Heaven, I'm in heaven!

Yes! When we were in Ireland a couple years ago, and again last year when we visited Scotland.

When we got back from Ireland, I was telling a friend of mine (born and raised in Germany) what good butter they had, but not knowing why it was better. She explained that their butter is made using cream with a higher fat content than what we use in America. She agreed that the difference is like night and day.

Fractionated means that a substance is split up into its component parts. Hydrogenated means that the component parts of a substance are bonded together with a molecule of hydrogen. So they're sort of opposite reactions.

Although I couldn't find any references that fractionated oils contain trans fats, bottom line is that it's still a highly processed synthetic product. Probably best used in moderation.


Doreen

Ahh... sorry, my brain is fractionated today.

Thanks for all the great info! You guys are wonderful!!

If anyone out there is tempted to use margarine instead of butter due to the spreadibility issue, I recommend you get a butter bell. I picked one up on e-bay for about $20 and it works great. My butter is always soft and it stays very fresh. Of course, I use butter so much that it rarely goes more than a week before I have to refill it.

My SO's mother uses a butter bell as well and loves it. We had a hard time finding one to get her.

ATM I'm trying the Can't belive it's not butter spray. There's nothing hydroginated about it, so hopefully it won't be to bad.

In the store today I saw Earth Balance. It's a spread that is made with expeller pressed oils all non-hydroganated, and it 100% vegan so lactose intolerent people could also use it.

I use Unsalted Butter or Soft Baking Butter. Unsalted Butter is just Cream. Soft Baking Butter is a mix of Cream, Canola Oil, and Salt. No hydrogenated Oils...Though, you do have to be carefull, because the same company puts out a Garlic Butter with Olive Oil which if I remember correctly contains Hydrogenated Oils.

The plus for Soft Baking Butter is in the first word of the name...It is very soft. Because it contains liquid oils, it is softer, spreads easier, and melts easier than pure butter.

I use extra virgin olive oil . sometimes i use sunflower oil for cooking & frying where as the olive oil would smoke.

Butter, butter and more REAL butter,,,gotta love it!

Clarified butter. I get annoyed when regular butter browns and smokes in the pan.

Mmm ... butter. If I lived in a rural area, I just might have my own cow. (And chickens, because fresh eggs are unbelievably good.)