Make a Better Butter

Posted by: Janet on: April 17th, 2006  »  4 comments

If you read Eat, Shrink and Be Merry!, you might remember that we wrote about butter and its many health benefits. It’s actually a good fat, and if you use it in moderation, it won’t make you fat and it won’t clog your arteries, either. Really! In fact, butter helps protect us against heart disease. It contains the super-potent antioxidants, Vitamins A and E, and it also contains lecithin, a substance that helps keep cholesterol moving along in the bloodstream. Plus, butter has properties that help protect us from viruses, yeasts, and other harmful bacteria that live in our gut. As Tina Turner (kinda) said, “Butter be good to me!”

But if I eat butter, will I pack on the pounds? Fat chance! The short and medium-chain fatty acids in butter are typically not stored in fat tissue, but used for quick energy. Because butter is rich in nutrients, you get a feeling of satiety when you eat it and it keeps your blood sugar levels even Steven. Plus, scientists have discovered that one-third of butter’s fat is a health-promoting one called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA helps to reduce body fat and increase body protein. Cowabunga!

Butter’s also a good choice for cooking because it’s very stable. Heat doesn’t drastically change butter’s chemical structure. When other vegetable oils are heated, their molecular structure is altered, and that’s not a good thing for your body. A hundred years ago, when butter and eggs were staples in man’s diet, heart disease was rare. Between 1920 and 1960, heart disease rose to become North America’s number one killer. Coincidentally, during that same period, butter consumption plummeted as everyone was told to switch to fabricated fats like margarine and refined, overly processed polyunsaturated oils.

So if you like butter, just stick with it. Don’t go slathering it on everything, though. Moderation is key. Here’s a little recipe for you. By combining butter with olive oil, you can make butter more spreadable, and also reduce the saturated fat content slightly, while adding the benefits of monounsaturated fat. This is great for sauteing and it’s good on bread or toast, too.

Better Butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 pound butter (softened)

Beat with a hand mixer or whisk until thoroughly mixed. Place in an airtight container (a margarine container works well) and refrigerate. Better Butter will remain soft and spreadable.

Comments (4)

  1. Reply

    Ella Golightly | July 26, 2006 at 9:39 pm →

    Thank you for the tip about Better Butter, love, love, love your books.

  2. Reply

    Betty DesRochers | October 23, 2009 at 2:20 pm →

    Thanks. Keep spreading the word – (no pun intended). Just recently we have been bombarded with ‘butter-flavoured…’ advertisements. If … is so great why do they have to try to be something else?

  3. Reply

    Karen Woloshyn | April 23, 2010 at 8:30 pm →

    Love your books, the recipes are so easy to prepare and always turn out great .Your shows are great and I tape them all ,just to make sure I don’t miss one .Thanks for the info on the butter .I use to make the soft butter ,but I never knew all the better butter info .So now in our house it’s Better Butter Only .Thanks again Karen

  4. Reply

    Judi | June 5, 2010 at 4:40 pm →

    Hi: I use the better butter but am really confused (not being a science major..)

    Why, when you use 8 ounces of oil and 8 ounces of butter do you end up with 8 ounces (or a cup)? What happens to half of the mixture? I can’t find an answer anywhere. And why is it better, if you are still using the same amount of butter? Help.

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