Unsalted butter?

[etwahl]

i had a heck of a time finding appropriate butter for dd the other day. everyone said babies need fat, so i decided i should start adding butter to her things - waffle, toast, veggies.

but the only unsalted butter i could find was land o lakes unsalted sweet cream butter. and it does have a lot of saturated fat (though no trans fats). plus it's HARD. they don't have the spreadable butter in that.

can anyone recommend a butter that would be better?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[HoneymoonBaby]

Unsalted butter is really nasty tasting -- I'd stay away from it if I were you, unless there's a medical reason you need to restrict sodium. And "spreadable butter" isn't really butter -- it's like thickened, flavored vegetable oil. Yuck. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving a child regular salted butter (I ate it all the time growing up). If you keep it in a butter dish outside the refrigerator, it softens up enough to be quite spreadable. It's perfectly safe.

[egoldber]

I buy unsalted butter since thats what all recipes call for and I mainly use it for cooking. Honestly, though, I have never actually tasted salted butter, so I don't know what the difference is. I would look at the sodium level on the package and if you're comfortable, not worry about it. But I have never had a problem finding unsakted butter. They may have just been low for some reason.

I would definitely not use spreadable butter. The saturated fat (and thats all butter is, really, is saturated fat) is what makes it hard. The trans fats are what gives foods like margarine their soft, spreadable quality.

I would cut off a tablespoon or two and just leave it on the counter. To speed things up, you can microwave it for just a few seconds (maybe 5-15 seconds depending on your microwave) and that should do the trick.

HTH,

Tammy, were you looking at the sticks of butter or something in a tub? I always buy the sticks and have never had a problem finding unsalted butter. That is all I buy too--for baking! I wait until it's on sale and stock up--you can freeze it. I never tasted it by itself, so I can't comment on whether it's nasty. Now that I think of it, I can't say that I've ever tasted just plain butter in either the salted or unsalted variety.

Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

Actually, Land O' Lakes does make a spreadable butter that does not have trans fats. It's just pure butter mixed with some type of unhydrogenated oil - canola, I believe. It does have salt, though.

All real butter is going to have a lot of saturated fat because that's what butter is, but the mixture of butter and canola oil will have a lower percentage of saturated fats and a higher one of unsaturated. You could also make your own mixture with unsalted butter and canola oil. (I have never done it but have seen it recommended).

Having said that, I don't worry about DS' intake of saturated fat right now. Actually, I am trying to increase it since he is nursing less but not drinking any cow's milk. So I have no problem giving him real butter or ice cream for now. When he is a year or two older and the time comes to make his fat intake more like an adult's should be, I would probably frown on him eating pieces of butter at a restaurant, but for now, I think, "Good, maybe he will sleep better!" :)

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

Ditto what Elizabeth said! Land O Lakes has that spreadable butter in both a stick and a tub, so you can pick what you prefer. And it's real butter!

[etwahl]

okay that helps. so i shouldn't worry about the saturated fats in this butter? as long as it doesn't have trans fat? beth, do you have any favorite brands?

before dd, i used i can't believe it's not butter light spread or spray...but i rarely used butter on anything, hence i know nothing about the stuff :)

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

tammy--we always buy unsalted butter. We have found the cheapest way to buy it is at Costco and to buy their inhouse brand, Kirkland. To make it "spreadable" why don't you buy a butter dish and just leave it out? Then it's nice and soft all the time.

[egoldber]

LOL! I buy whatever is cheapest, usually the store brand! :)

[MartiesMom2B]

Tammy:

Leave the butter out so it'll be soft. If you have a kitchen aid mixer than take semi softened butter and whip it up and you'll have whipped butter that'll be easier to spread.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03