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| my home-made coconut oil based 'butter' |
More recently, it has been said that margarines are unnatural, contain hydrogenated fats and are actually worse for us than butter. People generally have many other things on their mind than nutrition and seeing this conflicting advice can leave people confused and annoyed. Consequently, people tend to choose whatever they were brought up on or whatever they think tastes better.
So what's my view?
Neither is natural!
Butter: Obviously being vegan, I don't eat butter but it's something many people were raised on and view as natural and healthier than margarine. Cultural and familial traditions can sometimes have a strong influence on what we see as normal to eat, but there is nothing natural about consuming milk from another species and other than domesticated animals, no other animal does it. In my blog: http://samanthathesanevegan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/go-dairy-free-with-me.html I've literally scratched the surface of how unethical the dairy industry is (and that includes organic farming). The ethical concerns are enough of a reason not to consume it but I truly believe it's a contributor to many health issues also.
Most dairy comes from pregnant cows and therefore contains high levels of bovine hormones which people end up ingesting. Some nutritionists recommend high fat dairy products, as they have a lower GI (a more slow-releasing affect on blood sugar) than skimmed milk products that have a higher carbohydrate content. The issue I see with this being promoted as healthy advice is that steroid hormones and toxins are lipophilic (fat-soluble) and so the higher fat dairy products can contain higher levels.
Margarine
I've repeatedly read in nutrition books that margarine contains hydrogenated fats because this is what must be done to in order for liquid oils to become solid. Hydrogenated oils are believed to be worse for one's health than saturated fats and unrecognisable by the human body. Whilst I don't dispute this, I have yet to find a margarine in the UK that actually contains hydrogenated fats. The liquid vegetable oils are usually blended with a solid saturated fat such as palm oil using a process called interesterification and emulsifying agents, fortified vitamins and water are added. I don't think margarine is necessarily as poisonous as some people make out but it is still a highly processed food and a possible contributor to the imbalance of omega 3/omega 6 oils that leads to inflammation and disease. Also, because of its added water content, it also doesn't work well in some baked goods.
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| creaming the 'butter' and sugar together, the old school baking method! |
So what's the solution?
Something in between! Home-made dairy-free butter!
This recipe I found on the website www.veganbaking.net and it tookme a little while to get around to making it but the results were good. It uses a couple of not so common ingredients but it was quite simple to make and as I'm starting a vegan bakery business it might be a good thing for me to get in the habit of making. Sometimes certain oils or fats work well in bakery. I use coconut oil or liquid oils high in monounsaturates to avoid high levels of inflammatory omega 6 fats. But for some things like pastry and buttercream and if you want something to spread on your toast, oils will not work and so a coconut-oil based butter provides a great solution.
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| The finished product |
There are soya-free versions available also for those who avoid soya.
Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter
My first experiment was with a vegan almond and berry muffin recipe I made. Came out very well, with a lovely fluffy texture and I'll definitely be trying it again. :) I'm well aware that not everyone will have the time or motivation to make this.
Perhaps I have another business idea, haha.........
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| lovely soft texture. mmmmm |
