Betty Botter Bought Some Butter

Betty Botter bought some butter,
But, she said, The butter's bitter;
If I put it in my batter
It will make my batter bitter.
But, a bit of better butter
Will make my batter better.

So, she bought a bit of butter
Better than her bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter
And the batter was not bitter.
So, 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

Or was it!

When this tongue twister was written, butter was probably regarded a healthy luxury. Nowadays, however, eating butter on a regular basis is not regarded as healthy and according to some sources, should carry a health warning.

"Ban butter to save thousands of lives" says heart surgeon. Daily Mail 18/01/2001

"Butter should be banned to protect the nations health" according to the same heart surgeon.

Heart attacks and blocked arteries are amongst the latest scares associated to eating butter and I am sure a lot of people reading the Daily Mail article have been frightened off butter for life. However this theory was dispelled many years ago when it was discovered that, far from killing you, butter as part of a balanced diet, has important health benefits, it contains minerals and fats that are essential for the health of our brains and nervous systems. Trans fats in many margarine's and spreads is more unhealthy than the saturated fat found in butter. A few margarine and spread manufacturers have removed the hydrogenated oils from their products but quite a few still contain trans fats. Look out for trans fats in shop bought pastry, biscuits, cakes, confectionery and crisps. The words "low in trans fats" denote their presence not absence.

(Trans fats raise the cholesterol in the blood, that increases the risk of coronary heart disease and raise blood insulin levels)

Ok over-eating butter every day and cooking with butter will not help your cholesterol levels but surely moderation is the key to all food consumption. We all know that olive oil is great in salad dressings and considered healthy as part of the Mediterranean diet and as such, is used to replace unhealthy fats in many recipes. I use olive oil to roast potatoes, potato wedges, Mediterranean and root vegetables. Butter however is irreplaceable and yes! I find it very easy to believe its not butter.

Butter is a pure fat with a distinctive flavour and in some recipes only butter will do, but surely things like butter shortbread are not eaten on a daily basis. As the saying goes 'a little of what you fancy does you good'.

I suspect that the rise in heart bypass operations on young adults is more likely to be down to the amount of junk food that is consumed on a regular basis and the increased consumption of kebabs after a night on the booze.

If you find, like Betty Botter that your butter is indeed bitter, KEEP IT IN THE FRIDGE! and of course watch the sell by date.