Review of Non-Dairy Fats

By Gwende1yn

Buttery Spreads/Margarines

The selection for vegan buttery spreads or margarines is quite slim, but fortunately the options are superb.

GFA Brands, Inc. makes the only brands of vegan margarines I have much experience with, although I think there are a couple other vegan margarines that sprouted out of the Kosher Parve market. GFA Brands varieties are definitely worth your while to try.

• Earth Balance (the original, beige tub) was the first vegan soy margarine, and it tastes great and works great in everything dairy butter works in. It also spreads and melts like dairy butter. In my experience, the baking properties are almost identical, and the taste is so close to dairy butter that not one person I tried it on over the course of about two years could tell the difference between this buttery spread and dairy butter. The big downside to it is that in contains the ingredient “Soy Protein” which is a hidden source of MSG and was a frequent trigger to my MSG reactions before I realized it was in this and switched. Fortunately, by the time I realized it, they had started selling a new version - Soy Garden.
  
  
• Soy Garden tastes, spreads, and melts pretty much identically to the original Earth Balance buttery spread and doesn’t seem to contain any hidden sources of MSG (I’ve used it for over a year with no reactions). It works well for most cooking and baking purposes, but it does not work in pie crusts…at all. However, this is my staple butter substitute, and I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Earth Balance Whipped tastes, spreads, and melts like regular Earth Balance. I haven't tried it in baking.
  
  
• Earth Balance Buttery Sticks used to contain casein, so I didn’t use it, but it is vegan now. My guess is it’s made like the stuff in the beige tub, but you may want to check the ingredients for yourself.
  
  
• Smart Balance is made by the same company as the above, but don't be fooled into thinking this is vegan. It is NOT dairy-free. It contains casein. Although it is more readily available in stores than Earth Balance or Soy Garden, it does not cook, melt, or taste as good. Talk to your store managers about carrying the other buttery spreads in addition to or instead of this one.
  
  
• Natucol tastes like the stereotypical healthy margarine and doesn’t work for baking. I don’t recommend it.

Shortenings

Since Soy Garden doesn’t work for pie crusts, I was determined to find something healthier than Crisco to fill the need. (I don’t know about you, but I love healthy apple pies!) Fortunately, Earth Balance came to the rescue with …

• Earth Balance Shortening: This works just like Crisco, only it’s much healthier – no trans fat, no hydrogenated oils, etc.
  
  
• Spectrum Naturals Is another brand of healthier shortening. I’ve never actually used it because it only comes in a big tub and I like the convenience of the Earth Balance shortening sticks, but it seems like it should work about the same.

Oils

Choosing the appropriate oil is an excellent way to enhance the flavor of various foods. When most people think of cooking with oil, they usually only think of the vegetable, canola, and olive varieties. Olive is an excellent choice, but really doesn’t work very well for sweet goods (muffins, sweet breads, etc). Canola is ok, but doesn’t add any flavor value and also doesn’t add any real health benefits (though it’s better than standard vegetable oil). The most important thing to look for when purchasing an oil is that it is “100% expeller pressed.” You should also know that some oils can handle higher heat than other oils. You should never, ever, heat your oil so hot it smokes – that’s a sure-fire way to break it down and loose the healthful aspects! Try some of these:

• Sesame seed oil is both light and flavorful in a dry, nutty kind of way, which makes it ideal for use in Asian and Indian-style cuisines and sautéing vegetables (especially greens like Kale).
  
  
• Hazelnut oil is not cheap, so I tend to mix it with canola, safflower, or sunflower seed oil, but it adds an excellent, mild, heazelnutty flavor throughout, and I love the flavor of hazelnuts, especially in sweet baked goods.

Reviews coming soon

• Sunflower seed oil
• Safflower oil
• Peanut oil
• Walnut oil
• Almond oil
• Avacado oil
• Coconut oil
• Pumpkin seed oil
• Grapeseed oil