Creamy gold – butter alternatives as prices rise

New Zealand butter is in hot demand amid a global shortage, that’s seen the price skyrocket by over 100 percent in the last year.

The unprecedented demand for milk fat is what dairy giant Fonterra is blaming for the global butter shortage and our milk created from grass fed cows is seen as the best in the world.

“When the international price rises like it has, it inevitably means the prices in New Zealand will go up because the exporters have a choice between supplying the export market or the domestic market,” Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand spokesman Malcolm Bailey says.

To put it into perspective to make on single 500g block of butter, it required the fat from 20 litres of raw milk. That’s nearly the total amount that can be milked from two cows in one day.

Local demand for butter is also up as consumers swap margarine for butter and blue top milk.

Now, with the price of butter so high but our love of baking remaining the constant we’ve been looking into some butter alternatives that can be used in baking. Here are some of the ones that are likely to be of the most interest:

• Apple sauce: use 1/2 cup apple sauce instead of 1 cup of butter
• Avocado: 1 cup to 1 cup of butter
• Greek yoghurt: 1/2 cup to 1 cup of butter. Most suitable for baking cakes.
• Pumpkin puree: 3/4 cup to 1 cup of butter.
• Coconut oil: 1 cup to 1 cup of butter.
• Olive oil: 3/4 cup to 1 cup butter
• Peanut butter: 1/2 cup peanut butter + 1/2 cup oil to 1 cup butter

*1 cup butter = 113g

Please note oil can replace butter in recipes where the butter is melted, but it won’t work in recipes where it calls for the butter to be creamed.