Baking question: margarine or butter?

Shysarah

I use whatever is in the fridge.. saying that though I have stork in the fridge and clover lighter. I use butter when making chocolate truffles etc gifty cakes but my mum did and still does use stork and she learnt to use it from my Nan. Its a family institution here lol

Bronnie

Olliebeak wrote: »

I like to use Stork (or Asda equivalent hard margarine) for pastry as I think it rubs in really good - certainly wouldn't dream of using butter for pastry - far too rich.

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My mum always used lard or part lard/part butter (more lard though) and she made the lightest most amazing shortcrust pastry you could ever wish for.

**Thinks back, longingly, to the days of guilt-free pastry eating:p**

Personally, don't buy marg or spreads now. The mantra " When you shop for food, buy items with the fewest possible ingredients" is for me now, mostly. But then I'm no longer having to feed a family on a tight budget, so judge no-one else!

Natty68

I always use Stork, or the Asda equivalent for my baking. If I am making pastry I will use half flora buttery and half flora white, mainly because DH can't eat pork things and that includes lard I do sometimes use beef dripping instead of flora white when I am making a meat pie

Ben84

discountmummy wrote: »

I stopped using or eating margarine since I found out that its only one molecule away from being plastic ...

I've heard this one a few times, but I'm sure that it's a myth. They may both be hydrocarbons, but then so are most of your molecules, and you're neither plastic or margarine!

I don't mind margarine for some cooking, but I don't much use stork as I find it very salty. Not good for sweet things and even without adding salt to the recipe it can be a bit strong in savoury things. I like sainsburys block margarine for cakes though, and I use soft spreading margarine 50/50 with trex in pastry (always comes out perfect for me, while my attempts at all butter pastry might as well have been made with pollyfiller!). Strangely this is the opposite of what most cook books suggest to do with block margarine and soft margarine, but it works for me. However, for spreading on bread margarine just doesn't have the flavour and texture of butter, so I buy it for that.

suzybloo

I also use stork margarine for all my baking other than good quality stuff like shorty or xmas cake etc and then I use butter. If its sponges or light baking I use the tubs, if it is for anything else I use the blocks. I also use trex for making pastry (and also for making stovies if I dont have any dripping in the freezer)

ixia

I use it for my fairy cakes and it's fine.

Ben84

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Sorry, but that's a major misunderstanding of the science of fats.

Chemically, margarine and butter aren't so dissimilar. However, margarine is usually formed by the industrial hydrogenation of vegetable fat, which often (but not always) forms trans-fats as an impurity. Trans fats are not essential for humans, unlike other fats.

I use butter and lard in my baking

I'll add this to the existing margarine or butter thread later.

Hydrogenated products are on the decline in the UK as far as I can tell. Margarine can and is increasingly made without hydrogenation by fractional crystallisation of fats to produce the desired consistency for margarine. Some brands like vitalite contain no hydrogenated fats and also some big food retailers like sainsburys, M&S and waitrose (possibly others?) have stopped using hydrogenated fats in all their own brand products.

It's easier to avoid hydrogenated fats now, many brands list their stuff as not containing them, but it's still worth being cautious as perhaps surprisingly, a lot of branded products still contain them. Nestle coffee mate for example is pretty much all hydrogenated fat. The other area where I suspect they're still widely used is in fast foods and bakeries, which generally don't list their full ingredients.

oldandhappy

I have from my High School Day somewhere between 1960-64:eek: an all singing all dancing Stork Recipe Book still used on a regular basis....but I do not use stork in any form these days. Olive tub spread for most baking and even liquid sunflower/corn oil for some recipes seems just fine. I plan on trying olive oil when I can get my head around it...bought loads at the weekend on offer at lidls £1.12 for 750mils;), Dianne

Alison_Funnell

I only use butter or oil. Maybe a little veggie 'lard'. TBH I find the cost of butter and the realities of sat fats make baked goods a treat not every day.

Penelope_Penguin

Ben84 wrote: »

Hydrogenated products are on the decline in the UK as far as I can tell. Margarine can and is increasingly made without hydrogenation by fractional crystallisation of fats to produce the desired consistency for margarine. Some brands like vitalite contain no hydrogenated fats and also some big food retailers like sainsburys, M&S and waitrose (possibly others?) have stopped using hydrogenated fats in all their own brand products.

It's easier to avoid hydrogenated fats now, many brands list their stuff as not containing them, but it's still worth being cautious as perhaps surprisingly, a lot of branded products still contain them. Nestle coffee mate for example is pretty much all hydrogenated fat. The other area where I suspect they're still widely used is in fast foods and bakeries, which generally don't list their full ingredients.

Good post

Am I correct in thinking that a lot of margarines, which use vegetable fats that have not been hydrogenated, contain palm oil? That has its own issues, not least environmental.

I'm still going to be buying butter and lard for baking