To send DS in wth butter (and a note) (lighthearted)

[clary]

Very much a first world problem I know...
DS2 is cooking granola bars next week at school. They are healthy apparently ( at that because the recipe includes sugar, honey and dried fruit).

Anyway he was told they must bring marg not butter as "margarine is lower in fat and healthier than butter". This is nonsense of course as marg is as high in fat as butter and includes potential nasties such as colours, flavouring and preservatives. It also tastes icky (IMO).

DS (bless him) put his hand up and said his mum would only buy butter so was that OK? Teacher said no, if you bring butter you won't be allowed to cook.

AIBU to send him with butter anyway - in a plastic box so you can't tell - and just let him get on with it? DH says I should include a note saying why in case teacher queries it (highly unlikely I would imagine) but only to be shown if that happens.

I don't want to start a fight and I am not going to pick the teacher up on his mistake (except on MN ). But equally I am not about to buy marg yuck.

Sorry this is sooo long.

[LumpenproletariatAndProud]

Certain marg is dairy free. Stork is, so is vitalite.

But yes in my opinion it can't be because someone has anp dairy allergy, because they would in theory just bring in their own dairy free marg and not go near the others.

OP Id just send him in with the butter in a box, with a note but only tell him to produce it if the teacher notices.

And since its supposed to be 'healthy' Id point out why butter is healthier than fake butter.

[MrsHathaway]

From memory, Stork-for-pastry is dairy-free but Stork-for-cake isn't. If in doubt, Vitalite.

[Tzibeleh]

Alsmutko - except that we haven't found one we like, so the rest of the jar would sit at the back of the fridge for ever. I have a lovely Indian cookbook, and I can tweak the spicing to suit us (generally by omitting most of the chilli!). So why buy a jar and waste all bar two spoonfuls?

[alsmutko]

Tzibeleh if you don't like it don't buy it I guess! We do so we do, though they last us months because most of the time I do make from scratch.

Also I'm not saying how long some of those jars have been in my fridge - dp is responsible for a great many of them and some of them I don't have a clue what they are.

[Fishcotheque]

Margarine is vile to make granola bars. Lard would be better (Lol imagine taking that in!) Lard is what people used to use before vegetable shortening was going. If you send him in armed with lard they will probably send Social Services round. Please send lard in, it will be hilarious (not the SS bit obv)
Palm oil or coconut oil would also be better than blooming marge!!! But again you will probably be imprisoned if those turn up..
Hope you're not veggie with all this mention of lard - sorry if you are.

[ZingOfSeven]

lard! yum

[Tzibeleh]

How about dripping? Pastry made with dripping is lush! No idea how it would work for muesli flapjacks granola bars, though.

[TheRealAmandaClarke]

Lard would be horrible.
Butter or some sort of seed spread. Just get he bloody thing over with. They're loaded with sugar so will be delicious.

[Trollsworth]

SEnd butter wrapped in foil and tell your son to say its margarine. Life is too short for this nonsense, and actually learning to lie to those in authority is an important life skill that will go much further than nitpicking behavior in real life.

[JustAShopGirl]

My dds' school gets them to vary a recipe - so they are told "granola bars for a dairy free person" or "scones for gluten free" etc etc... and given a basic recipe where they need to find an alternative to butter or wheat flour etc.

so my DD HAS taken marg to make granola bars - because that was the brief and she would not pass otherwise.

if you send butter don't pretend it is not - a potential minefield for allergies/sensitivities.

[Idontseeanysontarans]

I sent DS in with stork for his HE baking, it's what I use and the recipe he came home with covered all of the bases - marg/butter etc iirc.
I did however almost become 'that parent' when he made spaghetti bolognese. He can make a wonderful sauce from scratch already and they were told to bring in a jar of Dolmio (it was specified) sauce. He went in with a Tupperware tub of his own sauce as I refuse to buy jars of it.
Nothing was said and the bolognese was delicious

[aliasjoey]

Wait, butter is healthier than marg spread? I did not know that. But my Fitness Pal says that spread is better? And I tend to use a lot because I hate dry sandwiches, and like lots on my baked potatoes.

Have I got this all wrong? Gosh, everydays a learning day on Mumsnet! No wonder I'm still in my pyjamas surfing the internet

[DisgraceToTheYChromosome]

I have smelt the Flora plant at Thurrock. After that, marge was banned from the house.

[IceniMist]

Sorry not really related but butter uses, how do you spread it? Do you not store it in the fridge? I want to use butter but it is so hard.

[Shallishanti]

this is why butter dishes were invented

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

Butter doesn't need to be kept in the fridge .

[IceniMist]

Why the strange face ?

Anyway, thanks, I shall look for a butter dish.

[NeedABumChangeNotANameChange]

Baking with stork is minging. Butter all the way! Save the orangatans too? And whoever asked yes you can bake with coconut oil and it tastes fine in cakes but for something cold like granola I think butter would be better.

[NeedABumChangeNotANameChange]

Also most spread is not dairy free, that's why vegans have to be careful when buying it. So everyone stop thinking you're safe serving spread cakes to lactose intolerant friends/ children.

[Eastwickwitch]

When my DS's did baking at school they had to take cornflour for everything including Bolognese and even pasta bake. Most odd.
In the end they 'forgot' to take it.

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

Why the strange face ?

Confusion at why anyone would think butter needed to live in the fridge, assuming that you live in the UK not a hot country.

Butter will stay fresh and spreadable at room temperature for at least a week, probably more.

If you don't use it this fast or the weather is very hot, just put out half a pack at a time and maybe keep it in the fridge some of the time to stop it getting very soft.

I don't see the point of spread unless you are vegan or have a dairy allergy.

[JustAShopGirl]

stork - in a foil wrapper - which most folks substitute for butter in cakes and pastry etc is dairy free

stork in a tub is not.

[JustAShopGirl]

I don't see the point of spread unless you are vegan or have a dairy allergy.

I don't like the taste of butter... is that allowable?

[Delphine31]

Quite a few spreads have nut, or similar, oils in them now: shea, illipe, sal etc.

This is problematic because a lot of people don't realise these oils are derived from nuts. They are so refined that it is unlikely that someone would suffer a life-threatening reaction. I only became aware of these oils when Cadbury changed their recipe and added these nut oils. Having always been a Cadbury fiend, I started reacting to their chocolate and looked into it and discovered these oils. (Now I've seen sense and buy proper 40% + cocoa chocolate!)

Similar thing in that nut-free cakes kindly made by friends had me baffled for a while as I was having mild allergic reactions and couldn't figure out why until I spent half an hour in the supermarket looking at the cocktail of stuff in margarine-type spreads which lots of people use for baking.

As most people have said, regardless of the nuts issue, I will always opt for butter over margarine for the same reasons I opt for full fat fizzy drinks (on an occasional basis) over aspartame.

[TheRealAmandaClarke]

My house is toast warm thanks to the wonders if central heating.
I find butter tastes unpleasant if left out for longer than 24 hours.
Personally.