# Butter is Good!



## Steve Kroll

Stumbled across this today. 

https://munchies.vice.com/en/articl...tter-isnt-bad-for-you-hidden-away-for-decades

The article behind the article:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160412211335.htm

While the article also states that "butter might not be a health food" I feel like it's only a matter of time before research will indicate otherwise.

I'll continue to enjoy it (along with lard) in the meantime. I don't need research to prove that butter definitely makes me feel better.


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## Aunt Bea

I felt guilty the other day picking up a half pound package of cultured European style butter. 

I don't use much but I gotta have it on my steamed asparagus!


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## Rocklobster

I decided a few years ago that it was one food I wasn't going to worry too much about. I use it for cooking whenever I feel like it...Life is too short to give up everything....


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## Andy M.

Thank you Steve.

This once again demonstrates the scientific community has little understanding of how foods and the human body interact.  

These reversals of universal truths have been going on for decades.  I decided some time ago that I would just ignore all the breathless proclamations and eat what I want.

Conversations with my doctor have yielded similar results.  He reveals that the truths the medical community once clung tightly to have since been, at least, brought into question if not completely debunked.


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## Addie

There are some veggies and other foods that simply CANNOT be eaten without butter.  I think it may be a law somewhere. A beautiful well seasoned and cooked steak without a pat of butter? Such a sacrilegious action. Thirty lashes with a strand of cooked pasta. 

Emeril used to say "Pork Rules." I say *Butter Rules.*


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## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Thank you Steve.
> 
> This once again demonstrates the scientific community has little understanding of how foods and the human body interact.
> 
> These reversals of universal truths have been going on for decades.  I decided some time ago that I would just ignore all the breathless proclamations and eat what I want.
> 
> Conversations with my doctor have yielded similar results.  He reveals that the truths the medical community once clung tightly to have since been, at least, brought into question if not completely debunked.



I'm not sure we should blame the scientific community for the poor communication skills of some reporters. The media too often repeats unsubstantiated claims or oversimplifies study results, so the public ends up being misinformed. 

Check this out: "Feeding Homo Sapiens: Are We Truly as Clueless as We Seem?" 

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/diet-and-nutrition_b_4472930.html


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## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> There are some veggies and other foods that simply CANNOT be eaten without butter.  I think it may be a law somewhere. A beautiful well seasoned and cooked steak without a pat of butter? Such a sacrilegious action. Thirty lashes with a strand of cooked pasta.
> 
> Emeril used to say "Pork Rules." I say *Butter Rules.*



As much as I love steak, I have never put butter on it. That's for the potato 

Emeril said, "Pork FAT rules!"


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## Roll_Bones

We use butter every time it's needed.  My daughter uses margarine.
She left a stick or two here about 6 months ago. Its still sitting in the fridge as we have no desire to use it.  Even in a box potato side dish.
I like salted even though most recipes call for unsalted. We buy salted at Costco.


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## Steve Kroll

GotGarlic said:


> Check this out: "Feeding Homo Sapiens: Are We Truly as Clueless as We Seem?"
> 
> Feeding Homo Sapiens: Are We Truly as Clueless as We Seem?


Funny thing... I'm an admin on another food-related board, and I've said this same thing myself many, many times. I see so many posts where people will ask something silly like "Should I eat 2 meals a day, or 3?"

 Really?

My answer to these folks is YOU SHOULD EAT WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY! 

Human beings are the only species on the entire planet who seem to have a need to be told how to do something that should come natural.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

All things in moderation, right?

We went out to breakfast yesterday, and I asked for the butter on the side of my toast please.
I got a small plastic cup with a small scoop of MARGARINE, ACK!!  

Needless to say, I left the toast, thanks anyways.


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## Addie

Steve Kroll said:


> Funny thing... I'm an admin on another food-related board, and I've said this same thing myself many, many times. I see so many posts where people will ask something silly like "Should I eat 2 meals a day, or 3?"
> 
> Really?
> 
> My answer to these folks is *YOU SHOULD EAT WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY*!
> 
> Human beings are the only species on the entire planet who seem to have a need to be told how to do something that should come natural.



That is exactly what I do. Right now I have a lovely pork chop brining. Pirate may be the one to eat it. If I am not hungry, I do not eat. Not even the six or so small snacks that are said to be recommended by dieticians for diabetic patients. Common sense tells me what to do.


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## Dawgluver

I'm another who eats when I'm hungry.  Rarely if ever eat breakfast.  I do love butter on many things.


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## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...A beautiful well seasoned and cooked steak without a pat of butter? Such a sacrilegious action...


