Vegetable Oil vs. Canola oil in DIY Spreadable butter

Question

I've been scouring the net for DIY spreadable butter recipes but nearly all of them use Canola oil, but all I've got available here is Vegetable Oil and Coconut Oil. What's worse is that none of them really seem to say anything about substituting either oil for spreadable butter.

Is there anything wrong with using either in a spreadable butter recipe?

UPDATE: So I probably should've mentioned that I was in the Philippines. That apparently makes a difference, as even the vegetable oil is actually coconut oil :-/. Palm oil and coconut oil seem to be all we have here.

I attempted it with the palm oil I had and while the softness was what i wanted the final product had a funny smell and a weird taste. I'm getting ready to try again.

It doesn't explicitly ask about spreadable butter, but... http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/31982/substituting-vegetable-oil-for-canola-oil — Cascabel, Sep 13 '13 at 15:57
@cornjuliox a lot of spreadable butter substitutes rely on hydrogenated oil, essetially the same process as carbonating it, but using hydrogen. — Matthew, Sep 14 '13 at 21:28

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 13 '13 at 16:24

4

In terms of spreadability, the real issue is the level of saturation.

Coconut oil is quite saturated (especially for a vegetable based lipid), and so it is far more solid at room temperature than most oils. (Cocoa butter would be another exception; it is quite hard at room temperature).

Generic vegetable oil, at least under US labeling laws, may contain any number of vegetable oils including corn, soy, rapeseed (canola) and so on—or even a mixture of any or all of these. They are all quite similar in the saturation and viscosity at room temperature, and so any of them should perform similarly in your butter application.

So go ahead and use the vegetable oil.

answered Sep 13 '13 at 16:24

SAJ14SAJ

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What are your thoughts on palm oil for this butter application? – Enrico Tuvera Jr Sep 18 '13 at 02:56
Palm oil evidently is fairly saturated, and so harder at room temperature. I have no personal experience with it to say if you would be likely to approve of the outcome of using it to soften butter. – SAJ14SAJ Sep 19 '13 at 08:53

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 13 '13 at 15:36

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I would use vegetable oil personally, as quite often what's labelled vegetable oil is made from canola. Sunflower oil would also work, and probably groundnut/peanut oil. Any neutral tasting oil would do really.

answered Sep 13 '13 at 15:36

ElendilTheTall

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Your vegetable oil might also be soybean. (Often in stores in the US, I've seen soybean labeled as vegetable, and canola labeled as canola.) – Cascabel Sep 13 '13 at 15:57

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 14 '13 at 19:48

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I actually do this with olive oil. Two sticks of room-temp butter + half a cup (or so) of olive oil, blend until combined, done. Easy!

answered Sep 14 '13 at 19:48

franko

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Vegetable Oil vs. Canola oil in DIY Spreadable butter

3 Answers3