A few months I purch’d a couple of the spray/spritz bottles in this product line. Had NO clue it would last as long as it has so I have over 1/2 of one bottle and the second still has its plastic seal. BUT, they’re due to ‘expire’ w/in a few days. Called customer service for the maker and listened to their taped message about ‘Best Used By’ info. Of course, they’re recommending it not be used after the BUB date (mostly for product quality).
Have you used this beyond the BUB date? If so, for how long? Am I better off tossing it? I use can sprays for cooking and have enlisted them LONG after their alleged ‘Use by’ date w/o a problem.
I would be surprised if that stuff actually goes bad. I would suspect it would survive a nuclear war, if not for the melting. (Just an in jest opinion, don’t take it as fact.)
Oils will go rancid after a while, but they’ll just taste stale. Some start to taste really awful. I don’t think they’ll actually become harmful. If it tastes ok, I’d use it. I’m sure customer service is only following what their “book” says to say. They [I]can’t [/I]actually tell you “yes, you can eat it after the expiry date” even if you can.
Oh, and by the way, and I don’t mean to sound preachy here, just trying to be helpful, ok?
Fake butters and margarines are actually worse for you than real butter because they are mostly chemicals and unknown substances to your body. Instead of using fake butter, this is what I do:
Soften a pound of butter and mix well with 2 cups of olive oil (an electric mixer is great for this job). Pour it into a container like one of those Glad or Ziplock plastic containers, and put it in the fridge. Let it set up overnight. The result is a SPREADABLE butter straight from the fridge that is 50% heart healthy olive oil. It tastes like butter, but is much, much better for you than either regular butter or margarines.
Umm, doesn’t olive oil have like 120 calories for 1 tablespoon? :shrug: I’m quoting from Biggest Loser, so I may be off a bit but that seems like a crap-load of calories. Healthy or not, watch your portions people!
Another big thing is to eat tub butter and not stick butter. There are more hydrogentated fats in stick butter to make it keep shape. I only use real butter and olive or canola oil. I do use sticks for baking cookies but don’t bake them very often. Olive oil has calories but the fat in it doesn’t raise your cholesterol. I have read that canola actually helps to lower it. Moderation is huge, of course.
I tried googling it but I couldn’t find it. Isn’t there a list of the “good” oils and the “bad” ones?
And they need a list of things to throw away after the due date. Like mayonnaise. if smells ok and taste ok then why not right? But will you get botulism or something? Some things are obvious like milk and moldy bread but what about relish? mustard? I mean unless there’s mold on it (like tomato sauce) then I’ll eat it. I hate throwing away food. I wish I had a pig or something to slop the food too.
And how does adding oil to butter make it healthier :??
We use it, but I don’t know the answer to your question. :shrug:
I don’t think using a small amount of this type of product isn’t bad if you use it in [I]moderation[/I] especially when you are dieting. I only use a few sprays on veggies.
I think someone else said the key is moderation and I agree.
I use margarine as a spread, but I like to use butter in cooking because I have read that when oil is heated it’s molecules change and become unstable, whereas butter stays the same.
My Eat, Shrink and be Merry cookbook says this makes butter better for cooking.
I think it’s more important to eat your veggies than to completely cut out the margarine. If you need the margarine to get them down then use a little but try to cut back some by adding spices for flavor.
Soften a pound of butter and mix well with 2 cups of olive oil (an electric mixer is great for this job). Pour it into a container like one of those Glad or Ziplock plastic containers, and put it in the fridge. Let it set up overnight. The result is a SPREADABLE butter straight from the fridge that is 50% heart healthy olive oil. It tastes like butter, but is much, much better for you than either regular butter or margarines.
I live alone (therefore am cooking for one!) and it takes FOREVER to use up non-stick sprays, etc. The only time I use the CBINB product is on the rare occasions when I eat hot veggies (I prefer salad). I never use marg and have a small stick of butter in my freezer that’s probably 2-3 yrs old. (IOW, I have no need for anything spreadable.)
I agree with your assessment that this product is most likely indestructable and, worst case scenario, would just get stale so long as it’s refrigerated (I can understand their warning about tossing it if left out in warm temps for extended periods).
BTW, I’m really good about watching ‘BUB’ dates for the fact I need things to sometimes last a long time…being I don’t use them up as quickly as some. To find this seemingly popular product on the shelves of a large Los Angeles chain with only a few months usability remaining seemed odd.
Yeah, all oils have a lot of calories, including the ones they use in margarine. But olive oil is a heart healthy oil that can actually lower cholesterol. Using it in moderation is a given either way. Lower calories does not always equal better for you.
Not just any oil. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats and is actually good for your heart. If you spread the same amount of butter vs butter/olive oil on your toast, the butter/olive oil has 50% less saturated fat. Plus a daily dose of olive oil can actually reduce your chances of developing heart disease.
That is a really great tip. Can the olive/butter combo be used for baking? I love butter, and always have a stick of it in the fridge for baking…and for my mac n cheese coz it’s just SOOO good with butter:teehee: I don’t like to use margarines for baking because I find they don’t taste as good and Becel melts too quickly for cookies making them spread and usually burn.
Olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter alone, so it increases the time before it’ll burn when used for something like sautéing or greasing a pan for the oven. It will melt faster than cold butter. I use olive oil or the butter/oo mix for most of my cooking though. I don’t use it for greasing a baking pan because I just prefer to use a baking spray instead (it’s easier). I still use real butter IN a mix like cookie dough, just because I haven’t tried the oo mix yet. I usually bake for other people, and I don’t wanna mess up my “legendary” sugar cookie recipe. :roflhard:
I use that Smart Balance stuff, it’s a blend of soy, canola and olive oils. You can bake with it, I’ve made a ton of stuff with it and it cooks up just like butter and has 80 calories per tbsp. It’s supposed to have a bunch of Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils which help lower cholesterol. I’m not sure if it’s just a marketing ploy but so far I haven’t died so I’m guessing it’s ok. I just can’t force myself to cook with pure butter or use it as a spread. I use canola and olive oils routinely to saute in and use this Smart Balance stuff to bake with and for a spread. http://www.smartbalance.com/
Kristin’s recipe is a take off on the old [I]Laurel’s Kitchen[/I] recipe for ‘better butter’. We’ve been making it for years. Yes, it’s still butter, still at around 100 calories per tablespoon, but you will use so little compared to regular butter or margerine.
All the supposed ‘heart healthy’ spreads out there are full of chemicals used to make a processed food that is palatable to Americans (the formula’s used are different for each country). I’ll stick to butter, which is just cream, and virgin olive oil, which are two things that you can buy that are not overprocessed.
Our recipe:
1/2 pound butter (two sticks)
1 cup virgin olive oil (get a flavor you like)
2 teaspoons salt, if you like
1 tablespoon dried milk (for flavor, delete if you wish)
1 teaspoon lecithin granules (for stability)
Whirl together, put in plastic containers. It keeps for quite awhile, but you can’t leave it out on the counter, as it will soften and separate.
BTW, we use a lot of butter and oils in our cooking. Neither of us have high cholesterol, even though both of our families have terrible cardiac histories.
if you want you can always substitute for butter is unsweetened applesauce for butter in your baking. that is what I do. it comes out nice and moist and delicious. no one that i have baked for has even noticed that i have made a low fat baked item. I also use best of the egg for the egg portion. and do the butter/olive oil mix for everything else.
