Earth Balance, Smart Balance, Fleischmann’s, oh my!
I figured in a world without milk, butter would be a nightmare from hell. You’d pick up something made from the wool of a sullen yak and have to use that to wave magically over your food containers hoping that a flying unicorn would come by, spitting magical no-dairy butter at your foods. But, alas, I’m still awaiting on the dairy-spitting, Skittles powered unicorn to come my way...
Instead, we have picked out and used three non-dairy butter alternatives. I suppose, at this point, I’d have to start referring to non-dairy butter truly as a margarine, seeing as it’s all alternatives. But, I digress (you usually do. -Chrissy).
The very first non-dairy butter that we tried was from the Smart Balance company.
I suppose the smartest way to do this review is going to be follow the format of texture, flavor and usefulness in cooking.
Smart Balance Light
Texture: Smart Balance light’s texture is pretty soft right out of the refrigerator, but not so soft as to be runny. As for mouth feel, it’s a very smooth product, but seems to leave almost a “film” feeling inside your mouth after you eat it. As for flavor, this is where we start to have issues. It has this strange backend taste that I just can’t quite put my finger on. I suppose it’s the oils that make up the product, seeing as it has a number of different oils that make up the spread. The BIGGEST issue, by far, with this particular product is that it is absolutely NOT TO BE USED in baking of any sort. Even worse than that, when it melts, it has this awful tendency to have its flavors become even more pungent than when not melted and it leaves everything with this strange paper/metal/“I’ve just licked concrete" flavor. Use as a last resort if the store doesn’t have anything else.
My Moo Rating: 2/5
Fleischmann’s Light Spread
Fleischmann’s Light Spread was actually the last of the spreads that we tried in conjunction with this article. We were relatively pleased with the texture of the product, though it is incredibly soft. You remove it from the refrigerator and it already has the solidity of “softened butter.” You can basically put a finger right through the entire tub contents, though I wouldn’t suggest that unless you’ve done a surgical scrub down of your digits as no one will want to touch the product afterwards. Although, I suppose, if you are claiming it for yourself (“I do hereby claim this buttery spread in the name of _______!”) it’s not a problem. The flavor is very good, nice and salty with just that hint of sweetness that you expect from a buttermilk product. Cooking with it works well, too. Though, if you are needing a very solid product, this is not the place to look. It doesn’t turn colors when cooked or give off a horrible smell or flavor after it is heated, and that is a huge plus in the non-dairy spread area.
My Moo Rating: 4/5
Earth Balance Soy-Free
Even though we didn’t try this product last, I’m reviewing it last because it’s my favorite of the three, and momma always said, “save the best for last.” This spread has a texture more firm than the other two products, which seems to make it a more natural candidate when you are needing to work with unsoftened butter for a recipe. The flavor is very nice. Though there is a slight aftertaste, it is not at all objectionable and actually has a nutty quality about it. It’s as useful in cooking as the Fleischmann’s, too. It melts beautifully and doesn’t seem to separate into its constituent parts, retains its buttery flavor and just seems to work well. We chose the soy free as I’m still researching the overall effects of soy’s natural estrogen on children and adults. This is definitely our favorite, in case you missed me saying that before.
My Moo Rating: 5/5
So, overall, you can do it! You can go butter free and not feel like you have to wave a yak. Happy eating!
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