Um, no. No butter on steak at our table.   If I have an excellent piece of steak that is full of great flavor, why would I want to mask that with butter? Butter on steak is akin to steak sauce on steak - you use it to hide an inferior piece of meat. Or one that has had the juice cooked out of it. Like *GG*, I'll just make sure my tater is slathered good. 

We rarely have steak because we like a really good piece that can get a little pricey. It comes from an old-fashioned butcher that raises and slaughters his own cattle. We like to pick quality over quantity - or frequency.


Steve Kroll said:


> ...I see so many posts where people will ask something silly like "Should I eat 2 meals a day, or 3?"
> 
> Really?
> 
> My answer to these folks is YOU SHOULD EAT WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY! ...


Sadly, a lot of people these days don't understand the difference between a need-to-eat hunger and an I'm-bored-so-I'll-eat hunger.


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## Steve Kroll

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sadly, a lot of people these days don't understand the difference between a need-to-eat hunger and an I'm-bored-so-I'll-eat hunger.


Or for that matter, the "It's 6:00 so it's time to eat" logic. 

I'll admit we always did that when our daughter was growing up. We planned family time around the dinner table. But now that I'm on my own, I eat any old time I please. Dinner might be anywhere from 3:00 in the afternoon until 9:00 at night. It just depends on when I'm hungry.


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## Cheryl J

Thanks, Steve.  I can't remember the last time I bought margarine/oleo...whatever it's called. Give me butter with dairy over chemicals any day.

We had the "dinner at 6" for years, hungry or not, too.  For the last many years though, I  also just eat when I'm hungry.  It is sort of a loose schedule, with a late morning breakfast and early dinner.  I like to have my main meal by 4 or so. Snacking in between.  If I eat late like I did last night at 7 , that's out of the norm. It's just what works for me. 

A few of the recent posts about eating when you're hungry reminded me of a thread from a year or two ago.  I thought it was fun and interesting - I'll try to find it and bump it for our newer members in case they want to add to it.


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## Kayelle

I was raised with butter and have never bought into the notion of replacing butter even when it was fashionable and less expensive to do so. Remember all the various TV commericials...."tastes like butter", "better than butter"? No it doesn't, and no it's not.


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## Caslon

Over the years I've ping-ponged using butter and margarine, reading health articles about the two.


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## Addie

Caslon said:


> Over the years I've ping-ponged using butter and margarine, reading health articles about the two.



When I was raising my family it was oleo for just the savings in cost. But every so often I would buy butter for baking. Then one day I read the list of ingredients on the oleo. I switched to only butter and never went back. My kids noticed the difference right away. And I found they were more likely to eat veggies without a fight.

At that time I was unaware of the supposedly health dangers of using butter. I have never gone back to oleo and never will. But I have cut down on the use. I am eating less and baking less. I used to buy four pound boxes of butter every month. Now it is just one pound. And I don't even use all that in a month. And there are two of us in this home.


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## RPCookin

Addie said:


> There are some veggies and other foods that simply CANNOT be eaten without butter.  I think it may be a law somewhere. A beautiful well seasoned and cooked steak without a pat of butter? Such a sacrilegious action. Thirty lashes with a strand of cooked pasta.
> 
> Emeril used to say "Pork Rules." I say *Butter Rules.*



For me, nothing puts the "sunny" in my sunny side up fried eggs better than cooking them in a pat of butter.



Roll_Bones said:


> We use butter every time it's needed.  My daughter uses margarine.
> She left a stick or two here about 6 months ago. Its still sitting in the fridge as we have no desire to use it.  Even in a box potato side dish.
> I like salted even though most recipes call for unsalted. We buy salted at Costco.



I use unsalted for cooking because I want to be the one to control the salt in the dish.  Salted is only used when serving something on the table that needs butter, like spreading it on fresh bread.



Cooking Goddess said:


> Um, no. No butter on steak at our table.   If I have an excellent piece of steak that is full of great flavor, why would I want to mask that with butter? Butter on steak is akin to steak sauce on steak - you use it to hide an inferior piece of meat. Or one that has had the juice cooked out of it. Like *GG*, I'll just make sure my tater is slathered good.
> 
> We rarely have steak because we like a really good piece that can get a little pricey. It comes from an old-fashioned butcher that raises and slaughters his own cattle. We like to pick quality over quantity - or frequency.



Many of the best steak houses serve steak with a pat of compound butter.  It certainly doesn't mask the flavor of the meat like a steak sauce does - it enhances, just as any other properly done seasoning.



Kayelle said:


> I was raised with butter and have never bought into the notion of replacing butter even when it was fashionable and less expensive to do so. Remember all the various TV commericials...."tastes like butter", "better than butter"? No it doesn't, and no it's not.



I was raised on oleomargarine in Minnesota, where they couldn't even sell it pre-colored because the dairy industry had a stronger lobby than the margarine industry.  It came in a sealed plastic bag with a dot of food coloring that had to be massaged into the margarine after purchase.  We simply couldn't afford butter except for special occasions.


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## Addie

RPCookin said:


> For me, nothing puts the "sunny" in my sunny side up fried eggs better than cooking them in a pat of butter.
> 
> 
> 
> I use unsalted for cooking because I want to be the one to control the salt in the dish.  Salted is only used when serving something on the table that needs butter, like spreading it on fresh bread.
> 
> 
> 
> Many of the best steak houses serve steak with a pat of compound butter.  It certainly doesn't mask the flavor of the meat like a steak sauce does - it enhances, just as any other properly done seasoning.
> 
> 
> 
> I was raised on oleomargarine in Minnesota, where they couldn't even sell it pre-colored because the dairy industry had a stronger lobby than the margarine industry.  *It came in a sealed plastic bag with a dot of food coloring* that had to be massaged into the margarine after purchase.  We simply couldn't afford butter except for special occasions.



As a kid, we took turns turning that white blob into a yellow mass. We thought we were creating magic.


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## Kitchen Chatters

Real butter is not that bad if consumed in moderation. Stay away from margarine though. I read that it is made from the same compounds as plastic.


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## RPCookin

Kitchen Chatters said:


> Real butter is not that bad if consumed in moderation. Stay away from margarine though. I read that it is made from the same compounds as plastic.



Butter is made from animal fat.  Margarine is made from vegetable oil (fat).  Most plastics are made from petroleum.  They are all organic compounds, but they are definitely _not_ the same thing!


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## Addie

Raising my kids, margarine was often the choice due to cost. Then I started to buy butter. I have never gone back. 

Margarine can be very difficult to bake with. Because of the high oil content, it tends to change the whole chemical structure of the recipe. If margarine is all a person can afford and wants to bake from scratch, I would suggest going to the site of the brand of margarine and look up recipes from their test kitchens. Some sites don't even have any recipes for baking, such as cakes, cookies, etc.  

When making chocolate chip cookies, there is a vast difference. Those made with margarine will spread out to being real thin. Butter, they come out of the oven soft and chewy. You can not substitute margarine for real butter.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

RPCookin said:


> Butter is made from animal fat.  Margarine is made from vegetable oil (fat).  Most plastics are made from petroleum.  They are all organic compounds, but they are definitely _not_ the same thing!



+1
I couldn't have said it any better.  Concise and accurate you are.  Nice. 
One more thing though, butter tastes much, much better than petroleum.

Oh, and for those who don't know, we are made from organic compounds as well.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## skilletlicker

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Oh, and for those who don't know, we are made from organic compounds as well.



I forget stuff learnt in school. Isn't organic compounds a class of chemical compounds. I thought chemicals wuz bad for you.

I try not to jump on bandwagons. In general, I'm convinced monounsaturated fats are healthier than saturated fats. But I still buy butter. Store it in the freezer and move one stick at a time into the fridge where it lasts a long time. Use a lot more olive oil by comparison.

I also save and sparingly use fats from beef, chicken, pork, and bacon.


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## medtran49

Sometimes margarine works better than butter though.  I have a family cookie recipe that has been made at Christmas for as long as I can remember.  Ingredients are margarine, flour, chopped pecans, 10x sugar, vanilla and a bit of water.  Shaped into balls, baked and then 2 rolls in 10x sugar.  Got the bright idea 1 year after I stopped using margarine to make them with butter.  Epic FAIL.  They didn't keep shape and tasted nowhere near the same.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

skilletlicker said:


> I forget stuff learnt in school. Isn't organic compounds a class of chemical compounds. I thought chemicals wuz bad for you.
> 
> I try not to jump on bandwagons. In general, I'm convinced monounsaturated fats are healthier than saturated fats. But I still buy butter. Store it in the freezer and move one stick at a time into the fridge where it lasts a long time. Use a lot more olive oil by comparison.
> 
> I also save and sparingly use fats from beef, chicken, pork, and bacon.



Organic means carbon based.  We are a carbon based life form.  And as far as chemicals are concerned, every substance on this planet, and in this universe is a chemical.  Water is a chemical compound and has a couple of chemical names, i.e. dihydrogen oxide, water, and oxidane.  In chemistry, it is known as a universal solvent as it dissolves most other chemicals, such as mercury, lead, iron, sulpher, etc.  It also dissolves chemical compounds such as salt (sodium chloride), and potassium chloride, a different kind of salt.

Margarine is made from plant oils.  It is bonded with hydrogen, hydrogenation, to transform it from a liquid to a solid.

The way I see it, the things made from nature are what our bodies were made to utilize.  Things made by humans are imperfect because our knowledge is imperfect, and is tempered by the desire to make a profit from what we create, good or bad.

To sum this all up, keep the margarine and pass the butter please.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## emmaline

I don't use any margarine at all these days and much prefer butter despite the cholesterol problem.
IMO there's a risk with everything we eat in one way and another so moderation in all things!

(Do wish I could remember that when I get a chocolate urge.. )


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## Addie

emmaline said:


> I don't use any margarine at all these days and much prefer butter despite the cholesterol problem.
> IMO there's a risk with everything we eat in one way and another so moderation in all things!
> 
> (Do wish I could remember that when I get a chocolate urge.. )



Good news for you. They are finding some very interesting benefits to eating chocolate. Eat away!


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## skilletlicker

emmaline said:


> I don't use any margarine at all these days and much prefer butter despite the cholesterol problem.
> IMO there's a risk with everything we eat in one way and another so moderation in all things!
> 
> (Do wish I could remember that when I get a chocolate urge.. )





			
				Addie said:
			
		

> Good news for you. They are finding some very interesting benefits to eating chocolate. Eat away!


Since chocolate has cocoa butter, why don't we fry our eggs in melted Hershey bars?


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## Addie

skilletlicker said:


> Since chocolate has cocoa butter, why don't we fry our eggs in melted Hershey bars?



That would give a whole new recipe at the least to Chocolate Eggs!


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## Zagut

....


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## RPCookin

I don't get the hate for margarine.  I don't think that I've ever been in a household where it wasn't used for everyday, both for cooking and on the table.  We always have a Country Crock in the fridge.  People I know usually reserve butter for special dishes or occasions.


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## Addie

RPCookin said:


> I don't get the hate for margarine.  I don't think that I've ever been in a household where it wasn't used for everyday, both for cooking and on the table.  We always have a Country Crock in the fridge.  People I know usually reserve butter for* special dishes or occasions*.



My mother told me no one is more special than the members of your family. As a result once a week and special days we got to set the table with the best china, tablecloth and silverware. If they didn't get put away right after washing them, they got used again the next day. 

I don't hate margarine, but I prefer food created naturally. Not a compound of chemicals. At the same time, I do understand the financial need for margarine. Butter can be very pricey. That is why I store up on it when it is on sale. One time Cabot Butter was actually cheaper than the house brand. My favorite brand of butter is Cabot's. I stocked up on it like the cows were going to close down any minute. I had more butter in my freezer than meat.


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## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> I don't get the hate for margarine. I don't think that I've ever been in a household where it wasn't used for everyday, both for cooking and on the table. We always have a Country Crock in the fridge. People I know usually reserve butter for special dishes or occasions.


 
Dairy farmers in my family, always had butter, except for my younger years when Dad was a student at University.  I don't use margarine because they are made with "vegetable" oils...many of those oils are inflammatory and wreck havoc with my arthritis.


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## Cheryl J

I've used butter for decades - I can't remember the last time I bought margarine.  I wouldn't begrudge anyone for using it, though - heck, my youngest daughter always has a tub of Country Crock in the fridge and I'm not sure if she's ever bought butter.  

It's not that I'm so much into 'natural' foods - I have pre-packaged foods in the pantry with the best of 'em.  I just *LOVE* the taste of butter. IMO there's nothing better than a spread of slightly cool butter on a slice of warm freshly toasted bread.   If I want oil there's a few kinds in my pantry, but for taste and texture it's just gotta be butter.  

And butter isn't really THAT much more expensive than margarine, if you watch for the sales and stock up.


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## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> I've used butter for decades - I can't remember the last time I bought margarine.  I wouldn't begrudge anyone for using it, though - heck, my youngest daughter always has a tub of Country Crock in the fridge and I'm not sure if she's ever bought butter.
> 
> It's not that I'm so much into 'natural' foods - I have pre-packaged foods in the pantry with the best of 'em.  I just *LOVE* the taste of butter. IMO there's nothing better than a spread of slightly cool butter on a slice of warm freshly toasted bread.   If I want oil there's a few kinds in my pantry, but for taste and texture it's just gotta be butter.
> 
> And butter isn't really THAT much more expensive than margarine, if you watch for the sales and stock up.



+1. I love butter and I'm worth it


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## Andy M.

When I was on my own during and after my divorce, I switched back to butter.  It has stayed with me through thick and thin.


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## skilletlicker

RPCookin said:


> I don't get the hate for margarine.  I don't think that I've ever been in a household where it wasn't used for everyday, both for cooking and on the table.  We always have a Country Crock in the fridge.  People I know usually reserve butter for special dishes or occasions.


My parents became margarine users in the 30s and 40s. As a child in the 50s and 60s, I don't remember ever seeing butter in the house.

Among my parent's best friends was a wholesale margarine salesman. His wife refused to allow margarine in her house and would only use butter. Somehow that became a topic of conversation every time we ate at their house. I think they were the only people in my parent's circle of friends who didn't mostly or exclusively use margarine. It was one of the reasons they all said she was such an odd duck.

I moved out in the late 60s. Don't remember when I last bought margarine. Probably sometime in the 80's.
Neither margarine nor butter is healthy food. Butter is all saturated fat and margarine has partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and possibly trans fat. I've never seen a butter ad that said our butter tastes almost as good as margarine.

I use less than 2 lbs. of butter a year. The rest of my fats are vegetable oils, mostly olive oil, or reserved animal fats.

Food used to be a cultural thing. We mostly liked what we were used to and grew up with. Nowadays, if we aren't careful, we like what the marketing people tell us to. They have become sneaky son of a guns. Deceptive misrepresentations of science are among their favorite tools.


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## GotGarlic

skilletlicker said:


> Neither margarine nor butter is healthy food. Butter is all saturated fat and margarine has partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and possibly trans fat. I've never seen a butter ad that said our butter tastes almost as good as margarine.
> 
> I use less than 2 lbs. of butter a year. The rest of my fats are vegetable oils, mostly olive oil, or reserved animal fats.
> 
> Food used to be a cultural thing. We mostly liked what we were used to and grew up with. Nowadays, if we aren't careful, we like what the marketing people tell us to. They have become sneaky son of a guns. Deceptive misrepresentations of science are among their favorite tools.



Butter is not all fat; it also contains water, protein, vitamins A and D and potassium. I'm not claiming it's a health food, but as with so many things, it's fine in moderation. I think your reserved animal fats are pretty much just fat, though. 

I wrote a paper in college about the psychology of marketing. I'm not easily taken in by that


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

GotGarlic said:


> Butter is not all fat; it also contains water, protein, vitamins A and D and potassium. I'm not claiming it's a health food, but as with so many things, it's fine in moderation. I think your reserved animal fats are pretty much just fat, though.
> 
> I wrote a paper in college about the psychology of marketing. I'm not easily taken in by that



Ah, but did you know that pork fat contains less cholesterol than does butter?  Lard, of course is made from rendered pork fat.

And just so we keep things in perspective, cars are more deadly than either butter or animal fat.  And I can't' prove it, but mosquitoes are probably more deadly as well.  They are on my mind right now because my left wrist and arm are eaching like crazy due to those little buggers.  One of the bites is right under my watch band and is irritated by it.  With all of the bug bites you get every summer up here in the U.P., you'd think you would develop a resistance.  I need to start eating more garlic.  It helps keep the mosquitoes away, but not the black flies, no-see-ums, or deer flies.  And they all just ignor bug spray.

Ok, eveyone can get back on topic now.  I'm through ranting about biting bugs.  At least I've not been attacked by horse flies yet.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie

Chief, get yourself an aloe plant. Break off a small piece, squeeze out the gel  and the itching will stop immediately. 

When I lived in Hawaii, Poo got some nasty skeeter bites and they became infected. His pediatrician recommended the aloe. Worked like a charm and the infections cleared up in 24 hours. After that Poo would take a piece off the plant right outside our door and take care of any bites on his own.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> Chief, get yourself an aloe plant. Break off a small piece, squeeze out the gel  and the itching will stop immediately.
> 
> When I lived in Hawaii, Poo got some nasty skeeter bites and they became infected. His pediatrician recommended the aloe. Worked like a charm and the infections cleared up in 24 hours. After that Poo would take a piece off the plant right outside our door and take care of any bites on his own.



I have 3 aloe plants, each of them very large.  I never thought of using the juice for bug bites.  I know it's good for burns.  Thanks for the tip.  I'll give it a try.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## RPCookin

Addie said:


> My mother told me no one is more special than the members of your family. As a result once a week and special days we got to set the table with the best china, tablecloth and silverware. If they didn't get put away right after washing them, they got used again the next day.
> 
> I don't hate margarine, but *I prefer food created naturally. Not a compound of chemicals.* At the same time, I do understand the financial need for margarine. Butter can be very pricey. That is why I store up on it when it is on sale. One time Cabot Butter was actually cheaper than the house brand. My favorite brand of butter is Cabot's. I stocked up on it like the cows were going to close down any minute. I had more butter in my freezer than meat.



Butter is still created in a chemical lab.  That the lab happens to be inside of a cow is just coincidence.  Virtually everything you eat and drink is made up of various chemical compounds, even distilled water.  Most of those are organic compounds, in the same class as gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, etc.  After all, petroleum is mostly just organically repurposed plant and animal material.

Don't get me wrong, I use butter almost daily, but I also use margarine daily.  I can't imagine my sunnyside up fried eggs cooked in anything but butter.  Same when I do mushrooms sautéed in butter, garlic and white wine.  I always keep a pound in the fridge, and another in the freezer for when the first one gets low. 

But when I want a quick spread on bread or rolls, I'll grab the crock of soft, spreadable margarine.


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## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> Butter is still created in a chemical lab.  That the lab happens to be inside of a cow is just coincidence.  Virtually everything you eat and drink is made up of various chemical compounds, even distilled water.  Most of those are organic compounds, in the same class as gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, etc.  After all, petroleum is mostly just organically repurposed plant and animal material.



+1


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## Andy M.

RPCookin said:


> Butter is still created in a chemical lab.  That the lab happens to be inside of a cow is just coincidence.  Virtually everything you eat and drink is made up of various chemical compounds, even distilled water.  Most of those are organic compounds, in the same class as gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, etc.  After all, petroleum is mostly just organically repurposed plant and animal material...




So the natural food movement is a complete waste of time because natural and man-made are all the same??

I'm not ready to make the leap.  Margarine was touted as the healthy alternative to butter until health science caught up with the guys in the lab and realized trans fats are a no-no.  Now many margarines are trans fat free but who knows what the next discovery about margarine will be?

I use butter over margarine exclusively because I like the way it tastes, cooks and bakes.


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## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I have 3 aloe plants, each of them very large.  I never thought of using the juice for bug bites.  I know it's good for burns.  Thanks for the tip.  I'll give it a try.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



You're welcome. It not only helps burns heal faster, it stops the pain almost immediately. There are times when Mother Nature knows best.


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## cinisajoy

Must have butter for my chocolate chip cookies.
For a quickie cake, I used margarine because all my butter is frozen at the moment.   
Saves me from making cookies which would just go to waist.


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## di reston

Butter may be made in a chemical lab where you are, but not where I live. It's still churned, and it still has  the good and bad properties that it's always had. At least it doesn't have any of the the noxious ingredients that, say, maragine has, in my opinion. I go for the natural fats such as butter and olive oil. Sometimes sunflower oil. When I deep fry, I use half extra virgin olive oil and half organic sunflower oil. The results are excellent. But I always fry my eggs in butter, and you can't make a hollandaise sauce without butter, and neither can you make a decent cake without pure butter.And many other things besides, like a beurre blanc sauce. Like it or not, butter is indispensible in many classic recipes.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


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## Zagut

Margarine most likely will last longer but butter tastes better. 

Ancient, still-edible chunk of butter unearthed in Irish bog | Fox News


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## RPCookin

di reston said:


> Butter may be made in a chemical lab where you are, but not where I live. It's still churned, and it still has  the good and bad properties that it's always had.
> 
> di reston
> 
> Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde



So, butter doesn't come from cows where you are?  Interesting!


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## di reston

As usual, a very lively and interesting debate! To me, using some of the oils available in the market of today would be like cooking with petrol (gasoline?)!! I rigourously stick to butter for certain dishes, mostly cold pressed olive oil, and 50% each extra virgin olive oil and best quality sunflower oil for deep frying, for which I only use the mix of oils once or twice, no more. My criterion for testing when the temperature of the oil for deep frying is ready to use I do by putting a small piece of bread into the oil, and time how long it takes to become crisp and golden. It should be 2 mins. no longer, then it's ready to use. I use extra virgin olive oil for cooking certain dishes, many of them Mediterranean, and butter for others and then sunflower oil for yet others (Anything from countries in Asia to China - probably wrong, but I have to go with what's available here). But in each and every case I look at the pedigree of the fat I'm intending to use, and I ALWAYS check the labels before buying - after all, it's an investment in your good health! - Just like your vegetable garden is!.

My basic rule of thumb is, never buy foods where you don't know the provenance or where the processing is highly industrial.

I might still have a heart attack one day in spite of all these efforts (and in my little book of necessary criteria), but at least I will have lived well in the meatime!


Great read, thanks for that

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde

I use butter in a different way


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## Steve Kroll

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ah, but did you know that pork fat contains less cholesterol than does butter?  Lard, of course is made from rendered pork fat.


This fear of cholesterol is another one of those myths that just needs to go away. Dietary cholesterol does not contribute significantly to serum cholesterol. Period.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/02/why-you-should-no-longer-worry-about-cholesterol-in-food/

The Diet-Heart Myth: Cholesterol and Saturated Fat Are Not the Enemy

I'll let you in on a little secret. For breakfast I eat about 30 eggs per week, always fried in bacon fat, butter, or lard. Most days I put cheese in my eggs and full fat cream in my coffee. Furthermore, I haven't eaten a single "heart healthy whole grain" in many moons. According to everything we've been told, I should have keeled over a long time ago.

Guess what? I've been eating this way for almost 2 years now, and my cholesterol (which was never really high to begin with) has actually improved. In fact, my lipid profile is better now than it was back in 1988, when I was 28 years old.


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## di reston

Just goes to show that animal fats aren't as people think they are. I like your argument, but I think you must be young. My husband and I are in our seventies and diet is crucial to our well being. You too will get there one day and when you do, you'll realise how important diet is. Everyone has his own perspective on daily life and what it is.!!

Wishing you all the best

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast   Oscar Wilde


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## Steve Kroll

di reston said:


> Just goes to show that animal fats aren't as people think they are. I like your argument, but I think you must be young. My husband and I are in our seventies and diet is crucial to our well being. You too will get there one day and when you do, you'll realise how important diet is. Everyone has his own perspective on daily life and what it is.!!


Thanks, but don't patronize me. I don't appreciate it. 

I'm 56, so I'm not that young. And I absolutely realize how important diet is. I've lost 100 lbs and reversed my diabetes by eating the kinds of foods that people have eaten for thousands of years, long before the so-called "experts" came along and said we were doing it all wrong. You're welcome to eat however you like, but I fully believe that much of what we've been told for the last 50 years is utter nonsense, and the medical community is only now beginning to realize it.

At the same time, I believe there is no one-size-fits-all diet that works equally well for everyone. But this one works for me.


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## di reston

Apologies to all for coming over as patronizing - it really wasn't intended at all. I have great respect for all of you, you're all really great in my eyes, and all I was doing was lamenting the fact that now I'm past my best, I can't do the things I used to do without thinking twice about it. Even maintaining the vegetable garden is difficult, but I can still cook, even though both I and my OH are supposed to do the diet that the doctor tells us to stick to. I have to say, however, that the Mediterranean diet really is healthy, and I put it down to that that I don't have wrinkles yet. There's an English saying: a little of what you fancy does you good. As for me, I frequently go 'off piste' as the French say. Now look how many 'I's' have been used in this post - 'I' this, 'I' that - but what really interests me is what YOU all have to say, because there's always a lot more you can learn!

Humbly, di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


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## Mad Cook

Steve Kroll said:


> Stumbled across this today.
> 
> https://munchies.vice.com/en/articl...tter-isnt-bad-for-you-hidden-away-for-decades
> 
> The article behind the article:
> https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160412211335.htm
> 
> While the article also states that "butter might not be a health food" I feel like it's only a matter of time before research will indicate otherwise.
> 
> I'll continue to enjoy it (along with lard) in the meantime. I don't need research to prove that butter definitely makes me feel better.


The "butter isn't as bad for you as you thought" theory has been going the rounds over here for quite some time. It stands to reason it has to be, compared with the mish-mash of chemicals listed on the side of your average pack of margarine (oops "healthy spread"). All butter is is cream and a sometimes bit of salt.

Admittedly, if we consume huge quantities of it it won't do us a lot of good but "a _little _of what you fancy does you good" as the rather naughty, Edwardian singing comedian, Marie Lloyd, used to sing.


