THE TELEGRAPH: Life is dreary enough without the killjoys encouraging us to eat more margarine. Rose Prince extols the delights of the dairy.
Last night I cooked the season's first spring greens. Just a few minutes in lightly salted water then drained on a cloth, they were as lush as a bowling green. I looked at them, knowing that there was one last, essential ritual to perform: back into a warm pan with a good sized nut of best butter. Then each bite into the tender leaves yielded a tide of sweetcream enjoyment, enough to put unpaid bills out of mind. But, spring greens and melted marg, anyone? I don't think so. That is what a panel of killjoy nutrition advisors would have you do.
The Fat Panel, an independent group of experts, has ruled that our best known celebrity chefs use too much saturated fat in their recipes and are urging temperance. A single serving from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein can contain more than 100 per cent of the recommended daily allowance of saturated fat, they moan. Swapping butter for margarine or a vegetable oil spread would reduce the fat content of some recipes by at least half, they counsel.
What a blow they have struck. If there is one thing left in this gloomy, credit-crunched life where every pursuit is spoiled by over zealous health and safety measures, it is the comfort of eating. Cooking out of our favourite books is a cheap way to cheer ourselves up. Restaurants may be going bust left, right and centre, but cook books have come into their own. What are celebrity chefs for if not the sensuality of their hugely indulgent creamy soups, buttery sauces and rich puddings? The idea of Nigella Lawson licking a finger dipped into a bowl of cake batter made with margarine makes me feel sick, but it makes perfect sense when there is butter in the mix. Delights of Dairy: We All Need Buttering Up >>> Rose Prince | Thursday, March 12, 2009
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