Butter is number one in our hearts, but these 11 smart substitutes shouldn't be overlooked.
Let’s start with the bad news. There is absolutely nothing on this earth that can truly replace butter. Not the most extra-virginal olive oil, not the most convincingly golden popcorn topping, not even the most optimistically branded substitute spread. If it’s not butter then yes, I can believe it’s not butter. But if you’ve just flipped open the butter door to find yourself staring into the void, don’t despair.
Because butterfat is hydrogenated—i.e., the carbonic acid chains of butterfat molecules are covered in hydrogen atoms, which keep the molecules from curling, and help them bond to other butterfat molecules—butter is solid at room temperature. This is important for making flaky pie dough, fluffy buttercream, or for buttering toast, so when substituting for it in these types of recipes, we’ll need to use other hydrogenated fats to fill the role.
We’ll also have to consider the way butter behaves when it’s melted. It has a very low smoke point , but before it starts smoking, it browns. The delicious nutty flavor of browned butter comes from the milk proteins and sugars in the butter undergoing Maillard reactions . This is one of the things that’s just about impossible to replicate with other fats, though we can create Maillard reactions in other ways.
To tackle the impossible challenge of replacing butter, we need to divide and conquer. Some alternatives work perfectly in flaky tarts while failing spectacularly in delicate creams . Others are perfectly suitable for sautéing, but turn pastry dough into a soggy mess . To cover butter’s majestic range, each alternative oil or fat must play its part.
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