Printorganic/natural butter replacement?
So i'm trying to make my baked goods somewhat healthier, and i've found kinda quasi-healthy ways to replace everything except butter.
i don't really like the idea of using margarines or chemical-laced spreads. Will Rodgers once said, "Nothing you can't pronounce will ever work," and i think that works pretty well in the kitchen as well.
Can anyone point me in the right direction? i'm not opposed to using soy-based products, i should add.
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15 Comments:
Earth Balance is a good spread - trans fat free and vegan too. I've seen it used a lot in a bunch of vegan baked goods, and the goods looked delicious, though I've always been a bit wary of using spreadable butter in recipes because the final consistency isn't the same as stick butter.
(by the way, could anyone after me clarify why earth balance seems to be popular for baking/works well for baking? I've made cookies with Smartbalance brand before and they literally melted all over the tray...:p)
But yeah. Earth balance works well. I have a tub of the stuff in my fridge and spread it on toast all the time.
jazzinx at 7:00PM on 05/12/08
in my opinion there is no substitute for butter, if you're worried about the health implications just use less of it or eat less of what you make, but don't forget that all those substitutes are highly processed so in the long run how much healthier can they really be? I'd rather have the butter because at least I know how its made and it just plain tastes better : )
avryan at 8:06PM on 05/12/08
I have to agree with avryan.......all good things in moderation!
izatryt at 8:24PM on 05/12/08
If you like, you can exchange applesauce for butter in some recipes at a 1:1 ratio. You might try using 50% real butter and 50% applesauce in cakes where the butter flavor is necessary (i.e. yellow cake). I would not attempt this with say, pound cake because butter is the focal point.
I have made banana bread using 50% applesauce and 50% butter and it comes really moist. Give that a try.
You can also use prune butter (prunes mixed with very hot water and processed in a fp to make a paste) to replace butter in chocolate cake recipes - same 1:1 ratio.
chiff0nade at 8:40PM on 05/12/08
I just finished a really great dinner of fried, then baked in gravy pork chops, real mashed potatoes with cream and an entire stick of BUTTER and a bowl of freshly cut off the cob corn with sea salt and butter.
It is what it is. I dont eat like that every day, but Id be damned if I would trade any of it for anything.
Everything in moderation.
ChelleyD01 at 8:42PM on 05/12/08
I used to make a butter spread using half/half---oil & butter----whatever cold-pressed oil you like the taste or the benefits of best. I cant do soy either even though the cold pressed unfiltered has a great buttery taste. You can use half oil in a lot of recipes calling for butter but use at least half or keep the good flavor. Unfortunately the flavor is in the fat.
Ask Cookey at 8:49PM on 05/12/08
I used Earth Balance because I'm lactose intolerant, and it is awesome. It's organic and non-hydrogenated, so it's trans-fat free, unlike a lot of butter substitutes. I have never had a problem using it for any baked goods, other than pie crusts (because it's softer at room temp than butter or other shortening) - though I have still managed with the pie pastry. You just need to eliminate some salt from the recipe, since it's salted.
Smart Balance is weird, though.
producestories at 12:40AM on 05/13/08
Nothing tastes like butter, and the solid fat texture is integral to lots of cakes and cookies, meaning they won't turn out right with something else substituted.
Use butter for special occasion treats and for other things, look for recipes that call for vegetable oils. Then you'll have a better chance of the recipe working because it's designed without butter. Also, liquid oils are much easier to reduce or substitute partially with fruit puree.
butterface at 1:13AM on 05/13/08
I have to recommend Earth Balance too. Organic, non-GMO ingredients.
I was a butter girl and was going to die one too (my mom regularly chastised me before the hydrogenated scares), but my daughter begged me to let her have some Earth Balance. I was shocked to find that I think it tastes better, lasts longer, and doesn't pick up the fridge flavors like butter will. One tub later and we haven't gone back since (now over two years).
They do have sticks and shortening but I haven't tried either yet. However, all their products do have soy oil though it is organic, GMO-free which avoids a lot of the problems some people have with soy. However, Spectrum has some too which are soy-free and still organic. I like coconut butter in some baked goods and peanut oil (with lots of vitamin e) is great in other baked goods giving a lovely flavor.
Sieseye at 4:06AM on 05/13/08
What do you mean by 'healthier'--lower in calories, fat, etc?
