Margarine

I asked this once before on Chowhound, but the Condiment Queen needs to make some dishes for Thanksgiving w/o dairy, nessecitating the use of margarine. She wants to know what's the best in the way of margarine out there--I know like the tallest midget--but we did not make up the dietary rules.

Rob

I do not know in terms of texture.But for taste,Imperial.There was a margarine rating awhile ago on Consumer Reports or Consumers Digest.

VI,

Just because margerine is not butter, that doesn't mean it doesn't have dairy in it. Look at the ingredients carefully before using. I think there are a few brands, such as Mazola margerine (made from corn oil) which may be dairy free, but I'm not sure. Several of my family members keep kosher and to avoid dairy, they use a product that is made of 100% soy products. I think it is sold under the brand name Mil-Not in the kosher section of most Jewels.

I avoid margarine (am I mis-spelling that?) at all costs, not only for flavor reasons, but more for all the trans-fats. If you don't want dairy, why not a nice olive oil?

nr706 wrote:I avoid margarine (am I mis-spelling that?) at all costs, not only for flavor reasons, but more for all the trans-fats. If you don't want dairy, why not a nice olive oil?

Does not go w/the sweet potatoes.

I'm not eating the margerine, just some of the guests.

Vital Information wrote:I'm not eating the margerine, just some of the guests.

How do you prepare the guests? Braised? Roasted?

There are some darn good margarines made with Olive Oil that does NOT contain trans fats. Bought some at Woodman's a few weeks ago and it was better than most of what I had recently.

jlawrence01 wrote:There are some darn good margarines made with Olive Oil that does NOT contain trans fats. Bought some at Woodman's a few weeks ago and it was better than most of what I had recently.

I know there are a few margarines out there without trans-fats, but I believe that's a relatively recent development - which I applaud, for those who want to avoid butter. Personally, I'll stick with butter (no pun intended) for the flavor.

Most dietitians that I have talked with in the past year are recommending BUTTER over all margarines.

And to think that I was universally cursed by all the dietitians in the '80s for using butter (free government butter) rather than margarine in my hospital kitchen for all non-cardiac patients.

Vital Information wrote:

nr706 wrote:I avoid margarine (am I mis-spelling that?) at all costs, not only for flavor reasons, but more for all the trans-fats. If you don't want dairy, why not a nice olive oil?

Does not go w/the sweet potatoes.

I'm not eating the margerine, just some of the guests.

VI:

All in all, I prefer butter with sweet potatoes but I've had them (and just about everything else in the world) with olive oil and they're not bad. Just different. In fact, I'd say they're really good but admittedly not what one thinks of when one thinks of a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Smart Balance, recommended highly to me by a woman with a lab coat on, is actually pretty tasty and good for the heart (I think tastier than any margerine I've had). Now, whether it fits into the dietary restrictions (i.e., absolutely no dairy elements), I don't know, but check it out.

And if health isn't a problem, what about some good old schmaltz or goose fat???!!! What's not to like!?! (Pardon me but I love goose fat and deny myself it all year but for on Christmas.)

A

I just checked: Smart Balance contains a small amount of whey, so it's out for kosher consumption with meat, I guess.

A

If you're using margarine for baking (and because it melts differently, it can result in better texture for SOME baked goods), make sure you're getting margarine, which has a minimum fat content, and not merely 'oil spread' which can be largely water.

The same applies if you're intending on sauteeing. With a high water content, there's no chance of sizzle.

That being said, I haven't used margarine in years, since I ended up in a Bob Evans in some tiny town that didn't even have butter available for pancakes, only margarine. I was horrified. They're more than happy to shovel you pork fat (bacon, sausage, ham, white gravy), but try for some butter, and they look at you like you've grown an extra eye.

Here's an idea: the way I make sweet potato puree is, I bake sweet potato slices under sliced oranges (and in the usual butter and brown sugar goo). Then discard the oranges, but the yams have a nice orangey flavor to them... which would probably help to cover up other alterations to the usual recipe, such as using olive oil instead of butter.

there are a few organic margarines/shortenings that are vegan and i think are w/o trans-fats. i would hit the baking/dairy aisle at Whole Paycheck. They should be able to set you up.

As for the sweet potatoes - i par-boil mine then fry them in butter with brown sugar. You won't get quite the same mouth feel, but light olive oil would probably give a different, but nice flavor to the whole affair. I'd add some nuts then to get the toasty flavor that it lacking from not having browned butter

Hi,

I'm not quite sure it is possible there is lack of trans-fats in vegan margarine. All vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature unless they have been hydrogenated. Hydrogenation of vegetable changes the chemical structure allowing them to be semi-solid to solid at room temperature.

Of course, there may be new discoveries I am unaware of.

Regards,

I've used the Spectrum products before. They do break down faster than butter or taditional margarine - for good pie crust it's best to get them VERY cold and use a food processor.

http://www.spectrumorganics.com/index.php?id=87#j122

Shortening, Organic
Sizes: 42oz, 17oz

Made with organic palm oil, Spectrum Organic Shortening is a healthy, trans-fat free alternative to traditional shortening for flaky crusts and crispy fries.

Ingredients
100% Organic Expeller Pressed Palm Oil.

i live (somewhat against my will) in a kosher home, but did not until i got together with the wife. dealing with issues like margarine, in which one (at least myself), does not think of dairy as an issue, drives me nuts. i believe there is one kind of fleishmann's margarine that has no dairy in it/is pareve.

as for smart balance, regular smart balance has dairy in it. smart balance light, however, does not. dunno why. we use sb light a lot 1) because it's healthy, 2) because i know when i use it, i don't have to go through the mental gymnastics of remembering if it's got dairy in it or not (the tub is not labeled with ingredients), and 3) butter does not excite me and sb/sb lite taste pretty good.

see also http://www.smartbalance.com/home.html.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I'm not quite sure it is possible there is lack of trans-fats in vegan margarine. All vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature unless they have been hydrogenated. Hydrogenation of vegetable changes the chemical structure allowing them to be semi-solid to solid at room temperature.

Of course, there may be new discoveries I am unaware of.

Regards,

Palm oil and coconut oil (and cocoa butter) are semi-solid at room temperature, and are fully saturated fats. Generally 0g-trans-fat is has palm oil as the primary ingredient, and other mono and polyunsaturated fats as supporting characters. The ones i've seen get about 25% of their fat content from saturated fats, sometimes more sometimes less. I imagine they use an emulsifier as well, like soy lecithin.

Crisco's 0g trans fat shortening uses a lot of palm oil as well, as you might imagine.

Crisco's 0g trans fat shortening uses a lot of palm oil as well, as you might imagine.

Just saw an ad about this only tonight. I guess I haven't been paying attention.

I remember when all movie popcorn was popped with coconut oil. It sure was great tasting.

Regards,

nr706 wrote:

Vital Information wrote:I'm not eating the margerine, just some of the guests.

How do you prepare the guests? Braised? Roasted?

I can almost sense the rolled eyes from my computer, but I have to admit that I laughed when I read it. An "A" for effort, my friend.

I believe Earth Balance is dairy free as well, and is actually pretty decent tasting.
We usually go w/ butter for everything, but if need be I am happy using this.

JoelF wrote:If you're using margarine for baking (and because it melts differently, it can result in better texture for SOME baked goods), make sure you're getting margarine, which has a minimum fat content, and not merely 'oil spread' which can be largely water.

Joel, I'm interested in the improved texture comment -- what would you say the difference is?

Earlier this year when cleaning out our mother's house, my siblings and I found and ransacked her recipe box, including one for a sour cream coffee cake that used margarine. The cake was good enough that friends were very happy to receive it as a gift, but I was surprised to see the recipe call for margarine instead of butter. I wrote that off as a '60s quirk, but now wonder if I should change my plan to substitute butter.

Per-capita margarine consumption linked to divorce rate in Maine
(yes, correlation is not causation)

Ah.. that explains so much!

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I'm not quite sure it is possible there is lack of trans-fats in vegan margarine. All vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature unless they have been hydrogenated. Hydrogenation of vegetable changes the chemical structure allowing them to be semi-solid to solid at room temperature.

Of course, there may be new discoveries I am unaware of.

Regards,

According to a margarine consultant I sometimes work with, much of the zero-trans-fat fats are interesterified. They split up the vegetable fats into their component glycerides, reassemble them into heretofore unknown fats with desired physical properties, and label the result as "modified xxxxxxx oil".