Butter or Stork?

Pitlanepiglet

On health grounds I would prefer to use butter for cakes and often do. I also use Stork for some cakes when I haven't any butter or if I'm doing lots of baking for an event. Personally, I can't tell the difference between sponge cakes made with butter and those made with Stork.

I use butter for icing.

If on budget grounds your choice is Stork or pre-bought packaged cakes, I'd go with Stork.

SUESMITH_2

i have been baking for nearly 30 years and bake a lot

i use whatever is on offer or cheap at the supermarket, so anything from value marg to clover etc. anything that is suitable, check the side of the pack to make sure you can use it for baking and frying. we have been very poor and it was a case of the more i can buy the more i could feed my family

i use butter for butter cream, shortbread etc where the taste of the butter in important to the cake

never had a problem with people eating my cakes (and coming back for more lol)

lindseykim13

Stork or similar own brand version in all my cakes. Butter doesn't taste right to me. Make cakes at least once a fortnight as i'd rather have cake than chocolate any day. I even used clover the other day when i'd ran out.
Will always use butter though if a recipe asks for it say in biscuits etc.

casperlarue

does this help......

butter: ingredients 100% milk fat

Stork SB – A soft margarine Ingredients Composition/100g
Vegetable Oils
Hydrogenated Vegetable oils
Water
Whey
Salt
Emulsifiers: Mono- and Di- Glycerides (E471)
Lecithin (E322)
Flavourings
Vitamin E
Colour: Natural Carotenes (E160a)
Vitamins A & D

The bit in red, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil : It sounds harmless enough, but it is one of the most dangerous products ever to be mashed into the food we eat. Banned in Denmark, the rest of Europe needs to follow.

LolaLemon

I used to use stork, only because when cooking with my nana that was what she used. My cakes always get requests for more.
I have recently changed to using butter for everything, (goats butter for us), mainly for the reason casperlarue has mentioned above.
I dont notice the difference when making cakes (my icing did turn white, which i had been trying to get for ages and only realised it was because the stork has colour added to it to stop it looking gray, the colour it is when made).
I have noticed a major taste difference in my pancakes! i make ghee or butteroil and store it in a clean steralised jar and use for frying (mmm tottie scones fried in a small amount of butter oil...)
I changed to coconut oil a while back so now it just depends on the consistancy that i need that determins if i will use butteroil, butter or coconut oil.

strangelyi was reading this just before i came on here! http://thenaughtynaturopathmum.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/butter-vs-margarine/)

casperlarue

Thanks for the link Lola, some very interesting facts there and info. on alternative products which I was looking into.

I have had similar discussions regarding sugar and sweeteners .... or sugar and chemical stuff masquerading as weed killer (aspartame)....I know which I rather have in my tea!

cosette

casperlarue wrote: »

Thanks for the link Lola, some very interesting facts there and info. on alternative products which I was looking into.

I have had similar discussions regarding sugar and sweeteners .... or sugar and chemical stuff masquerading as weed killer (aspartame)....I know which I rather have in my tea!

I'm with you on this one. I spend ages making sure I don't buy anything with sweeteners or hydrogenated fats in. That is one of the biggest benefits of organic food to my mind - you know even without looking that it can't contain these things.

So, to the original question, Stork - yuk! I use butter mainly, particularly for any baking where either the taste or texture of butter is needed. For some types of baking, pure sunflower oil or similar is good (not vegetable oil though). For other things, and for spreading purposes (sadly can't afford butter for all purposes, and my children would get through loads!), I use an olive oil spread, one without hydrogenated fats or other nasties. This combination works well for us.

loubylou35

St. Delia says marg is fine in baking.. as everyone seems to agree, unless the flavour is going to be strong (so shortbread/ flapjacks ) then marg is fine.
http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/all-about-cake-ingredients.html

I only butter for icing (unless cakes are for school fete, then i use marg and cocoa powder to mask it as is too expensive to batch make!)

GO for it!!

bev62

I'm another Stork user, I always have some butter in the fridge but it doesn't really occur to me to use it as I have always used stork - just as my mother did.

LolaLemon

casperlarue wrote: »

Thanks for the link Lola, some very interesting facts there and info. on alternative products which I was looking into.

I have had similar discussions regarding sugar and sweeteners .... or sugar and chemical stuff masquerading as weed killer (aspartame)....I know which I rather have in my tea!

cosette wrote: »

I'm with you on this one. I spend ages making sure I don't buy anything with sweeteners or hydrogenated fats in. That is one of the biggest benefits of organic food to my mind - you know even without looking that it can't contain these things.

So, to the original question, Stork - yuk! I use butter mainly, particularly for any baking where either the taste or texture of butter is needed. For some types of baking, pure sunflower oil or similar is good (not vegetable oil though). For other things, and for spreading purposes (sadly can't afford butter for all purposes, and my children would get through loads!), I use an olive oil spread, one without hydrogenated fats or other nasties. This combination works well for us.

Don't even get me started on aspartame!

My transition is a slow one, but one that I feel will work for us, and not be a shock to the system.

Not wanting to hijack the thread as this was not what the original question was about, but always good to know what you are choosing between, and its small changes and baby steps for everything.