Food Dilemma!

I was having this discussion with a client last week and the subject of butter versus margarine came up. They say margarine is better for you… who are they?? That’s my questions.

I always answer the same way for those types of culinary questions. First, I am not a health expert or would pretend to know what is good or not for your health, I am just a cook, so you decide!

Butter versus margarine?

It’s a no brainer to me, what would you prefer to eat, a cup of dairy or a cup of oil? You make butter by stirring cream until it becomes butter… you make margarine from a plant and process the crap out of it until it looks like a spreadable creamy margarine. If yuo go on You Tube "butter vs margarine", there is a very entertaining guy who can extlain why butter is better for you. 

100% olive oil versus extra virgin olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil is press first from the olive and then they repress the olive paste to get even more oil… both oils are from the olive and 100% pure, but the extra virgin olive oil has all the good nutrients and the second not much is left.

White flour versus whole wheat?

I like unbleached white flour for certain recipes and whole wheat for other recipes… all good

Sugar versus aspartame?  It’s an easy one, very simple, what would you prefer to eat, a cup of sugar or a cup of chemicals?

Cheese versus soya cheese?

How much chemicals and machine processing do you need to put that soya bean through to make it look like cheese.

White rice versus brown rice?

I like unbleached white rice for certain recipes and brown for other recipes… all good

French fries versus roasted potatoes?

If they are well prepared, I love them both equally.

Maple syrup versus Aunt Jemima?

No question, maple syrup all the way. If I was on a very tight budget I would prefer to buy maple syrup and control how much I use versus buying something that has nothing to do with maple syrup.

Organic versus non organic?

This one is also simple - organic is best… but often way more money. I am way more interested in buying from the local growers as much as possible versus trying to find organic. My wife runs the garden at home so we get our organic food from our own yard.

This link is a great resource for organic questions: http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/pesticide-residues.cfm