Fats and Substitutions

I am not one for subbing fat with fat free or lower fat.
But, there are exceptions.

Our bodies need  a certain amount of fat to function well.
Our brain needs it.
Our cells need it.

There are fat soluble vitamins that need fat to help them do their job.
The ones that need fat are A,D, E, and K.
CoQ10 and lycopene are also fat soluble.
This is why it is best to have some fat in your salad dressings when you do eat salad.
The fat will help the nutrients absorb into your body better.

One reason that I may substitute a fat with something else is if there is some nutritional benefit.

Fruits and vegetable purees are good because of nutrients and fiber.
The general rule for fruit puree such as pear or apple is to use half the amount of puree that the recipe calls for in fat.
If you are using squash or pumpkin, you will want to use 3/4 of the stated amount of fat.

I have recently tried using avocado and that works. Some people recommend only using half the amount in avocado and half the amount in butter. Others say to use all.
I used all.
The texture was good.
The taste was a little different than with butter.
It also settled after a day and  the difference in the taste was less noticeable.
It idn't taste like avocado.
Just different than when using butter.
I really think it would complement the taste of anything peanut butter.

No matter what you use, the taste will be slightly different.
Even butter from brand to brand can change the taste a little.

I do find that when making quick breads or muffins that olive oil is a great choice.
It just seems lighter.

Coconut oil, when using the virgin organic that is unrefined and not made using hexane, is a good choice. It compliments the taste of chocolate. It is also high in lauric acid which does a body good.

I also use butter, which is great in it's own way.

Cutting In Butter Or Shortening

What does it mean when a recipe says to cut butter into a flour mixture?

It means breaking up the butter or shortening into the flour.

For pastry, you break up the butter/shortening into smaller pieces so that the flour gets coated with some fat and the flour won't absorb too much liquid.
For a struesel topping, you cut in butter to get a crunchy crumbly topping.

There are pastry cutters you can buy to cut in the butter/shortening.
You can also use a fork to just break it up.

What I prefer to do is to work the butter into the flour or sugar/flour mix with my hands.
To do this, just stick your hands into the bowl with the butter and just rub it into the flour.
Make sure you end up with coarse crumbs.

For pastry, leave some of the pieces of butter larger and some smaller.

For a struesel topping, all the butter should be uniform so all the crumbs are about the same size.

Butter Vs. Margarine in Baking

When you bake is there a difference between using butter and using margarine.

Yes, there is.

Most recipes call for unsalted butter. Margarine has salt so if you plan to use margarine you should remove 1/4 teaspoon salt from the recipe or just eliminate it entirely.

Another thing to remember is that butter will get hard fairly quickly so if you are making cookie dough that needs to be chilled you can stick it in the freezer for quicker chilling only if you plan to use margarine and NOT butter.

If you use butter, the butter will cause the dough to be too solid to shape. It won't be frozen solid but it will not shape or roll without it being allowed to soften. And that kinda negates the whole chilling for easier rolling.

Cookies made with butter will have a crispier outside than cookies made with margarine.

Butter will melt at a lower temperature than margarine so cookies may spread more when using butter.

One thing to remember is that butter contains 80% fat and the amount in margarine can range from 100% fat to less than 50%.

Having a higher fat content is important when baking. So try not to use low fat margarine or tub margarine.

But, when making candy, you should always use real butter for the best quality. That is due to the fat content.

I always use butter over margarine when cooking. I also use cooking oil and shortening.

But when it comes done to it, it is whatever you prefer to use.

Just remember that one is not exactly the same as the other.