Before we start, I just want to make a statement:
Fat is good. FAT. IS. GOOD.
Fat makes things taste good, it makes things shiny, it makes them look inviting.
Feel free to interpret that how you’d like.
So, in the world of cooking, fat is one of the most important ingredients in pretty much anything you are eating. There are quite a lot of fats for cooking but for ease of understanding, we’re going to break it down into the two most commonly used fats in home cooking: oil and butter.
Butter is dairy; it comes from cow’s milk, it has milk fat. Oil is a plant-based product; it is extracted from its source (olives, seeds, nuts, etc.) These are wildly different textures and therefore produce different results.
The simplest way to think about it is that oil makes things crispy and butter makes things soft. Let’s break that down further.
Butter
- Milk fats are creamy and thick, therefore they will induce a creamy, thicker texture. Picture caramelized onions when they’re really reduced – they’re thick, soft, and almost like jam. Think about homemade mashed potatoes – you use butter to help make them creamy and smooth.
- It MELTS. Butter physically changes form – it goes from solid to liquid. This will also affect your end dish because the texture or form of the butter will have direct correlation to the texture of the food you’re cooking. If you sauté vegetables in melted butter, they too will become softer, or their own chemical form of “melting.”
- Butter can easily burn because it’s made from dairy but that also means it can change flavors. Browned butter is when the milk solids get cooked slowly and a nutty flavor gets released.
Oil
- If it’s made from plants, and plants are made of water, naturally you will have thinner texture. So think about those mashed potatoes from before – if you put oil in them, what would your result be? They would separate, thin out, and be runny and honestly just gross.
- Oil doesn’t change form, it just changes temperature. Scalding hot oil will hold that high temperature and will transfer it to whatever food it hits. If you drop food into piping hot oil, what happens? It fries! If you drop food into cool oil, it will soak it up and sink.
- Whether it had no flavor to start with, or it’s an infused or flavored oil, it remains oil flavored. The only thing that can change the flavor of oil is burning and that is based on smoke points, which will be different for every oil.
So what does it all mean, Basil?
If you’re cooking on high heat or for a long time, you probably want to use oil. If texture is of utmost importance, butter is most likely better. They aren’t necessarily interchangeable but there are distinct circumstances where you could use either and it would still taste good but that is up to you.
Choose Your Own Fat Adventure
I absolutely love butter. Like, really really love butter. I also love infused oils and have sniffed a bottle of sesame oil like it was perfume. Those things aren’t interchangeable though, and I know when I want them in my food and when I don’t.
I titled this article The Great Fat Debate but there is no debate over oil versus butter because they each have their own place. This isn’t an either or conversation, it’s a situation-dependent opportunity. Of course, there are substitutions for everything. If you are vegan, you won’t be eating butter. If you are heart health conscious, you probably avoid certain oils.
I will never tell you what food is right for you because you’re the only person who knows that. If dairy makes you gassy and feel terrible, you probably shouldn’t eat it but you’ll never hear me tell you not to. All I can do is explain the technical aspect of these ingredients to help you find what works for you!