I'm semi-vegan and often use vegan products to sub things, but you should know if calories are a concern, the Earth Balance, while it tastes okay, is the same amount of calories as butter. Some of the others like Smart Balance, are not vegan, and are mostly water added to chemicals and taste absolutely vile. Trust me, I've tried them.
The best substitute I've found, calorically, is Land O'Lakes light butter, which is a blend of canola oil and (gasp) butter with 50 calories a tablespoon (versus 100) and no unnatural ingredients. In terms of not eating dairy, I rationalize I don't consume all that much butter in a serving so it won't kill me.
For some recipes, you can try prune puree (chocolate) or applesauce for the fat--but unless you're willing to have an odd result, it's best to look for tested recipes designed for low fat cooking with those subs, rather than do it yourself.
I say, stick (no pun intended) with the butter. Unless you're eating the whole pan yourself, unhealthy fat-wise, if cholesterol is a concern, you won't consume that much, and if you're worried about calories, the substitues other than the Land O'Lakes don't offer that much of a savings.
HeartofGlass at 9:33AM on 05/13/08
I use Earth Balance mostly, and very occasionally coconut oil. I try substituting applesauce in baked goods.
There are even some recipes where you can use either light olive oil or canola oil on a 1:1 ratio, but only in some cakes -- never in cookies.
Brownie at 10:42AM on 05/13/08
Butter IS healthy. The reason why you think butter isn't healthy is because of the mud slinging marketing campaigns paid for by the soy and corn industries to promote their highly processed artificial and toxic ersatz butter spreads. If you are a serious baker, you will use leaf lard instead of butter for certain applications. Lard is also quite healthy. Especially if you can get it from a reliable source that makes it from organicly fed, humanely raised drug free pigs. Try your local farmer's market.
For a real treat, make your own butter. A little trick to give it that deep rich flavor you find in French and Irish butter: the night before you will make it, put the cream out on the counter in a clean glass mason jar. Mix in a couple dollops of Crème Fraîche or Mascarpone. Mix it well to thoroughly blend it. Cover with some cheesecloth. This will allow the cultures in the cream to come back to life resulting in a much richer flavor.
simon at 1:16PM on 05/13/08
Butter IS NOT HEALTHY if it is made from milk produced by corporate agriculture - cows fed antibiotics and hormones, who are both in pain and diseased. The massive dairy industry spends piles and piles of money trying to convince people that it's fine - don't cry for the dairy industry because nasty soy and corn are after them. Earth Balance is made by a company who uses non-GMO, organic soy - corporate soy is neither of these things. EB isn't perpetrating anti-dairy propaganda.
If you can get butter made from local, grass-fed cows, then its abundant nutritional benefits probably outweigh its saturated fat and cholesterol content. But people have a lot of reasons for cutting down on the amount of even the good kind of dairy - some are sensitive to lactose, some are trying to cut down on the amount of animal products in their diet, and some want to avoid the growth hormones found in all milk (they're there to nourish baby cows).
Butter isn't bad, but there are a lot of definitions of "healthy." The original question wasn't whether butter is healthy, but what can be used to subsitute for it. Everyone should feel free to champion butter, but some of the "pro-butter" posts here have been disappointing in their condescending and reactionary tone.
producestories at 3:46PM on 05/13/08
Jeffrey Steingarten would argue that butter IS healthy, like Simon said, but I say, if you want to go without, I echo everyone on Earth Balance. It's rad!! I had an ex who was a freegan, and he said he only ate bread as a vehicle to get Earth Balance into his mouth. (It really is that good.)
mballena at 3:47PM on 05/13/08
@producestories:
If anyone's tone in this thread is patronizing and arrogant, it's yours. Further, you are the one who seems to have reading comprehension problems. The topic of this thread concerns ORGANIC butter. So you see, YOU are the one comparing apples to oranges.
If you want to compare conventional butter to the product made by Earth Balance, fine, but that's an exercise in the obvious, as we all know the problems in the conventional dairy industry. Even so, conventional butter compared to conventional vegetable spreads is a no brainer, butter wins, despite the fact that most people believe otherwise because they are brainwashed by advertising.
Organic butter compared to organic veg spreads is also a no brainer, in that the butter is clean, and therefore the major health risks involved i.e. hormones and antibiotics are not present, so the qualities of butter in baking far outweigh those of the veg product, no matter how awesome EB is.
The original question makes the assumption that butter is not healthy, when in fact it IS, or at least, healthier than most processed fats designed to substitute butter, and there is nothing wrong with commenters making that point clear. So please, get off your high horse.
simon at 6:04PM on 05/14/08