Some people have to avoid butter in their diets and to the die-hard butter fans, this seems
like a sad thing. There are many valid reasons to do this, though, such as a doctor's orders to reduce cholesterol
intake. There are also some people who simply prefer the taste of margarine, but though it might make an acceptable
substitute on toast, margarine can't really compare to butter in baked goods - particularly in a butter cookie. Or can
it? The Wall Street Journal baked up a few batches to find out.
The butter cookies made with real butter, the Land O'Lakes Ultra Creamy, came out on top. Land O' Lakes stick margarine came in second place, with a reasonable approximation of the taste and appearance of the real cookie. Unfortunately, the Land O' Lakes tub margarine did not fare as well, and though it had a similar texture to butter, the taste was nowhere near the real thing. Promise stick margarine did not do well, either, producing a cookie with little butter flavor.
I have actually had good results using Earth Balance "buttery spread" when baking, but the clear the solution is to stick to butter - not margarine - when it comes to baking.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-29-2006 @ 11:46AM
Sir Not Appearing in this Blog said...
Ah yes, the good ol' WSG. That's where I turn for cooking advice.
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4-29-2006 @ 12:04PM
Razib Ahmed said...
"I have actually had good results using Earth Balance "buttery spread" when baking, but the clear the solution is to stick to butter - not margarine - when it comes to baking".
The main problem is eating-habit. Well, in most of the cases rich people are more fan of butter.no doubt that it is very delicious but I am a fan of margarine because its taste is not bad as many people think it to be.
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4-30-2006 @ 1:09AM
The Truth Need Be Told said...
How can you say that the clear solution is to stick with butter while still saying you like Earth Balance? You didn't even bother to review EB yet decided to throw it in there?
IMO, Earth Balance is the shiz. More people don't use it because they assume it will taste like margarine and also because there is no heavy advertising associated with it. The stuff tastes EXACTLY like butter. It also comes in stick form too.
Technically, EB is not margarine in the traditional sense because it uses saturated fat (from palm oil) instead of hydrogenated fat found in margarine. Real butter uses saturated fat as well but it is coming from the insides of a cow. This saturated animal fat might be good for a calf but it is definitely not good for the human heart. By the way, hydrogenated fat which is found in margarine is a synthetic poison.
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