Butter alternative for cooking

[digital]

I've seen baking products I guess a margarine that look like butter in many different brands, its packed in plastic bags.

 

Any recommendations for a brand that is good for cooking/baking as a butter alternative, can it just be used as a direct replacement for butter when following recipes 1:1, I know the taste won't be quite the same but which one is a good/best alternative?

 

Thanks.

[BritManToo]

Samson Gold palm oil works well for me.

Available from most bakery supply shops.

I use it in all my pastry/cakes/biscuits.

Edited July 4, 2020 by BritManToo

[4MyEgo]

• Olive oil, you can use olive oil instead of butter when sautéing vegetables and meat. ...
• Ghee. ...
• Greek yogurt. ...
• Avocado. ...
• Pumpkin purée. ...
• Mashed bananas. ...
• Coconut oil. ...
• Applesauce.

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Samson Gold palm oil works well for me.

Available from most bakery supply shops.

I use it in all my pastry/cakes/biscuits.

Palm oil has a high saturated fat content, which can be harmful to cardiovascular health

 

Not to mention: Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world's most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino

 

But each to their own.

[cooked]

Cook with butter. MUCH healthier than margarine.

[digital]

Thanks for all replies.

 

Is the Sam Son Gold you use the one with a palm & coconut oil blend. Do you use in same quantity as you would butter?

 

I know butter is healthier and more sustainable, I'd seen this margarine and was interested what it was like. I don't expect many bakeries use butter due to the cost.

 

 

[Morch]

3 minutes ago, digital said:

Thanks for all replies.

 

Is the Sam Son Gold you use the one with a palm & coconut oil blend. Do you use in same quantity as you would butter?

 

I know butter is healthier and more sustainable, I'd seen this margarine and was interested what it was like. I don't expect many bakeries use butter due to the cost.

 

 

 

All my Mom's recipes start with "8 packs of butter". Well, actually 2, the 8 is a family joke. My Dad's version is "pour olive oil until you feel it's enough". Margarine is evil. Palm oil is "liquid cancer" according to some of my Thai family. They prefer, I think, coconut oil (which got it's own issues). When in doubt, fire up the grill.

[Curt1591]

18 minutes ago, digital said:

I know butter is healthier and more sustainable

Then why substitute, may we ask? 

[Tarteso]

If we talk about health;  Vegetable oils are very rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, where pure olive oil and sunflower oil are the best, while animal fats such as butter are richer in saturated fat.  For me it is clear;  I always use Oil olive.

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

 I always use Oil olive.

On the other hand palm oil is 50bht/Kg.

[BritManToo]

36 minutes ago, digital said:

Is the Sam Son Gold you use the one with a palm & coconut oil blend. Do you use in same quantity as you would butter?

I generally use a bit less ..... maybe 25% less.

Oatmeal cookies with peanuts and ginger and mince pies both work well with SamSon oil.

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by BritManToo

[Pilotman]

Olive oil, works a treat. Also use none at all, see below. 

 

 

 

[Oxx]

For baking I use Emborg Cook & Bake.  I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from using butter.  It's 65 baht versus 149 for Emborg butter, so much cheaper.

 

[Yankeesvsredsox]

13 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I generally use a bit less ..... maybe 25% less.

Oatmeal cookies with peanuts and ginger and mince pies both work well with SamSon oil.

Show off ????

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Oxx said:

For baking I use Emborg Cook & Bake.  I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from using butter.  It's 65 baht versus 149 for Emborg butter, so much cheaper.

 

Emborg 65bht for 250g Vs Samson Gold 45bht for 1Kg.

Or to match similar weights ....... 260bht Vs 45bht.

[Oxx]

Cheapness shouldn't be the sold criterion.  Sam Son uses artificial butter flavouring, Emborg uses butter oil.  Sam Son also contains hydrogenated oils which aren't particularly good for you.

[Dumbastheycome]

22 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

• Olive oil, you can use olive oil instead of butter when sautéing vegetables and meat. ...
• Ghee. ...
• Greek yogurt. ...
• Avocado. ...
• Pumpkin purée. ...
• Mashed bananas. ...
• Coconut oil. ...
• Applesauce.

Is there  a reliable general source for  Ghee in Thailand? Have looked but never seen.

[Saltire]

4 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Is there  a reliable general source for  Ghee in Thailand? Have looked but never seen.

I make my own Ghee it's simple.

 

Start with the best quality unsalted butter you can buy and melt it in a saucepan. Skim off the white scum that floats to the top (milk fat) and pour the clear liquid into a container keeping the scum on the bottom in the pan. 

 

On the OP - I use extra virgin olive oil/ghee/butter combinations for most cooking. I have never bought margarine for anything for a very long time. Never would use palm oil either.

