I first heard about vegan butter when a vegan friend of mine told me a recipe for which she had used it. I asked her what it was and how it was different from margarine, but she also didn’t know herself. Today I was browsing the vegan section in a supermarket, and there it was, advertised on the package as having a “fine buttery taste”. I’m a long time vegetarian and also eat a lot of vegan products, but if I should ever go vegan, the easiest part would be to exchange butter with margarine. So why an extra product, and what is it?
Ordinary margarine is typically flavored with buttermilk or whey, both of which are dairy products. The original recipe for margarine, rarely if ever used today, called for beef tallow. According to current US Federal regulations it is still permissible to use animal fats to make margarine, but I am unaware of any brand that does. It may also include other non-vegan ingredients. For example, margarine must contain added vitamin A and may contain added vitamin D, both of which may or may not be of animal origin. It should be possible to make a product meeting all the requirements to be labeled “margarine” that is also vegan, but most such products available are not vegan.
Ah, thanks, I should have considered that myself. Since I’ve been a vegetarian, I have learned that a lot of products that seem solely plant-based contain animal products.
We used to get fake cream cheese - started when we had Dweezil casein-free (as an experiment with his autism), and then my husband developed an intolerance for lactose.
Virtually ALL of them contained casein - which is derived from milk. American “cheese” slices did as well. A friend who was vegetarian said that this was to help the product melt, e.g. onto hamburgers.
To me, it was wack-o. If you’re eating fake cheese, either you’re a vegan, or you are allergic to dairy. Both would seem to make that ingredient unacceptable.
Another difference is that the vegan butter will run $2.50 to $3 more per pound.
Or you keep kosher and you’re eating a meat meal. Israeli margarine and other dairy replacements have no dairy products in them whatsoever - it would completely defeat their purpose.
Hah - hadn’t even THOUGHT of that, but yeah.
Mind rambling: what the hell is the purpose of “non-dairy creamers” like Coffee Mate. I mean, I actually sort of understand the appeal of the flavored varieties, but the original stuff was, I assume, not flavored. Yet it’s got a milk derivative in it. Supposedly it’s lactose free, but it was invented way before there was much awareness of lactose intolerance.
Shelf stability compared to actual milk/cream. You don’t need to keep it in the fridge.
The number of people with lactose intolerance is far huger than the number who have dairy allergies. Casein does not contain lactose. And it has, as noted above, the helpful property of meltiness.
Lactose-free products were widely developed and disseminated before true vegan dairy-free products became anything more than a tiny niche.