Nutritionist by trade. Foodie at heart.
For as long as I’ve been a dietitian, this debate is still going on. There always seems to be a different spin each time. Butter is saturated but margarine isn’t. Butter is ‘natural’ but margarine is manufactured. And don’t get me started on the whole hydrogenated vs. non-hydrogenated issue. Serious bakers and chefs swear byContinue reading “Butter versus margarine – which one is better?”
My coworker and I decided to embark on quite an ambitious project – we had obtained all nine different varieties of Becel margarine and in addition to taste testing them all, we decided to take it one step further and see how they performed in baking.We used a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and substitutedContinue reading “Battle of the Becels Part 2: Do some perform better in baking than others?”
My coworkers and I were so shocked with the results of the butter vs. margarine taste test that we decided to take the margarine taste test to a whole other level. Seeing that margarine can taste and perform very similar to butter, we wanted to try the different types of Becel margarine (there are 9Continue reading “Battle of the Becels: Can you taste the difference?”
This is a relatively new product out in the margarine market – Becel pro-activ. It’s a calorie-reduced margarine with plant sterols. So for people who are really health conscious, why not take the margarine instead of butter replacement one step further to calorie-reduced margarine with added plant sterols? The big question, however, is how doesContinue reading “Calorie-reduced margarines with plants sterols: Do they taste any good?”
So now I’ve tried substituting margarine for butter in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and shortbread cookies. Time for the ultimate test: butter vs. margarine straight up (i.e. spread on bread). There will be no other strong flavours and ingredients to compete with the flavour and texture – just each one on its own. For this tasteContinue reading “Butter versus margarine: Spread on bread”
The following is a comparison of the observations I experienced when making cookies for a butter vs. margarine shortbread taste test. I used butter, Becel Omega-3 Plus and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (a margarine with butter flavouring). Here is the recipe and the differences I noticed as I was preparing each batch. Ingredients: 2Continue reading “Food Lab: Shortbread cookies (butter vs. margarine)”
With last week’s results from the butter vs. margarine: oatmeal chocolate chip cookie taste test, I decided to take the butter vs. margarine debate one step further. I would choose a cookie where there would be less flavours interfering with the buttery taste. What better cookie to choose than shortbread? I suspect that this cookie willContinue reading “Butter versus margarine: Shortbread cookies”
Ingredients: 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 cup butter (or margarine), softened 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats InContinue reading “Food Lab: Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (butter vs. margarine)”
With my newly acquired tub of Becel Omega-3 Plus margarine and my recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I set about that evening to bake two batches of cookies. I made two batches – one made with margarine and one made with butter. Ingredients: 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp saltContinue reading “Butter versus margarine: Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies”