Butter substitute?

[Wifezilla]

When I was in Italy, a lot of people seemed to use olive oil with some herbs for dipping bread. I have never tried it so can't say whether is is an acquited taste or not.

Dipping olive oil is tasty wen you spice it correctly. They have these neat little containers with spice blends made just for this purpose. I had one a while back with 4 different blends in the same shaker. Once I figured out which blend I liked best I just made my own.

The IS some non-hydrogenated lard out there, but I have only found it at Mexican grocery stores.

Since you get plenty of milk, if I was in your shoes, I would make yogurt, and then drain that until it is the thickness of cream cheese. Then blend that with spices and use that as a spread. WAY healthier than any artificial fats.

For baking, if you can't find good lard, use palm oil. It is the same texture as lard.

 

[Beekissed]

Why not just make your own cream cheese? Anyone ever did this? Could you cook with it like butter or would it not have enough fats in it?

 

[FarmerChick]

If you are interested I found this....so in a pinch maybe, keep these supplies on hand and you have margarine.



Blender Margarine



2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder


2 packets Butter Buds, dry butter flavoring (optional, for flavor)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup fresh water

4 drops yellow food coloring (optional, for color)

1-1/2 cups corn oil or other good tasting vegetable oil

This is one of those cool recipes that makes you feel like an alchemist in the kitchen. You do need a blender to make this recipe. Non-electric blenders can be found at www.Lehmans.com or by Googling Hand Crank Blenders. A regular electric blender will work too.

Begin by measuring the dry milk powder, Butter Buds, salt and fresh water into the blender. Add the food coloring if you are using it and process the mixture for a few seconds. Remove the center of the blender lid. With the blender running, dribble in the oil in a thin stream. This is important. If you dump the oil all in at once, the recipe won't turn out, so add the oil slowly. The mixture will thicken and become very creamy. When all of the oil has been added the mixture will be very thick. Turn the blender off. Scrape the margarine into a resealable container. You should have about 2-cups of margarine or the equivalent of a pound.

The flavor of the oil is very important to this recipe. Only use fresh, high quality oil. Corn oil tastes good, as does safflower oil. Canola oil will work also, but I do not recommend soybean oil. I made it with soybean oil the first time because I had a big gallon of it I was trying to use up. The recipe turned out fine, but didn't have the delicacy of flavor that it did when made with corn oil. I would not use olive oil in this recipe.

If you do not have Butter Buds, then increase the salt to 1/2-teaspoon. Butter Buds give the margarine a light, buttery flavor that I enjoy, but not everyone does. Use this margarine as a spread and for seasoning vegetables. Do not use it for frying or baking. The water content makes it spatter when frying, and makes cakes fall when baking.

 

[Wifezilla]

Nonfat dry milk powder?
Corn Oil?
BUTTERBUDS???

 

[keljonma]

Not making anything in particular, I just am literally out of butter and was thinking that if I don't have a ready supply of cream (I get my milk through barter sometimes, but my source won't part with her cream as it is her cash crop) I cannot make my own butter.

So, I was looking for substitutes. Do you "spread" chicken fat as a bread spread?? Like what do you use on pancakes??

Edited to ask, now I am confused, my shortening package says it has 0 trans fat. Are they lying?

For the pancakes, skip the butter (and syrup) and use a homemade jam or fruit butter instead.

 

[Wifezilla]

Why not just make your own cream cheese? Anyone ever did this?

The process for making yogurt cheese and cream cheese is pretty similar, but you don't need rennet for the yogurt version.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/makecreamcheese.htm
http://www.grannymillerblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/making-yogurt-cheese-feta-cheese.html

 

[Wifezilla]

Kel, I use a strawberry/chia seed spread for my almond meal pancakes.

You simply take frozen strawberries, sprinkle chia seeds over the top and add a little of your favorite sweetener. As the strawberries melt, the liquid is absorbed by the chia seeds and it turns in to a jell. Very high in omega 3's

 

[keljonma]

Kel, I use a strawberry/chia seed spread for my almond meal pancakes.

You simply take frozen strawberries, sprinkle chia seeds over the top and add a little of your favorite sweetener. As the strawberries melt, the liquid is absorbed by the chia seeds and it turns in to a jell. Very high in omega 3's

I just put the chia in the pancake batter...

 

[Wifezilla]

Hummm....never tried that before. Does it make them fluffier? Since I don't do wheat, my pancakes can be a bit dense.

 

[keljonma]

Hummm....never tried that before. Does it make them fluffier? Since I don't do wheat, my pancakes can be a bit dense.

Depends on how long you let them sit. Sometimes I throw chia in, sometimes flax seeds, depends on my mood and what kind of pancakes I'm making. We aren't on any restriction, except eating healthy and in moderation. I think its a lifestyle, not a diet. We even use real butter on occasion.