Molly McButter
Molly McButter is an American brand of butter-flavored butter substitute that is manufactured by B&G Foods.[1] It was developed by food chemists at Alberto-Culver as a lower-calorie replacement for butter.[2][3]
The listed ingredients of Molly McButter Natural Butter Flavor Sprinkles include natural butter flavor, butter, buttermilk, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil.[4] As a result of its partially hydrogenated oil ingredient, Molly McButter contains trans fat.[4]
Consumer Reports had food scientists and taste-testers evaluate Molly McButter, along with two competitor products, in 1989. The team reported that Molly McButter had "a butterlike flavor" and "very slight real dairy notes", but also had a "chemical flavor" and was "somewhat salty".[2] Consumer Reports also noted that Molly McButter was significantly more expensive than butter, and that it had the most sodium per serving of the butter substitutes studied, containing nearly three times as much as one of the competitors' products.[2]
As of 1990, Molly McButter was available in butter, cheese, and sour cream flavors.[5] For each flavor, a half-teaspoon serving—described by the manufacturer as equivalent to three tablespoons of butter[2]—contains four calories[5] compared to the almost 20 calories in a half-teaspoon of butter, but also contains 90 milligrams of sodium.[2] The products can be sprinkled over cooked foods such as rice or vegetables, or used in recipes to replace butter, cheese or sour cream.[5]
In 1993, The Ladies' Home Journal ran a contest in which readers submitted recipes they had created using Molly McButter, with the winner to receive a new kitchen appliance and a cash award.[6]
In 2009, Molly McButter and Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends (also owned by B&G)[1] worked with the Idaho Potato Commission, an agency of the state of Idaho, to promote retail sales of potatoes to consumers. The partnership sponsored an Idaho Potato Retail Display Contest, scheduled to coincide with Potato Lovers Month, in which retailers competed for prizes including a cash award.[7]
Molly McButter continues to be recommended by some authors as a healthy or low-fat alternative to butter as of 2013.[8][9][10][11]
See also
References
- "B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) Analyst Rating Update". News Watch International. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- "Imitation Flavoring Doesn't Measure Up: A Half A Pat Of Butter Could Be Better For You". Orlando Sentinel. Consumer Reports. 13 September 1989. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- “Molly Mcbutter Not What It Seems.” tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Accessed June 2, 2018. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-07-24/business/8702240419_1_salt-substitute-grey-advertising-agency.
- "Molly McButter Natural Butter Flavor Sprinkles, Fat". Fooducate.com. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- "Tortellini dish light in calories". Beaver County Times. 6 February 1990. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Knapp, Louisa; Bok, Edward William (1993). "Molly McButter Cookin' Healthy Recipe Contest". The Ladies' Home Journal. 110: 146–7. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- "Pump Up Potato Sales During Potato Lovers Month $150,000 in Cash and Prizes to be Awarded". IdahoPotato.com. Idaho Potato Commission. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Hagman, Bette (2000). The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy: Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free with Less Fuss and Less Fat. Holt Paperbacks. pp. 7, 330. ISBN 978-0805065251. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Minirth, Frank; Meier, Paul; Hemfelt, Robert; Sneed, Sharon; Hawkins, Don (2004). Love Hunger. Thomas Nelson. pp. 275, 278, 288, 298. ISBN 978-0785260233. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Hall, Dawn (2011). Busy People's Down-Home Cooking Without the Down-Home Fat. Thomas Nelson. p. iv, 30. ISBN 978-1401605247. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- Johnson, James B., M.D.; Laub, Donald R.,Sr., M.D. (2013). The Alternate-Day Diet Revised: The Original Up-Day, Down-Day Eating Plan to Turn on Your "Skinny Gene," Shed the Pounds, and Live a Longer and Healthier Life. Perigee Books. ISBN 978-0399167034. Retrieved 3 October 2015.