Alternative to Butter

Well I have been using Lactose Free margarine for a long time, I have cooked with it and baked with it and it has been fine.

I realise that the taste is different and after time, you change your taste buds, so you get used to it. But recently I have been trying out different Vegan alternatives. Mainly because I have been doing a lot more baking and with baking comes butter icing, or butterless icing!

At first I thought this was ok, just doesn’t taste as great as normal rich butter, but ok. However, I have been trying to do flowers for baking, not that great at it yet, but it is getting better. So I have learnt that normal butter has way less water, than margarine, therefore if you use margarine for flowers, they kinda flop and expand. Therefore not holding the great flower that it started out as.

So here I begin on my journey of trying the best alternative options for cooking and baking. I have recently tried and tested a couple of Vegan Butters and they are pretty good, I read about it and didn’t even know vegan butter existed, there are only two that I have found Stork and Flora. It does seems to hold the texture for icing a lot better, tastes good in baking too. They are made from plant based products and both are good.

I have used oil in baking and cooking all of the time. You should only use olive oil if being used at low temperatures, as the oil changes once heated. So it is better for salads or low temperature bakes. Any other oil is good for baking or cooking, although I only use sunflower or vegetable, I have found though, that if it is more than about 100ml in a cake, then you can sometimes taste the oil, but 100ml or less it is ok.

I have also used coconut oil in cooking, I use coconut quite a lot and it is really good for baking or cooking, but it will depend on what you are cooking and whether coconut goes with the dish, as you can generally taste it. However, if you are only using a small quantity, then it is fine.

So basically, I have found use a margarine for every day as its cost effective and simple. Definitely use vegan butter if you want a richer flavour, or you are making any icing. Use vegan butter or oil for cooking and olive oil in some bakes and salad. Use Coconut if it goes with the cake or dish being cooked, or you are only using a small quantity.