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Health & Fitness

Why butter is BETTER!

Butter is a GREAT ingredient to bake and cook with. Know your facts and understand why butter is better than margarine!

Nothing tastes better than pure, golden, raw butter. What is better than a fresh golden croissant from the oven? A homemade, soft chocolate chip cookie? Or a soft roll with dinner? All these are made possible by BUTTER. Butter is made when milk (cow) fat is churned. With its waxy texture and golden color, it adds more than just flavor to baked goods.

Butter has received a bad rap in the public image for causing weight gain and obesity. Yes, it is 80 percent saturated fat, with the rest of the 20 percent being water, milk solids, and salt. But, it is a natural, mother-nature made fat. And your body needs fat to store energy, insulate itself, and give you a nice and healthy shape.

What about margarine? First off, margarine is a FAKE fat and one molecule away from being plastic. Yes, PLASTIC. Second, margarine is hydrogenated, which means hydrogen is added to change the molecular structure. When a fat is hydrogenated, its shelf life expands. Thus, margarine will "never really go bad or mold." Do you really want a food that will never mold go inside your body? Nah, not for me.

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When baking, ALWAYS use unsalted butter. Why? You never "know" how much salt is added to sweet cream butter. (Note: When butter is labeled sweet cream, it means salt has been added to it to give it a nice, smooth, creamy flavor. I use sweet cream butter when serving dinner rolls at my holiday parties.) Plus, you get to control how much salt is added to your baked good. Since butter is a fat, it will add: color, softness, and flavor to your baked good. The more butter in your product, the softer your baked good will be. Think how much fat/butter is in a French baguette versus a soft, buttery dinner roll.

Also, when baking, BUY good, quality butter. You want butter to have a nice, golden, yellow color. NOT a pale, almost white color, which most store-brand butters are. What is even a better butter? Plugra (French for "plus fat"), an European-style butter, which contains more fat (about 82 percent) than American-style butter. It is great when making flaky pastry dough, called pâte feuilletée (French for "many layers"), like puff pastry or croissants.

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When cooking and baking, use nice, natural ingredients for a GREAT baked good or dish! Butter is a fantastic ingredient to, not only KNOW, but to add depth and flavor to your baking. Like with all rich foods, use portion control when consuming butter.

Happy baking!

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