'd already guessed at it on his own through careful process of elimination (no pun intended), but the doctor ordered an array of tests, as a precaution, because his case was so severe.
Arbeck, we're discussing spreads that are naturally solid at room temperature. "They" didn't "do" anything to make it do that. Palm fruit oil, which is what the "balance" spreads contain, is much less saturated than palm kernel oil.
Interestingly, palm fruit oil compares very favorably to butter (actually better). Look at the breakdown of one tablespoon of some of the fats that naturally remain solid at room temperature:
BUTTER
SF (saturated fat) 7.3g
MU (mono-unsaturated) 3.0g
PU (poly-unsaturated) 0.4g
PALM FRUIT OIL (different than palm kernel oil)
SF 7g
MU 7g
PU 0.2g
LARD
SF 5.0
MU 5.8
PU 1.4
BEEF TALLOW
SF 6.4
MU 5.4
PU 0.5
PALM KERNEL OIL (from the seed of palm fruit)
SF 11
MU 1.6
PU 0.2
COCONUT OIL
SF 11.8
MU 0.8
PU 0.3
By the way, one tablespoon of butter contains 2.6g of water, whereas the others contain none. If the water were removed, its values would be higher than what's shown here. But whatever.
And my dad doesn't use Smart Balance because it contains dairy.
LoCo at 7:59PM on 01/10/08
Actually, Smart Balance is lactose free - non-dairy. But otherwise, I agree with LoCo 100%. I also read those research comparing palm fruit oil to butter to palm kernel oil to coconut oil, etc, and palm fruit oil is certainly not worse for you than butter or duck fat.
brooke29 at 8:37PM on 01/10/08
I use earth balance.
watchforbears at 11:50PM on 01/10/08
Oh, brooke, I think the confusion lies in the individual product. A few of Smart Balance's products do contain milk (or did the last time I checked), so watch those labels!
BTW, in response to the duck fat vs palm oil comment... a tablespoon of duck fat, is 4.3g saturated fat, 6.3g mono-unsaturated and 1.7g poly-unsaturated. So, yes, palm oil does indeed appear to be somewhat less healthful. So does butter of the non-franken variety. You may want to render some duck fat and spreading that on your toast.
One other naturally solid (saturated) vegetable fat that I should have included is cocoa butter, since that's what "they" do to chocolate to get it to stay solid: saturated fat 8.1g, mono 4.5g, poly 0.4g per tablespoon.
To jaf... sorry we hijacked your thread. But now you know a whole lot about a bunch of fats you might want to use in lieu of butter... Good luck!
LoCo at 12:02PM on 01/11/08
loco: no worries on the thread. happens all the time on food blogs.
thanks everyone for all the info. i figured most of you would tell me to stick with the real thing. i don't use it often so i don't think i'll purchasing any substitutes anytime soon.
jaf at 1:38PM on 01/17/08
leaving medical conditions out of this, I prefer to use a less butter, but the real thing, to me its a taste issue. But if a medical condition is involved, I think a good medical doctor and nutrisionist are the best people to ask, lets face it, if it dosen't affect us personally, we tend to minimize others symptoms and problems.
huney_bumper at 1:52PM on 01/17/08
Hello,
My doctor (who is very into alternative medicines and the importance of diet) suggested that I mix half butter with half olive oil (or flax oil or udo's oil). She said to keep it in the fridge and that it stays soft and spreadable. I am going to give it a try.
Lainie
lainie at 4:15PM on 01/17/08