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## skilletlicker

di reston said:


> Apologies to all for coming over as patronizing - it really wasn't intended at all. I have great respect for all of you, you're all really great in my eyes, and all I was doing was lamenting the fact that now I'm past my best, I can't do the things I used to do without thinking twice about it. Even maintaining the vegetable garden is difficult, but I can still cook, even though both I and my OH are supposed to do the diet that the doctor tells us to stick to. I have to say, however, that the Mediterranean diet really is healthy, and I put it down to that that I don't have wrinkles yet. There's an English saying: a little of what you fancy does you good. As for me, I frequently go 'off piste' as the French say. Now look how many 'I's' have been used in this post - 'I' this, 'I' that - but what really interests me is what YOU all have to say, because there's always a lot more you can learn!
> 
> Humbly, di reston
> 
> Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


You absolutely do not owe me an apology. I did not feel you were being patronizing to anyone. I wrote a reply to that effect last night but mistakenly didn't submit it the interest of harmony. Given a choice between following the consensus advice of the medical community or the zealotry that arises over this or that diet craze, I'd go with the Doctor every time.


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## Mad Cook

Addie;1468576[B said:
			
		

> ]My mother told me no one is more special than the members of your family. [/B]As a result once a week and special days we got to set the table with the best china, tablecloth and silverware. If they didn't get put away right after washing them, they got used again the next day.
> 
> I don't hate margarine, but I prefer food created naturally. Not a compound of chemicals. At the same time, I do understand the financial need for margarine. Butter can be very pricey. That is why I store up on it when it is on sale. One time Cabot Butter was actually cheaper than the house brand. My favorite brand of butter is Cabot's. I stocked up on it like the cows were going to close down any minute. I had more butter in my freezer than meat.


Here, here, Addie.

I can't remember when I last bought "marge" and we never ate it on bread when I was a little girl despite being on the tail-end of post-war rationing. "Marge" was reserved for baking (usually "Stork" margarine which was marketed in the '50s and '60s as having 10% butter in it) as it was supposed to make the best cakes (more advertising hype even back then).

I almost always bake with butter now as the flavour is better than margarine. Let's face it cake isn't the most healthy food in the world anyway but a little isn't going to kill us on the spot.

When I was very little and I banged my head a little dab of butter was rubbed on the sore part by Grandma - I was convinced that it made me feel better. Even worse was my Aunt who soothed all upsets, whether physical or emotional, with the corner cut off a "tin" loaf of bread and slathered with butter and dipped in sugar! I should be dead but I'm 67 and, in my doctor's words, "disgustingly healthy!


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## Caslon

Both absorb odors.  Before I covered my butter dish, I wondered why my buttered toast tasted strange.


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## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Here, here, Addie.
> 
> I can't remember when I last bought "marge" and we never ate it on bread when I was a little girl despite being on the tail-end of post-war rationing. "Marge" was reserved for baking (usually "Stork" margarine which was marketed in the '50s and '60s as having 10% butter in it) as it was supposed to make the best cakes (more advertising hype even back then).
> 
> I almost always bake with butter now as the flavour is better than margarine. Let's face it cake isn't the most healthy food in the world anyway but a little isn't going to kill us on the spot.
> 
> When I was very little and I banged my head a little dab of butter was rubbed on the sore part by Grandma - I was convinced that it made me feel better. Even worse was my Aunt who soothed all upsets, whether physical or emotional, with the corner cut off a "tin" loaf of bread and slathered with butter and dipped in sugar! I should be dead but I'm 67 and, in my doctor's words, "disgustingly healthy!



Thank you.
I have to have checkups every six months with the health plan I am on. We always get the results of all the tests sent to us via computer. It is a program for those who have a computer at home, called _My Chart_. I print out the results of the last batch when I go for my next checkup. And I ask questions. It seems that since I lost all the weight, my numbers are right at Excellent to a bit lower. And it not because I changed my diet any. I still love the fat on a good steak. And butter, Glorious Butter, is a food from the gods. If I didn't realize that it is a very stupid idea, I would take a stick of butter and put a popsicle stick in one end. A stick each day. 

My doctor tells me he is not sure what I am doing right other than the weight loss, but keep doing it. The only difference is do to lack of hard physical movement, my appetite has diminished drastically. I was using salad plates before. Now I use a smaller sandwich plate for my meals. But I always have to have butter.


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## Cooking Goddess

FWIW, an uncle of mine swore he ate an entire stick of butter before he and his missus would go out for the night if drinking was going to be involved. Swore it coated his stomach so he wouldn't get drunk. I don't know if it worked, but it didn't kill him. Neither did the drinking. And he lived well into his 80s.

He just might have polished off 1/4 pound of butter, too. I had seen him eat a couple tablespoons full right off his spoon just to get my aunt (different aunt, not his wife) grossed out.


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