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Brownie Update

By elf
Published August, 20 2006 11:53 pm

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I’ve made these brownies several times since I posted the recipe, and I’ve started to realize that, while the dairy version is indeed the ultimate, the parve version could stand some improvement. The main issue, I think, is that the saturated fat in butter gives the brownies a lush, moist texture that the margarines I’ve used don’t match. Hydrogenated oils should theoretically provide the same texture, but Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine probably doesn’t have enough. (It is significantly softer than butter at the same temperature.) Recently, I tried Smart Balance, and the brownies were downright dry. In this case, I think that the issue was simplify fat: Regular Smart Balance is 67% fat, while butter is about 80%. The package says that Smart Balance is “great for cooking and baking,” but don’t be fooled.

One option would be to switch to Crisco vegetable shortening, a favorite of a friend and former roommate of mine. Vegetable shortening (like regular margarine) is somewhat out of favor right now because it is high in trans fat, which, though once thought to be more healthful than saturated fat, is now generally believed to be worse. Nonetheless, as I’ve been implying, it takes a bit of saturated or trans fat to achieve that butterlike texture. Vegetable shortening has less water than most margarine, so it may be just right.

Anyhow, I’ll keep you posted. Not right away, though. I really do have to cut back.

(Cross-posted to Apikorsus.)

15 comments so far (Post your own)

1.At 8:00 pm on August 21st, 2006, Meredith wrote:

… do you think using half Crisco/half margarine could help? It’d up the fat content while holding back on the trans fat.

2.At 9:35 pm on August 21st, 2006, elf wrote:

I guess that would depend on the margarine. Hmm. If I had loads of time to bake and could trust myself not to eat all the inferior specimens, I could try all these ideas…

3.At 12:04 am on August 22nd, 2006, Meredith wrote:

I’m in Santa Barbara for the week (cryptography conference… there is nothing greater than sitting in a room of 200 people and knowing that you are the stupidest by far), am more than happy to spearhead this effort when we get home. Maybe I’ll write a series on attempts to find the ideal butter substitute for various pareve-izations… I do still have access to post here, someplace.

4.At 6:59 am on August 22nd, 2006, Silverbrow wrote:

I’ve got to be frank, I have a problem here. I haven’t tried the brownies, but the ingredients certainly look stunning and should make a delicious brownie. As cooks, we all know that fantastic ingredients make the world of difference to the end product.

But why mess with something you know is so good, why bother with a pareve variation, especially if that forces you down the dreaded substitution route? And especially if you’re talking about substituting butter for marg. Apart from the enormous difference in flavour profile (would you ever sneak another slice of bread, just so you could slather it with marg?) the way you cook with the two is entirely different. Could marg ever create fried onions with the same heady smell and flavour as butter, I think not. Equally, does marg ever create a by-product as versatile and essential to decent cooks as clarified butter, again I think not.

Additionally, what about giving some thought to what we’re putting into our bodies. The ingredients list on butter is pretty straightforward: milk. Maybe salt as well. Marg, I’d be here all day.

My mother-in-law swears by the pareve ice-’creams’. I swear at them. They taste nothing like ice cream and are fully of horrible chemicals. Ice cream couldn’t be simpler. Actually, it could, it could be sorbet, which thankfully is pareve - why not eat that instead.

I’ve noticed an odd dichotomy amongst those of us who keep kosher. On the one hand we obsessive about what we eat: the laws of kashrut. On the other, there appears to be a total lack of concern about what we eat: attempting to circumvent the laws of kashrut through as many synthetic additives as possible.

For me, this is both an issue of lifestyle - I don’t like eating chemicals - and religion/spirituality. If kashrut is a large part of our relationship with G-d, shouldn’t we be consuming things he gives us naturally, rather than all these artificial constructs.

Sorry for putting a downer on things, but rather than making a less than perfect ersatz stand-in for these delicious milky brownies, why not come up with other recipes that are perfect in their natural, pareve, state?

5.At 10:27 am on August 22nd, 2006, elf wrote:

Silverbrow: I completely agree that Jews who keep kosher have an unfortunate tendency to “parvise” everything instead of looking for recipes that are inherently dairy- and meat-free. One of the reasons why I’d like a good parve brownie recipe is that it should be possible to create one, since most of the flavor in brownies comes from the chocolate. After dairy meals, I like to serve desserts that truly benefit from dairy ingredients, such as snickerdoodles, pound cake, and ice cream. When I make parve cakes, I usually use canola oil. (That’s another possibility that I’ve been toying with for the brownies. They wouldn’t have the same texture, but they might taste better, and they’d certainly be less unhealthy than brownies made with Crisco.)

I can’t agree with you about “chemicals,” though. Many people have a tendency to gravitate toward all things “natural,” but that tendency doesn’t seem to be based on very sound scientific or theological reasoning. If we really took seriously the idea that God doesn’t want us to interfere with nature, we’d all be living in caves and we’d be dead by the age of 30 because we’d have no modern medicine. As far as nutrition is concerned, it’s worth noting that honey, lard, and E. coli are all “natural.”

