Spreadable butter is what most people confuse with margarine, but they think it is the expensive version of it.
We use it often for breakfast, and I remember once the cashier from a supermarket told me that I had forgotten my margarine when I was buying spreadable butter.
So, for this reason, I will make an entire article about this to clear up the confusion because they are far from being the same thing and I will go more in-depth about what spreadable butter is and how it’s different from regular butter.
That being said, let’s get to the definitions.
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What is spreadable butter?
Spreadable butter is a mix of butter and canola oil or any other vegetable fat that will make the butter more spreadable when you get it from the fridge.
Butter remains solid even at room temperature because it is made only from saturated fat.
For this reason, spreadable butter was invented, because this way you can get the great taste of the butter without the real struggle of trying to spread it on your bread when you want a quick breakfast and also breaking your bread.
Difference between butter and spreadable butter
- The texture. The main difference between butter and spreadable butter is the texture. The oil content in the spreadable butter is usually very low, so it will not affect the taste and the nutritional value too much.
- Baking. Usually, when baking, it is recommended to use butter because the butter will help your cake to keep the tenderness you want but it will not fall apart, as opposed to using spreadable butter.
- The taste. When baking you will get a better taste from regular butter as it contains more milk fat.
Read Also: What Is Cultured Butter ?
Difference between margarine and spreadable butter?
There are quite a few differences when it comes to margarine vs. spreadable butter.
- The taste. Margarine is made mainly from vegetable fats or a mix of milkfats and vegetable fats, and spreadable butter is made mostly from milkfats with a bit of vegetable oil usually the spreadable butter will taste a bit better.
- The nutritional value. They are both made from fats, but butter is made from saturated fats, whereas margarine can contain more trans fats.
- The price. Spreadable butter is more expensive than margarine because butter takes a lot of milk to be made, and also, vegetable oil used for margarine is pretty cheap.
When should you use spreadable butter?
Spreadable butter is mostly used for breakfast or whenever you want a slice of bread with something on it.
There are quite a few variants of spreadable butter out there so you can choose your favorite one: Here is a search on Amazon for spreadable butter and you can see all kinds of spreadable butter: with herbs, with garlic, salted, unsalted, and so on.
I used to have a lot of cream cheese for my breakfast, but once I tried salted spreadable butter, and honestly, I can’t go back to my cream cheese anymore. I know salted spreadable butter is not the most healthful piece of my breakfast, but nothing can compare to its taste.
When should you use butter?
Butter is the perfect choice in baking and cooking. When frying be sure to use clarified butter because it has a higher smoke point.
In my opinion, mashed potatoes don’t exist without a good chunk of butter and some milk. Again not the healthiest way but for sure the tastier one.
Should you keep spreadable butter in the fridge?
Yes, you should keep spreadable butter in the fridge because it still contains butter. It can go bad if you keep it outside for too long.
There are some people who keep the spreadable butter on the counter because they say it is not that spreadable from the fridge, and I get it, but it is not safe to do this.
From my experience, it is not as spreadable as margarine, but it is undoubtedly more spreadable than the regular butter, which it should be since the name is spreadable butter.
I guess this depends a lot on the temperature of your fridge as well. I don’t like to keep it very cold, so keeping it in the fridge might work for me but not for everybody.
Also, I noticed that it could become a wet mess if you keep it outside.
How often should you eat spreadable butter?
Spreadable butter should be eaten in moderation as it contains a lot of fat.
As I said earlier in the article, it is delicious, especially the salted version, and it’s easy to make it your favorite from all the spreads out there. But it is not recommended in big portions or very often, so be careful with it.
There are no better options between those 3(butter, margarine, and spreadable butter) for you to put on your bread in the morning. Because you are in the same boat with margarine and regular butter as well. They are a bit different, but none of them is good on a daily basis.
But you can easily find all kinds of healthier spreads and use the spreadable butter more as a treat.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spreadable butter is the friendlier version of butter when you want to put it on your bread, especially if get your breakfast very early in the morning when you are still sleepy and don’t want any extra struggle.
If you want the cheaper version, you can use margarine, but the taste will not be the same. In my opinion, margarine is not worse than spreadable butter, but it is different so it depends on what your tastes are.
But be careful and don’t go for spreadable butter in cooking or baking.