There are so many reasons not to eat margarine. Sure, it's soft and tastes "buttery", and it's cheaper than butter, but c'mon folks, it's nothing but chemicals. I'm starting to employ the logic that if I don't know what the ingredients are, then I shouldn't eat it. Here is the wikipedia article on margerine, which is very factual, based on the food research that I've been conducting the past few years.
Not only is my challenge an effort to go green, but also one to eat healthier, more in line with what is good for the planet is good for the body.
Growing up, my mother only bought margerine. It came in a tub, which we used on our toast, and in stick form, which she would use for baking. Only when company came for holidays would she buy a stick of butter to place in the butter dish on the table, to be used on the mashed potates and rolls. I remember eating this butter and feeling that it was a very special thing, as it was only served at holidays, much like the good china was used at these meals.
5 years ago when I started cooking for others and really getting into the art and science of food, I became a purist, and while I would still have margerine in the house for bread, butter was the only acceptable thing for cooking and baking. Now, I'm giving up margerine altogether. I just purchased a butter bell on ebay (until then my butter is sitting on a plate on the kitchen counter), and I'm quite pleased to have eliminted another source of chemicals from my life.
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6 comments:
Very wise choice. Not sure when you started reading me- but have a read: http://meghantelpnerblog.com/2009/05/13/the-butter-battle/
Butter is delicious, and it pays to get the real thing.
I've become a fan of making my own. Basically, you take heavy whipping cream and beat it until it separates into liquids and solids: the liquid part is buttermilk (yum) and the solid part is the most delicious fresh butter I've ever had.
I make my own as well. As you get to know the cows your raw milk comes from, it's interesting to see how the color of the butter changes as the season progresses. Butter was much better known in the past, when we were closer to our food sources; each farm had its own particular flavor based upon the foodstuff of the cows. Grass fed cows make the best butter. Did you know that spring butter is much yellower than later summer butters because of the higher beta-carotene content in the plants the cows are grazing? So good for you. And it's so easy to make! I buy a gallon of raw milk, skim off the cream for butter, then make the remaining low fat milk into mozzarella. I end up with three products: butter, cheese, and buttermilk! WooHoo!
Butter is delicious and fabulous. Can I make butter from ordinary heavy cream that I can find at the store? That cream has been pasteurized, has it not? I have a source for raw milk, but they are in Kingston, ON. I'd love to find a source closer to Toronto, as I want to experiment with home cheese making.
That's too funny - my experience growing up with margarine was identical to yours. We only had butter on holidays.
Anyway, I've got a tutorial on making your own butter if you are interested:
http://crunchychickencooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/handmade-butter.html
Ok, Crunchy, this is THE coolest thing I've seen all day. I'm going out right now to get the supplies to try this.
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