It is, however, often true that natural foods are more nutritious and less calorie-dense than highly processed foods, and it is usually true that artificial flavorings do not match the naturally occurring flavors that they are meant to replicate. So, in general, I do try to avoid synthetic foods and opt for olive oil, canola oil, or butter over margarine — except when I think that the trans fat will help improve texture.

Anyway, maybe I will try the canola oil version before trying Crisco. I will let you know.

6.At 11:11 am on August 22nd, 2006, DeisCane wrote:

As per pareve ice creams, this is the ingredient list for So Delicious Creamy Vanilla. Nary a chemical in sight, though admittedly not as simple as natural ice cream:

INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC SOYMILK (FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC SOYBEANS), ORGANIC BROWN RICE SYRUP AND/OR ORGANIC TAPIOCA SYRUP, ORGANIC DEHYDRATED CANE JUICE, ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL AND/OR ORGANIC SAFFLOWER OIL, CHICORY ROOT EXTRACT , VANILLA EXTRACT, CAROB BEAN GUM, NON-GMO POTATO SUGAR, GUAR GUM, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL FLAVORS

7.At 12:27 pm on August 22nd, 2006, Silverbrow wrote:

DeisCane, it’s also a tad more complicated than sorbet - fruit, sugar.

Elf, I think you’re argument about returning to caves is oversimplifying my point. I was simply saying that the effort people put into finding ways to work around kashrut rules, seem to equal the effort they put into keeping kosher. An upshot of the desire to have your cake and eat it (s’cuse the pun) is that we are eating these pretty nasty artificial concoctions.

I’m not quite sure what your point about honey, lard and e.coli is, so can’t respond to that.

My overall point though, was when there is a canon as deep and wide as Jewish culinary history, why do we need to resort to so many products that have lengthy ingredients lists. Just to reiterate, I’m not arguing against culinary progress, I’m simply saying the progress we’ve seen in a lot of kosher cooking recently is not a positive step forward, either in terms of taste or health. All to often, it is progress in the name of ease and substitution.

8.At 3:43 pm on August 22nd, 2006, DeisCane wrote:

I think there’s some validity to what you’re saying, but I think the sentiment still, for the most part, furthers the pursuit of kashrut, and as such, it’s commendable within reason. IOW, I agree that the move to over-chemicalization is concerning, but I don’t think that means we should abandon parve-ification.

9.At 10:26 pm on August 22nd, 2006, elf wrote:

Silverbrow said:
Elf, I think you’re argument about returning to caves is oversimplifying my point. I was simply saying that the effort people put into finding ways to work around kashrut rules, seem to equal the effort they put into keeping kosher.

Fair enough.

I’m not quite sure what your point about honey, lard and e.coli is, so can’t respond to that.

Only that “natural” does not equal “healthful.”

DeisCane said:
I agree that the move to over-chemicalization is concerning, but I don’t think that means we should abandon parve-ification.

I don’t think it’s worth getting too ideological about this. If you like parve ice cream and you’re not going to over-indulge, I don’t see the harm. Personally, though, I happen to agree with Silverbrow that the best tasting parve foods are generally not those that seek to replicate dairy or meat.

10.At 10:59 am on August 24th, 2006, Southen Belle wrote:

Back to the recipe, have you ever tried some of the ‘fat substitutes’ that were in fashion in the 90s, such as pureed prunes, along with oil or margarine. Seems worth a try before resorting to Crisco. I would try it myself but my work schedule has me on a strictly duncan hines (gasp!) schedule these days! [Acutally, they are not too bad if doctored up with coffee, choc chips and then undercooked a little, then frozen, then thawed and served. Never a comparison to the real thing, but better than what I can buy pareve at the bakery!!!!]

11.At 4:53 am on August 28th, 2006, Urijah wrote:

Crisco has a 0 grams Trans Fat Per Serving variety
www.crisco.com/about/prod_info.asp?groupID=17&catId=63&FlavorId=344

Of course, if you’re really adventurous you can try shmaltz brownies…

12.At 9:30 pm on August 28th, 2006, Chana Lee wrote:

I found a Kosher shortening - by Spectrum - Organic -all vegetable shortening -non-hydrogenated Has KSA on it - nice product. Small family farmers in Columbia cultivate and press palm oil in an environmentally sustainable manner - so it says on lable. I have no idea what “palm oil” is or if it’s safe - but the fact that it is not hydrogenated is a good thing. Makes great pie crust and it’s not like we eat shortening everyday.
Shmaltz brownies? - what a hoot -might taste really good! Instead of chocolate sauce for a topping use BBQ.

13.At 11:34 pm on August 28th, 2006, elf wrote:

Thanks for the tips. Right now I’m sticking with canola oil, since the shortenings you’ve mentioned are a bit high in saturated fat, but they may be worth trying in other recipes.

14.At 8:57 pm on September 25th, 2006, Diane108 wrote:

I agree most whole-heartedly with Silverbrow. Stay natural. Don’t give up your good, clean health to be Kosher. You can do it naturally!

15.At 9:20 am on December 15th, 2007, Idetrorce wrote:

very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce