When Brandon and I sat down to eat lunch yesterday, I discovered I was completely out of butter. To most, that might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a very big deal to me. I did have some margarine, and tried that on my biscuit. Yuck!

What I have is a “light” margarine that comes in sticks. It’s fairly soft right out of the refrigerator. This is possible because some liquid has been whipped into it during processing. However, this margarine won’t even melt on a piping hot biscuit.

I’ve found that margarine, even full fat, is hard to melt. It takes a much higher temperature to melt it than it does to melt real butter. Not only that, but the taste of butter is so much more pleasant than margarine.

Now, I’ve read reports about butter and how bad it’s supposed to be for your cholesterol. My question is, just how much are people eating of it that it causes them cholesterol issues?

A pound of real butter lasts a long time here because I don’t use it for every little thing. However, it’s the only thing I do use on my biscuits and some other foods. Real butter will melt practically at room temperature. I’d much rather have butter in my body than the plastic popularly known as margarine!

Now, margarine is not really one molecule away from being plastic. That is an urban legend that persists throughout the ‘net. The fact is, both are fats and can cause you health problems if not used in moderation. However, it is true that margarine often has trans-fats, where butter does not. This applies to the high-fat sticks of margarine. Newer, softer varieties don’t contain dangerous trans-fats.

The real issue with me is the flavor, and the tenderness that butter lends to cookies and other pastries. Real butter simply tastes better than margarine, in my opinion, so it’s my spread of choice.

I’ll be picking up some butter and some goat milk at the grocery store today.

Technorati Tags: , , ,