Butter is a very healthy product. It is difficult to imagine at least one baking recipe to which this ingredient would not be added. However, it must be borne in mind that it represents benefits for the body only in small doses. But delicious pies and rolls contain it quite a lot. That is why we do not notice how we gain weight. Today we want to talk about how to replace butter in baking. Possibly, less high-calorie supplements will allow you to get a similar result, but at the same time products will greatly benefit. Let's get it right.
Benefit or harm
Tasty, melting butter in your mouth ... It's hard to imagine life without it. However, the use of this product is sometimes necessary to limit. This primarily applies to people over 40 years old, as well as people who monitor their weight. What else could be the reason that a person refuses to use oil? There are several of them:
- lactose intolerance;
- vegetarianism and rejection of animal fats;
- a healthy lifestyle and preference for low-calorie foods;
- chronic diseases (pancreatitis, cholecystitis);
- someone just doesn't like the taste of animal fats.
Why butter should be limited
First of all, because it is a very high-calorie product. Per 100 g, about 700 kcal. Of course, nobody is going to eat it with spoons, but it is not so easy to tear yourself away from delicious home-made baking. So, disguised in the product, it enters your body, deposited on the walls of blood vessels. But this is not his only minus:
- the oil contains many harmful saturated fats;
- it contains a large amount of cholesterol, which, in turn, is dangerous because its excess leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques;
- abuse of this product is the path to a heart attack or stroke.
Most unexpected option
Talking about how to replace butter in baking, many people recall various vegetable fats, but no one thinks about avocados. This amazing fruit can be a great base for making cookies. Did not know? Then keep wondering. Calorie avocados are almost 4 times less than butter. It contains unsaturated vegetable fats that are good for our body. But that is not all. This wonderful fruit gives us vitamin K and coarse fibers.
How to use avocado if there is nothing more to replace with butter in baking? To do this, you just need to chop the fruits and add to the dough by analogy with butter. It will turn out no worse, but much more useful.
Vegetable oil
The most obvious option in case you are looking for a substitute for butter in baking. In this case, the taste of the finished product will remain almost the same. Vegetable oils contain far less saturated fat. The figures are significant: the difference is about 10 times. But it is they who increase blood cholesterol. Pricing also advocates using vegetable fats.
If you still hesitate and think about how you can replace the butter in baking, then decide once to try to cook the dish in a new way. The result will simply surprise. Having spent much less, you will get a similar product. Since sunflower and olive oils are the best alternative to butter, we will now tell you how to transfer one into another without losing the quality of the final product.
Home lab
You can do real miracles in your kitchen. Do you want to make cookies in the evening, butter appears in the recipe, but you don’t have it? It does not matter, every mistress has sunflower. We get a bottle (preferably odorless) and get down to business. We need 100 g of butter, but how much will it be vegetable? Just do not try to pour the same amount of liquid product into the dough. The ratio is as follows:
- 5 g butter = ¾ tsp vegetable;
- 30 g = one and a half tablespoons;
- 75 g = ¼ cup;
- 150 g = ½ cup;
- 200 g = ¾ cup.
Now you know exactly how to replace butter with vegetable in baking. In fact, this is the same fat in its pure form.
Large selection of vegetable fats
Every housewife knows what role butter plays in the recipe. How to replace it, sometimes you have to think for a long time. Sunflower is a good option, but it has a specific aroma, and refined is devoid of many useful properties. When including such fats in recipes, do not forget to reduce their amount by 20%. Or you can use the list given above.
Olive oil perfectly replaces butter in the preparation of main dishes. Sunflower is often used for baking, but in general it all depends on your preferences. In addition, if on occasion you see corn or rice oil in the store , be sure to take it. They have a very delicate taste and are perfect for making cakes, cakes and cookies.
Soybean oil
This product is great as a butter substitute. Baking is just wonderful, with a delicate taste. That is, it is almost a plant analogue of animal fats. However, it should be used with great caution due to the high content of palm oil. The product is inexpensive and very convenient to use, but rich in saturated fats. The replacement of butter with vegetable in the test is almost invisible.
Margarine
At first glance, a very convenient product. At a price much lower than oil, but at the same time it looks and partially tastes very much like it. It is with margarine that the dough turns out to be the most familiar in texture. Therefore, doubting whether it is really possible to replace butter with vegetable in baking, the housewives choose it. As a result, we have magnificent and beautiful products, but how does this affect our health?
First of all, it should be noted that margarine is a mixture of vegetable and animal fats, often of poor quality. For sandwiches and cereals, it may still be suitable, but the taste is not too good, so usually something better is used for these purposes. But when heated, all spreads (this name can be read on the margarine packaging) safely decompose into fractions that provoke the growth of cancer cells.
There is another reason why it is not worth replacing butter with margarine. Both of these products contain approximately the same set of fats and cholesterol. That is, if you decide to look for an alternative so as not to jeopardize your health and figure, then you need to find other options. How to replace butter with vegetable in baking, we described above, you can add tips to your cookbook.
Nuts and seeds
As you can see, such a simple question - “how to replace butter in a dough” - can be considered in a variety of variations. Almonds, hazelnuts or peanuts can be a very worthy alternative to butter, for this they need to be ground to a mushy state. By the way, coconut and cocoa butter are similar. They are used in the same proportion as indicated in the recipe. However, one must remember that these products are very high-calorie.
Fruit puree
What is butter in the dough for? To give it a special softness and tenderness. You will be surprised, but this effect can also be achieved due to the pulp of fruits. A banana or an apple is perfect. The first one can simply be mashed into gruel. You have to tinker a bit with apples. It is best to peel and bake the fruit in the oven. Then you will need to grind the pulp with a blender and add to the dough. The result is delicious muffins and muffins.
Cream and Yogurt
Very often dairy products are an optimal substitute. Butter and cream are two relatives. Both give an exquisite delicate taste. However, cream is less calorie, and the taste of the product is more attractive than with the addition of vegetable oil. Vegetarians or people with lactose intolerance can use soy cream. In this case, you need to add a quarter more product than indicated in the recipe (instead of 100 g butter, 125 g cream).
Alternatively, you can use yogurt. In this case, light recipes are obtained. There are 80 kcal per 100 g of yogurt, and if you look at the oil, then there are already as many as 700 kcal. By analogy, in case of replacement, it is necessary to use not 100 g of oil, but 150 yogurt. Those who have already tried such a recipe say that the quality of the product is no worse. Delicate and airy pies will be an excellent option for tea drinking, even if you are on a diet.
To summarize
As you can see, it is not necessary to use butter for baking. There are dozens of ways to make your dessert delicious and healthy, perfect for baby food. Try to make familiar cookies in a new way. You will surely love this taste, and friends will ask for the recipe for a long time.