Is real butter better, or are you mad about margarine? If the latter has won out in your
butter battle, here's everything you should know about the most dreaded of the buttery spreads
Country Kroc has a long history of making butter-flavored spreads, offering them up since 1945 as an alternative to dairy-based butters
They've never made a big secret about producing margarine-like spreads, but that didn't prevent a class-action lawsuit from emerging in 2022. Consumers alleged that
the company's plant butter packaging was misleading. The problem? The tub proclaimed
that the substance was made with olive oil and featured a picture of an olive branch
Except, olive oil was barely present. Instead, less wholesome oils took its place
like palm and canola oils. Country Croc defended its decision in court
stating that olive oil was only meant to convey flavor notes, but the damage was done
And it wasn't the first time, either. The National Milk Producers' Federation
was having a cow about Country Croc back in 2019, stating, The use of butter terms for imitation butter products is an egregious slap in the face
It went on to argue that Country Croc didn't even legally qualify as margarine
and it failed to meet the FDA's requirement that a margarine contain at least 80% fat
It used to be even worse. Country Croc original spread was stuffed full of
preservatives and additives before the company reformulated its recipe in 2015 to what they called a simpler and healthier recipe. Is it even worth it
One Walmart shopper said of the changes, I used to think Country Crock was just as good as real butter spread on a piece of toast or a biscuit
Now, it's just flavorless fat. Bromo & Brown markets itself as a wholesome product made with real yogurt
but this brand may not live up to their own hype. While Bromo & Brown Original Spread has only half the fat and calories of real butter
it's also a highly processed product. Existing somewhere between dairy butter and margarine
ingredients in the spread include palm kernel and palm oil, soybean oil, and other additives
Palm oil is problematic. Despite being rich in antioxidants, it's also high in saturated fat
and palm oil plantations are a leading contributor to deforestation and other ecological issues
Soybean oil is another potential problem. Studies published by the University of California
Riverside in 2022 have linked soybean oil to obesity, diabetes, and even stranger
neurological, genetic, and metabolic changes in mice. Although we don't have definitive answers yet, researchers believe that, quote
in all likelihood, it is not healthy for humans. Is a butter substitute worth busting your brain
for? Reviewers are also complaining that the product just isn't worth the money after it
recently doubled in price The affordable imperial brand is easy to find at most grocery stores but don be fooled by those buttery sticks As the packaging states it lactose and like most similar spreads
it's made with a vegetable oil blend. But it also contains additives you might want to be aware of
if you have food sensitivities, like distilled monoglycerides, soy lecithin, and calcium-disodium
EDTA. Don't be alarmed by all of the big words, though. Soy lecithin is one ingredient that's
often surrounded with questions. It's a natural substance extracted from soy, and it's often found
in dietary supplements. It's known to reduce cholesterol, according to multiple studies
and the process of extracting lecithin from genetically modified soybeans removes most
soy allergens. But people who are allergic to soy might still have problems. Some consumers
may also object to the chemical processes used to isolate lecithin. As for taste, one reviewer on Walmart said
"...saltiest thing since the Dead Sea." Another simply said, "...worst butter I've ever tasted.
Parquet has been available as a butter substitute for nearly 90 years, and it's one of the few brands on the list that isn't dairy-free, as it includes whey
a derivative of milk, and it's available in sticks, spreadable tubs, and a spray
"-For better buttery taste, it's... -"Parquet." -"What did you expect?" Like any margarine-type spread, Parquet contains a vegetable oil blend
which includes soybean oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. Health-conscious consumers might want to take notice of the mono and diglycerides in Parquet
but the World Health Organization maintains that you'll find these naturally-occurring substances in many types of foods
They're so common that they've been deemed safe by the European Food Safety Authority
and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Don't let the big words scare you
Though safe, these mono-antiglycerides usually also contain very small amounts of trans fats
which are a known problem. But if the amount of trans fats is less than half gram per serving
the FDA allows manufacturers to round down and put zero on the package
which is why Parquet appears to have no trans fats. On paper, it's safe, but trans fats can add up
leading to unhealthy consequences, like heart disease and even increased occurrences of dementia
Like many butter substitutes, Move Over Butter comes with a significant ingredient list
One red flag is fractioned palm oil. It's an ingredient used by manufacturers to replace
partially hydrogenated oils, which have been deemed unsafe by the FDA. Unfortunately
fractioned palm oil has a higher amount of saturated fat than regular palm oil
and saturated fat is pretty bad for your heart. It's still a lot less than real butter
and that's its main selling point. As for user reviews, Move Over Butter tends to get high
ratings, and people say they enjoy the butter-like taste, which derives from actual sweet cream
buttermilk. One Walmart reviewer called it the best tasting of all the fakes. I Can Believe It Not Butter first launched its butter substitute spread in 1981 during an era when people thought hydrogenated oils were healthy The brand quickly gained popularity thanks in part to catchy commercials I can believe it not butter
