[Domy]

Hello, I am pretty sure of the response, but just wanted to double check... butter is better ( in small quantities of course) for your health than margarine, right?? Thanks for any opinions...
Domy

[Suzanne]

You bet!

Although if you are cooking for people who either cannot or will not eat dairy products, you may sometimes have to use margarine.

[Pete]

It really all depends on who and when you are asking this question.

Seriously though, the prevailing train of thought is that butter is healthier because margarine contains trans-fats and other artifical fats. The current trend says that these are worse for you than the fats in butter. While I tend to argee with that assessment, who knows. Heck, at one time eggs were considered to be just about the most evil food you could eat, just a few years back. Then there are the studies that show that a high-fat, low carb diet is best then another story that says no, that the high-carb, low-fat diet is the best. I even read at one time that celery was bad for you. So your best bet is to do all things in moderation and take any study, you read, with a grain of salt (though that is bad for you also).

[phatch]

I've been reading David Rosengartens It's All American Food. Besides rejoicing in the americanized versions of certain ethnic cuisines as good food in its own right, he opines a bit about margarine and butter.

He quotes some notable chefs such as Paul Prudhomme who LIKE margarine for CERTAIN purposes. Such as for frying a grilled cheese sandwich. The butteryness carries through better than real butter. And there are margarines with out trans and artificially hydrogenated fats. Smart Choice comes to mind and I think "I Can't Believe It's not Butter" has changed over to a similar recipe.

I've found the whole thing kind of refreshing in its heathen revelry in high cuisine taboos.

Phil

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by phatch

Smart Choice comes to mind and....

I think you meant Smart Balance.



The closer an ingredient is to nature and the less synthetic it is, the better it is for your body. As with anything, eat everything in moderation and exercise, at least walk 30 minutes a day if you do nothing else.

[Free Rider]

Margarine, a hydrogenated oil, is very, very bad for your health. Butter is certainly better.

[Domy]

Thanks for your feedback everyone... I agree moderation.. I personally wouldn't touch margarine and basically cook with butter and different oils.Here in crete they are still very much into margarine.. maybe they think it is less fatty than butter, therefore they think it is safe to use.. I really don't know what the trends going on here are.. but, when I cater, I know that I try to use fats sparingly, unlike what they are used to here. For the moment they seem to enjoy my food without the excess calories, etc...!!!

[Culprit]

My research tells me that margarine typically carries about the same number of calories as butter; contains about thirty percent less saturated fat, and 100% less Cholesterol (a Tbsp of butter contains about 30 grams of cholesterol while margarine contains 0%)
Spreads made with vegetable oils typically match the figures for the butter/margarine comparison but contain about 20% fewer calories and about 20% less saturated fat.
Fat free margarine spreads contain no calories, no saturated fat, and no cholesterol. They also contain little or no flavor unless it's chemically introduced.
Now, let's talk about cooking. I use butter where I'm looking for flavor. If the flavor of butter isn't critical, especially in cheese dishes callling for butter or margarine, I use margarine. I avoid those products that come in a tub because I find they have virtually no flavor at all and if all I want to do is lubricate my cookware I'll use margarine. "Spreadable" isn't an issue in my kitchen; I'm trying to make food taste good and I know how to rely on room temperature to achieve the spreadability I'm looking for.
I find it takes less butter to infuse the foods I'm cooking with flavor than it does margarine, and I often add butter as a portion of the margarine measure to enhance flavor. I would never suggest using butter indiscriminately but it has its place in the food preparation process.

[siduri]

I've been reading more and more stuff around that is saying that it's not the cholesterol you ingest that goes into the arteries but the cholesterol you produce, and the fats in margarine induce the liver to produce them. The knowledge in any field is constantly changing, and what was considered good in one generation is discovered to be bad in the next and then good again in the next. I generally rely on taste to guide my eating. (e.g. i come from a line of people who tend to eat very salty, as i do, and have low blood pressure as i do - mabye we have that taste for salt for a reason).