Some recipes says use butter or margarine, some say use butter and some say use margarine. My question is, can I always use butter or does margarine have some property that butter doesn't when baking?
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7I have a rule: Never trust a recipe that requires the use of margarine (barring some sort of dietary restriction or allergy).– JasonTrueMay 16, 2012 at 21:31
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4 Answers
Margarine has less fat than butter, but it doesn't give quite the same flavor as butter does. You also have to be careful what KIND of margarine you are using. Tub margarine has a higher water content and can ruin your baked goods and the stick margarine can have a lot of trans fats in it. If you really want to get detailed into the differences, check out this site:
http://www.baking911.com/pantry/fats.htm
I agree with everything stated on that site in the fact that butter, in my opinion is far superior in flavor and texture than margarine. I have yet to meet a dish that butter didn't improve the taste over margarine. But there is the thing, it really is a lot about taste. A good quote from the site about margarine:
"Not great for baking: does not allow foods to become flaky, rather more cakelike; does not spread as well as lard or shortening; adds a greasy taste. However, some bake with it all the time and have great success; it's a matter of taste."
answered Nov 16, 2010 at 7:56
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1The claim that margarine has less fat than butter is simply untrue. At least in the US, the FDA standard of identity for margarine specifies "containing not less than 80 percent fat". This is essentially the same as butter.– SAJ14SAJJun 2, 2013 at 9:39
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Sorry, have found better sources to mostly support SAJ14SAJ's comment... After reading new answers to my question Substitues for vegetable oil spread, there is also a section of the Code of Federal Regulations that states "Margarine" is to "..contain[ing] not less than 80 percent fat.."... Jul 23, 2013 at 0:00
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... and also a section of the Code of Federal Regulations dealing with fat content for "Butter", stating that "..the calculation of the percent fat reduction in milkfat shall be based on the 80 percent milkfat requirement..", which seems to allow for Butter varieties with the same, or less fat than Margarine Jul 23, 2013 at 0:02
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Hi. I know it's been a few years, but I just went to look at that article and it doesn't exist anymore. I don't know if you need it, just wanted to let you know! Sep 3, 2016 at 20:29
If the recipe says margarine, use margarine. If the recipe says use butter, use butter. It can make a difference in how the recipe turns out. I have a cake recipe that ha to have margarine or it will boil over, it's a disaster. Tried and true.
You can use butter because it gives out more flavour to the cakes. I believe though that in normal sized cakes eg: a birthday cake, u would have to mainly use margarine as it can make a whole lot if difference and it contains less fat that butter however if making cupcakes for example sponge ones, it would be perfectly fine to use butter as it would only be a small amount!
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Seems a bit odd to claim that you have to mainly use margarine in normal-sized cakes; most recipes for cakes of any size use butter, not margarine.– Cascabel ♦Oct 28, 2017 at 21:16
If you use butter instead of margarine in a cookie recipe then the cookies will burn on the bottom because that is what happened to me when I was doing a cookie recipe.
