BUTTER,
OILS AND
MARGARINE
|
Many people are
afraid of eating fat and oils. This is because they are ill informed.
They should be afraid of many other foods but not of fat, that is: if
you ingest the right kind of fat and if you do not overdo it.
You need fat for the well functioning of the body. You need oils in
your diet for the production of hormones. You need oils for the absorbtion
of the fatsoluble vitamins. And oils can help you to keep your arteries
from clogging. That is if you eat the right kinds.
Margarine is not your first choice of fatsource.
The oils and fats in margarine are most of the time of low quality.
Furthermore they are heated while processed to become margerine. I remember
that when I visited my cousins who lived close to a margarine factory
you always could smell the disagreable smell of (over-)heated oils and
fats. So margarine should not be your favorite.
You should minimize
your intake of oils and fats with high percentages of saturated fatty
acids of which olive oil has the highest percentage, and balance towards
oils ans fats with the highest percentage of poly-unsaturated fatty
acids: safflower oil, sunflower oil and to a certain extend butter.
You can see in the table below that the percentages do vary. Though
olive oil contains micro nutrients it should be used wisely.
|
Saturated
fatty acids |
Linoleic
acids |
Poly-unsaturated
fatty acids |
|
| Olive
oil |
+++++++++++++ |
+ |
+ |
|
| Safflower
oil |
+++ |
+++++++++ |
+++++++++++ |
|
| Sunflower
oil |
+++ |
+++++++++ |
+++++++++++ |
|
| Butter |
++++++++++ |
|
++++ |
|
| Margarine |
+++++++++ |
+ |
+++++ |
|
The
best fats are sunflower oil and safflower oil. Butter and olive oil should
be consumed with moderation.
How do you use these oils and fats? You can add just a small spoonful
of safflower or sunflower oil to your yoghurt or cereal in the morning.
Safflower oil is not to everybody's taste. Nevertheless you can use it
in saladdressings if you combine it with olive oil for instance.
Instead of using margarine you can use your own mix of butter, sunflower
oil and olive oil. Mix in a bottle 4 parts of sunflower oil and 1 part
of olive oil. Add to 250 grs. of butter about the same amount of your
sunflower-olive-oil mix. If you add more of the oil the final mix will
be softer, more liquid. If you add less your mix will be stiffer and
does not fall of the knife when buttering a sandwhich.
Do not use a blendingmachine but simply use
a handmixer. The speed of a blender is generally too high
even if you choose the slowest speed. High speeds do destroys the nature
of the cells in extenso. This is true for all foods. Many times you
see in cooking programs on tv how the cooks use all sorts of high speed
kitchen machines which cut and slash fruits, unions and nuts into a
unrecognizable putty.
So carefully use the handmixer by moving it up and down several times.
Every time you move it down you switch it on. Lifting it you switch
it off. One second on, one second off. Thus you mix with intervals and
do not destroy much of the nature of the oils and the butter.
Put the mix in a glass or ceramic container and keep it cool in the
refrigirator. You can use it on breads you can cook and fry with it.
Once you have tasted the naturelness and freshness you will never return
to the margarine you used before.
There is another important thing you should know: ALWAYS
USE COLD PRESSED OILS! And buy these in groceries
which specialize in ecological and biologically grown foods. And do
not forget: You can leave the olive oil out altogether!
BACK
TO TOP
|