 

Makro do a reasonable quality 5 litres extra virgin olive oil for about 900 Baht. Lasts a long time.

 

[innosiem]

if for yourself, just eat butter for your health.

if for business, there is no substitute for butter
only alternatives, as nothing acts like butter 100% when cooking
any alternative fat you use will reduce the quality and taste of your products
you can literally replace butter with any other fat
but taste and quality will be affected so does also depend on what is being made
like using say tallow recipe to make savory pastry is fine
but if all you are concerned about is cost,
use the dirt cheapest unhealthiest palm oil you can find

as a benchmark
try making decent croissants without using butter for comparison.

[thaibreakfast]

Homefresh makes a quite good butter that sells for about 170 baht per kilo. Not quite sure how they make that price point. Lately it's gotten better since they started to culture it as do the Europeans. They do put in a bit of malto-dextrin. Probably for reasons having to do with texture. They also make a more upscale version called Century House which costs more but much less than comparable European butters. It's also cultured and very good.

[thaibreakfast]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:10 AM, Dumbastheycome said:

Is there  a reliable general source for  Ghee in Thailand? Have looked but never seen.

They sell several brands at Makro. I've seen it elsewhere, too. I can't vouch for it since I don't use it. 

[jaiyenyen]

On 8/13/2020 at 8:36 PM, thaibreakfast said:

Homefresh makes a quite good butter that sells for about 170 baht per kilo.

That's a very reasonable price. Where do you buy it?

[jaiyenyen]

On 7/4/2020 at 6:13 PM, BritManToo said:

Oatmeal cookies with peanuts and ginger.

Those cookies look good. Can you share the recipe?

[impulse]

On 7/4/2020 at 10:21 PM, Saltire said:

I make my own Ghee it's simple.

 

Start with the best quality unsalted butter you can buy and melt it in a saucepan. Skim off the white scum that floats to the top (milk fat) and pour the clear liquid into a container keeping the scum on the bottom in the pan.

 

After reading about the health benefits of ghee (clarified butter), I started looking for it in the stores.  They're getting stupid money for it, at $10-20 per pound, even in the USA where dairy is heavily subsidized.  So I make my own, too.  Then sometimes dilute it with olive oil, depending on what I'm using it for.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by impulse

[Tarteso]

For your health; No butter, not animal fat. Vegetal oil; The only one and very best Olive oil. (Extra virgen pure oil).

 

I cook Thai or “farang” food only with Olive Oil...without doubt and No discussion

Edited October 5, 2020 by Tarteso

[BritManToo]

8 hours ago, jaiyenyen said:

Those cookies look good. Can you share the recipe?

Biscuits, 125 g (4oz) palm oil, 125 g (4oz) self-raising flour, 125 g (4oz) sugar, 125 g (4oz) porridge oats (rolled)

Add another 3-4oz Muesli mix to make the texture more interesting.

 

Flavours

2 tablespoon ginger, 43g broken peanuts (or choc drops, 43g broken peanuts)

Sometimes a handful of raisins as well.

 

MIx it all together, add a little milk until a stiff dough, roll flat and use a glass to press out circles 1/4" thick.

Cook 10 mins then turn and cook 5 mins @175c

Edited October 5, 2020 by BritManToo

[stouricks]

7 hours ago, Tarteso said:

For your health; No butter, not animal fat. Vegetal oil; The only one and very best Olive oil. (Extra virgen pure oil).

 

I cook Thai or “farang” food only with Olive Oil...without doubt and No discussion

For Thai food, use Rice Bran Oil. It does not overpower the taste of the other ingredients like Olive Oil can.

[trucking]

On 7/4/2020 at 11:11 AM, 4MyEgo said:

Palm oil has a high saturated fat content, which can be harmful to cardiovascular health

 

Favorite with Thais on account of price. Avoid Thai food especially anything deep fried like patango etc.

[Morch]

9 hours ago, Tarteso said:

For your health; No butter, not animal fat. Vegetal oil; The only one and very best Olive oil. (Extra virgen pure oil).

 

I cook Thai or “farang” food only with Olive Oil...without doubt and No discussion

 

Getting decent plus olive oil in Thailand is not trivial. At least not outside of big cities and at a reasonable cost.

[cooked]

2 hours ago, trucking said:

 

Favorite with Thais on account of price. Avoid Thai food especially anything deep fried like patango etc.

I usually get "you poor deluded soul" comments when I say this:

(Assume I'm typing all caps) There is no scientific (meaning unbiased, not financed by Crisco and company) evidence that saturated fats damage your health. There IS in fact evidence to the contrary.