What The F*ck Can I Eat?

   Country Crock, Brummel and Brown, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Becel, Earthbalance, and Parkay only to name a few. The list of imposter butters goes on and on. Well, I say “I can believe it’s not butter and margarines are massive crock of shhh.” In theory margarine is promising yet it misses the mark entirely. And we owe it all to history's legendary midget antagonist Sir Napoleon. Napoleon saw that both his poorer subjects and his navy would benefit from having easy access to a cheap butter substitute, so he offered a prize for anyone who could create an adequate replacement.[1] Thank you Napoleon!

   So, suffice it to say margarine has been around a freakishly long time. I’d like to point out renaissance margarine was made from beef tallow and when compared to its present day counterpart really wasn’t all that bad. 20th Century margarine is made by a process called hydrogenation. This is when a vegetable oil (liquid) goes through a chemical process where hydrogen is forced in by means of extreme heat and pressure. This turns the liquid oil into a solid TRANS FAT.  If that isn’t sci-fi enough the solid oil is then bleached, colored yellow to look like butter, deodorized and lastly flavored to taste like butter. Voila! Margarine is born.

   The mass appeal of spreadable margarine is its claim to lower cholesterol and help fight heart disease. This simply is not the case.  Research shows that trans fatty acids may tend to act more like other hardened fats (mostly saturated) in affecting cholesterol levels. The replacement of naturally occurring fatty acids with trans fatty acids can lower concentrations of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) “good cholesterol” as well as increase low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) “bad cholesterol”. Trans fatty acids may also adversely affect platelet function, consequently predisposing to thrombosis (blood clotting in the blood vessels)[2] . I could take up pages and pages presenting research on the negatives effects of consuming margarine. Lucky for your eyes and my fingers I am not going to. However, here are some resources that are enlightening and frightening. Trans Fatty Acids: Are The Effects Marginal? and Why is Butter Better?

   This is my favorite part of  WTF can I eat! I, Katey, am here to tell you EAT butter. You have been purchasing a product that tries so hard to be butter because you in fact miss the crap out of the real deal. Now, before you get all Paula Deen on my ass, I am advocating butter use in moderation.  I am also advocating butter that is raw unpasteurized and from grass fed cows. If you can’t find that the next best is organic. Oh, man I just realized I need to do a whole post on butter, next time.  If you are lactose sensitive Ghee (clarified butter) is a great alternative. It is free of lactose and has an amazingly sweet grassy flavor.   Remember butter is your friend and will take you back. Even after you stabbed it in the back with a knife covered in margarine.  

 

 

 

 

** What are some classic recipes you would like to see made into healthier version? Leave ideas in comment area. THANKS!! **

 

[1] “Margarine.” www.Wikipedia.org

[1] Harmer, Brian. “Margarine is Bad, Butter is Good.”www.nz.com. 28 Sep.1994