Although I Can't Believe It's Not Butter contains the usual, not exactly nutritious blend of oils
it's a shorter list of ingredients than many of the other buttery spreads, with no mono-endiglycerides or calcium-disodium EDTA in sight. While the original spread contains
milk as part of its undisclosed natural flavorings, they also have a vegan variety if you need to go
completely dairy-free. Overall, it seems to get high marks, but environmentally conscious consumers
might want to take notice of the heavy use of palm oil. Smart Balance markets itself as a healthy product containing omega-3 fatty acids
claiming that it supports healthy cholesterol levels. Despite this, the ingredient list still
has some familiar controversial additions, like calcium-disodium EDTA and palm oil. So how does it taste? In 2022, Smart Balance changed its formula to use a smaller amount
vegetable oil, and the new water-heavy product was called Very Weird by former fans
After receiving a large amount of negative feedback from customers, the company announced it would go back to the original formula
But something was still not right, and the original formula was never really recaptured
One Walmart shopper recently said, We have been using and liking this margarine as long as it has been available
and even stuck with it through the changes, until now. The taste is terrible, and it is too, too soft. Unfortunately for Smart Balance
this reviewer isn't the only one to request that the company returns to its real, original formula
When you think of Lando Lakes, you probably associate the brand with real butter
or its controversial former mascot. Lando Lakes is a farmer-owned company that has
been making dairy products since 1921, but they also offer a line of vegetable oil blend
butter-like spreads. Like all other butter-adjacent replacements, it contains a long list of
ingredients, and the presence of mono- and diglycerides means you'll also find a small
amount of trans fats. More concerning is two separate investigations launched against Landau
Lake Suppliers. In 2009, a dairy supplier in Pennsylvania was accused of unethical treatment
of its dairy cows. Veterinarians hired by Landau Lakes found that the treatment of cows wasn't
technically cruelty but that their living conditions could be improved. And in 2017
an employee at a separate dairy supplier in Pennsylvania was fired for, among other things
punching cows and stabbing them. Earth Balance buttery spread is marketed as a healthy product, but compared to fat-filled
butter, most things are. Earth Balance does contain some of the less offensive oil, like
canola, olive, and flaxseed oil, but it also includes problematic palm and soybean oils
People looking for a truly healthy alternative to butter will be disappointed, though. At
100 calories and 11 grams of fat per serving this spread has about the same calories and fat as real butter Earth Balance also suffers from overwhelmingly negative reviews showcased on their own website Choice comments called the recently reformulated spread a sliding moldy oil genuinely nauseating
and no bueno, with more than a few calls for whoever approved this change to lose their job
Further reviews called out Earth Balance as being rock-hard and unspreadable. The butter's all f***ed! Now you f***ing watch and you f***ed! There's dinner rolls ripping out
Other small business bakers reported that the sudden, unannounced change ruined their
hard work and made everything taste rancid or strange. All in all, this is a buttery brand you might want to steer clear of
With a name like Olivio, you'd think this spread should be a healthier, olive oil-forward
alternative to regular butter, or many of the spreads on this list. But the ingredients list reveals the same disappointments
Despite olives figuring heavily into the package's design, the brand's vegetable oil blend lists
olive oil third, right after canola and palm oils. It's a design that feels intentionally misleading. Reviews find consumers stating the spread
doesn't melt properly, saying, "...just sits on top all stiff, unappealing foam-like.
How do they sell this stuff? And like many others on this list, other consumers complain of Olivio being difficult to spread and leaving a bad aftertaste
Target tries its best to capture the essence of butter with their Good & Gather plant-based
buttery spread. Everything on the label is listed as organic, which is bound to be a big draw for
the clean eaters hoping to avoid dodgy pesticides and herbicides in their diet
But there are also five different oils involved in conjuring this close-to-butter spread — palm
coconut, sunflower, flax, and canola. Having a pileup of five oils in a single swipe is more
than you'll typically encounter in any of these spreads. Organic or not
serious questions about whether coconut oil remain. The American Heart Association reminds
us that it's actually worse for us than real butter, with 84% saturated fat compared to butter's 63%
At some point, if you're not strictly dairy-free, it's better to just go with the real thing
Aside from a fat slab of meat, the best reason to go to any Texas Roadhouse is to get a bite
of their honey-cinnamon buttery spread. But be prepared to be disappointed if you
think that butter comes from a cow. Like everything else here, it's a mix of vegetable oils
Reddit reports from the Texas Roadhouse fridge reveal that, at one location
their cinnamon butter is made from Summermaid Butter Blend, a mix of real butter and palm
and soybean oils, plus an undefined bioengineered ingredient. This isn't exactly what you get at
home. No, the take-home version is apparently a bit worse, adding palm kernel oil to the mix
And we've already discussed the terrible ecological impact palm oil comes with
No buttery spread is worth sacrificing an entire ecosystem