301320 Wed Jan 11 18:39:30 -0800 2006 17 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1679441 Admittedly, I don't live in a part of the country known for fine dining and perhaps this isn't a problem at nicer restaurants but, I am so tired of getting those packages labeled vegetable oil spread that I tote my own butter with me. I'm just curious to hear from restaurant owners or food buyers as to why restaurants do this. Is it cheaper or do the patrons prefer it perhaps? Why not offer both? Wed Jan 11 18:39:30 -0800 2006 0 loveskittles 1 1679444 1. no refrigeration required 2. shelf life of a Twinkie 3. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ If you don't care about food, what's not to love? Of course, one would hope that a restauranteur did care about food but if he did, he wouldn't serve fake butter. Wed Jan 11 20:02:29 -0800 2006 1679441 0 Sherri 2 1679456 In some states (Iowa for sure, possibly Wisconsin) it's illegal to sell individual portions of margarine. Wed Jan 11 22:51:25 -0800 2006 1679444 0 Das Ubergeek 3 1679464 kosher restaurants will always serve margarine Thu Jan 12 08:08:23 -0800 2006 1679456 0 byrd 4 1679489 Dairy kosher restaurants are free to serve butter. Thank you. Thu Jan 12 12:47:28 -0800 2006 1679464 0 Bride of the Juggler 3 1679470 When my husband was growing up in Wisconsin, his Mom would sneak across the border to buy illicit "oleo" in Illinois. OP: try asking. Same husband used to frequent a meat and three when he was in school. They had comment cards. He asked for "real butter" and a no-smoking section. (this was a long time ago) He got both not long after he wrote his suggestion. That same resaurant is still thriving. It's nice to see a place that cares about it's customers be successful. Thu Jan 12 08:40:42 -0800 2006 1679456 0 danna 1 1679459 After being served that stuff at my local deli hang out, I asked the owner why he switched from the butter packages. He told me that the price on those butter packages quadrupled last summer for a while. The other stuff was much cheaper. After complaining, he returned to using the real butter. Thu Jan 12 02:05:45 -0800 2006 1679441 0 Neil 1 1679468 Not sure if this has anything to do with it but along with money, animal fat is much worse for you than veggie fat. Thu Jan 12 08:34:24 -0800 2006 1679441 0 BlueHerons 2 1679473 Not in this case. vegetable oils which have been hydrogenized (to make them harder) create the now-famous trans fats which are widely believed to have a much higher correlation to heart disease than mere butter. Now, if you compared dipping your bread in olive oil to spreading it with butter, then you would be correct. Thu Jan 12 08:55:22 -0800 2006 1679468 0 danna 3 1679477 And, even then, "worse" depends on what is bad for you. For people with cholestorol problems, animal fats usually pose more of a problem. But butter has only 80% of the calories of oil on an equal unit volume basis (100 vs 120 per tbs). For folks on a weight reduction plan who don't have serious cholestorol issues, it's usually better to stick with butter than oil (and if the butter is cold, it's also easier to use even less than you might otherwise). We need to get away from the idea that certain foods are bad. Context is everything. Thu Jan 12 10:16:54 -0800 2006 1679473 0 Karl S 2 1679514 It is exactly this type of incorrect information that undoubtedly has led to the unfortunate substitution of margarine-type substances for butter. As was said by someone else who corrected this common misconception, the presence of trans-fats (referred to as Franken-Fat by many in the health care community) is much more likely to lead to arterial problems than animal-based products that contain cholesterol. Besides the fact that trans-fats are linked to high cholesterol, there is a recent study that found a possible link to Alzheimer's Disease. Do yourself a favor and avoid products that contain Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils, as these are the leading source of the cheap, but deadly trans-fats. Olive Oil--yes. Canola Oil--yes. Butter--a qualified yes. Margarine with Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils--NO!! Restauranteurs will frequently buy what is cheap, rather than healthy. In this case, they can also capitalize on the large segment of the public whose knowledge of health-related issues is several decades out of date! Thu Jan 12 18:11:53 -0800 2006 1679468 0 JB 3 1679517 Thank you, thank you! With the possible exception of keeping Kosher, I cannot think of a single reason to use margarine. "Real Food Rules!" Thu Jan 12 18:32:56 -0800 2006 1679514 0 Sherri 2 1679531 That generalization is not always true. In addition to the trans-fat example, many vegetable oils are very high in Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. Some research suggests that American diets have too much Omega-6, which is crowding out the more beneficial Omega-3. The biggest source of Omega-3: fish oil. Grass-fed beef and lamb also contain generous amounts. The following link contains a wealth of articles on the subject (look for the list of links in the sidebar under "Fat is Back"). Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/12/FD181277.DTL Thu Jan 12 21:18:35 -0800 2006 1679468 0 nja 2 1679554 Uh, I was generalizing when I said veggie fat is better for you than animal fat. I would think most consumers know by now the difference between good fat and bad fat judging by the amount of Atkins Diet Books and South Beach Diet books that have been sold over the past 10 years. BTW, I don't consider fish oil an animal fat. Fri Jan 13 08:35:18 -0800 2006 1679468 0 BlueHerons 3 1679583 Actually, I would disagree, and point to the whole issue of margarine -- long advocated by health folks until recent years -- as a prime example of where the effort to avoid the "bad" fats of butter or lard led to people using something that exacerbated the problem they thought they were avoiding. And I know people who have eaten much more fat as a part of their diet when they rationalized it as "healthier" and wondered why they put on weight. Fri Jan 13 17:04:50 -0800 2006 1679554 0 Karl S 4 1679587 To rephrase the original statement... animal fat is *assumed by a large majority of people to be* much worse for you than veggie fat. I think that statement is not only true, but also greatly answers the OP's question. Fri Jan 13 17:41:11 -0800 2006 1679583 0 nja 1 1679479 I noticed this a lot in New England restaurants and it's really gross and annoying. At a Dunkin Donuts in RI I couldn't get real butter for my bagel. But then a lot of these same restaurants will offer ONLY half-and-half for coffee, no whole or skim milk, which leads to me to believe that it's not due to a health concern. Thu Jan 12 10:30:50 -0800 2006 1679441 0 Jenn 2 1679483 Hmm, they won't serve real butter? It's OK, they aren't real bagels either. Thu Jan 12 11:11:30 -0800 2006 1679479 0 Two Forks